Tangentially related to the “Cyclingtips and Velonews…” thread, I was wondering whether people with an Outside+ subscription felt that it was good value for money. Thoughts, in no particular order:
I am disappointed that the individual magazines, and the paper versions, are going away/being bought up (yeah, I know, OK boomer…). Some of it I am sure is just nostalgia, but as mentioned in the Cyclingtips/Velonews thread, we are losing good writers/photographers.On the other hand, with the struggles that journalism is having, if we don’t support Outside+, we might even lose that.I am interested in quite a number of the sports/activities covered under the Outside+ umbrella.On the other hand, some of the material isn’t behind a paywall and I don’t read it…and when I used to get the paper subscription, I’d read the magazines for a couple of years, realize it is just the same content recycled, and cancel the subscription.
Anyone feel that they really get value for money for Outside+ or had a subscription and decide that it wasn’t worth it?
I’m grandfathered in via Trailforks Premium at $18/yr. I get my moneys worth on TF alone and everything else is a just a bonus. That said, Gaia does come in handy and I appreciate having access to the various articles even if I don’t read them very often.
The discount on BikeReg registrations made it worthwhile for me, as I do a ton of bike races
Some Velonews and other articles were decent quality, but for pure writer content I felt CT VeloClub was better (why Outside+ didn’t include access to Outside property CT, I don’t know)
I turned off autorenewal in May while I see where Outside is going. In addition to gutting CT I was slightly annoyed at their recent rollout of a merchandise hub called “Public Lands.”. I have no problem with merch hubs. But when I read of a new Outside site called Public Lands I had dreams of a guide to the world’s public land - man’s “greatest idea.”. And it’s a letdown to find it’s 10% off on yoga pants.
I’m also disappointed to be losing the print magazine, and I’m a millennial (an old one, I guess). I agree, much of the content is the same year after year, but it’s still fun to see how trends and tech change over the years. I like having the on-demand access on Outside TV to the 70.3 races - makes for good trainer watching, and I found enough of the articles behind the paywall interesting that I was willing to pay the 50% off membership they were just promoting. I don’t use Trailforks or Gaia, so we’ll see after this year if the value proposition holds up.
They’ve discontinued their Triathlon magazine… I like magazines but I’m also almost 50. It wasn’t the best though as I felt like I didn’t really learn much from it. Would I have continued to read it for free… absolutely.
I also get Outside + for free now that they’ve discontinued the magazine with my USAT membership. Not sure if that will continue as long as I’m a member with USAT. To be seen with that…
In terms of Outside TV, it is one of my favorite things to watch on TV. Surfing, triathlon, mountain biking, climbing, adventure stuff… right up my alley.
The discount on BikeReg registrations made it worthwhile for me, as I do a ton of bike races
This. Plus, it got to the point where more articles than not that I wanted to read were behind the paywall.
I also lament to demise of the print magazines.
I have been a long time subscriber to Ski Magazine and was given a complimentary 1-year subscription to Outside+ since they’ll be discounting Ski and replacing the rest of my subscription with Outdoors.
The Outdoor+ is decent. Not sure I’d pay for it otherwise.