OK, ADVrider readers and inmates: Watch that video above, and then let’s think about it. YouTuber 208Tyler has some thoughts on overlanding, and he says that it isn’t even a real hobby. As per the video’s description:

The more time I spend car camping, the more I wonder if overlanding is even a real hobby? Seems as though all other outdoor hobbies end up overlanding and car camping as a normal means to be outside and do their other activities. So sure, overlanding can still be a stand alone hobby, but is it really good enough all by itself? Seems that driving forest service roads just for the sake of driving and finding a place to camp gets old pretty fast.

It’s worth noting that 208Tyler is talking about 4×4 overlanding. You know the type—jacked-up Tacomas with roof tents and lots of added accessory lights. And 208Tyler points out that despite all this expensive equipment, people are basically just doing the same old outdoors activities they did before these trucks were available. They’re fly-fishing or hiking or camping.  And his point is valid; only 25 years ago, people I know used their family cars to drive the same roads to the same wilderness places that people feel they need skid plates and big mud tires to reach now.

He’s not the only person pointing this out. Other YouTubers are saying similar things (see here for another perspective on how companies are piling in to take advantage of the boom in the overlanding market).

If overlanding has changed over the past few years, has adventure motorcycling changed with it, as it’s basically the same thing? Photo: Marcus Stevens/Shutterstock.com

But does this mindset apply to adventure motorcycling as well? After all, it’s basically the same thing as overland 4×4 travel, right?

I think adventure motorcycling is somewhat different from four-wheeled overlanding and is therefore immune from some of the silliness in that scene.

First off, overland-style SUVs and trucks are often expensive versions of their more standard-oriented counterparts, while many ADV bikes and dual sports are priced in line with other machines in the lineup. Truck overlanding is increasingly becoming the arena of the wealthy, while a motorcycle traveler can buy a Honda XR150L or Trail 125 for well under $5,000. Even Honda’s CRF300 dual sport series, which are used by high-profile ADV travelers around the world, are around $6,000 brand-new and realistically affordable for most people. Compare this to the world of 4×4 overlanding, where trucks and SUVs have skyrocketed in price. There is no real truck/SUV equivalent to the budget bike.

Second, the four-wheeled overland scene is obsessed with specialized gear that isn’t really needed for what often amounts to glorified car camping. While this is somewhat true of the ADV motorcycling crowd, the reality is that if you’re living off the bike, specialized camping gear makes much more of a difference than it does with a truck.

Third, there is an element of danger, exposure to the elements and requirement of operator skill in adventure motorcycling that keeps some of the riff-raff out. It’s harder to be an ADVer than a 4x4er, period.

While there is a stereotype of ADV bikes parked at the coffee shop, those riders and that mindset isn’t what the video above is talking about. And if you *are* using your ADV as intended, then my contention is that the specialized gear makes way more sense. Photo: Einar Magnus Magnusson/Shutterstock.com

Fourth, while we certainly have some issues with designer silliness in the ADV world—seat height is a massive issue—the reality is that the shape and form of dual sport bikes and ADVs is much more of a necessity than much of the stuff you see in the truck and SUV world. Cruisers and sportbikes, the two main styles of bikes in the pre-2008 world, are unsuitable for most unpaved roads. An ADV bike is in many ways a return to traditional do-it-all motorcycle design, not a deviation down a side road of self-indulgent design wackiness.

This doesn’t mean that the ADV community is immune to all the foibles of the overland truck world. The stereotype of the lawyer who only rides his GS to Starbucks is a real thing (neatly replacing the stereotypical lawyer who rode his chopper to Starbucks). But those riders who are actually out there doing the thing are less guilty of the mistakes of the 4x4ers.

Or at least that’s my take—I’m curious to hear from y’all, especially the old-timers on the forum. Is adventure riding getting as silly as overland truck travel? And if that’s the case, does it even matter?