To be sick of outdoorsy men on dating apps

[Latoureiffel123]

I'm sure they're just trying to seem more interesting/exciting and I can't criticise them for that, but has anyone noticed that 99% of men allegedly climb a mountain every other weekend and are always camping?

I like going on walks, and I have climbed a couple of mountains. I'm a sporty person I guess but I also like just sitting in and watching Netflix!

I don't like camping at all, give me a hotel any day (not saying I'm made of money, it's usually a Travelodge or similar)

It just puts me off a little. I like a balance, but majority of men on there seem to live for the outdoors, and large swathes of them also claim to have been to 50+ countries with only a backpack and staying in various hostels, again not my idea of fun.

Okay. So ye didn't want to pursue anything with you.
That didn't mean there is anything wrong with him

Yeah. It's going really well by the sounds of things. 😂

In my own experience about 75% of them are lying and have maybe had a few days out in the hills and think that makes them Bear Grylls. I work in the outdoors so when I was OLD I specifically sought men who were really outdoorsy as I am too. I had a lot of awkward dates and conversations where it became apparent that the men had massively exaggerated their outdoor experiences, particularly men who would claim to be serious rock climbers or mountaineers when they had pretty much just gone to a climbing wall a couple of times or daundered up a hill hungover with some pals on a Sunday. One in particular sticks in my mind, when it became apparent he was lying about actually ever having even walked up any hills I asked him, "so what hills have done?" and his answer was, "oh, you know. All the famous ones." And I asked, "which ones?" and he said, "give me the names and I'll tell you if I've done them..." After that I listed off a few and after each one he would answer, "yep" with a slow, sincere nod as if he was a character in The Office. "Ben Nevis?"
"Yep..."
"The Cuillin Ridge?"
"Yep..."
"Aonach Eagach?"
"Yep..."
"Any big routes you are planning to do in future?"
"Yep... Everest"
😂

I have the finances to support an excellent lifestyle and I've backpacked around India at 60. Does that make me sad?
What a nasty, ageist, judgmental comment 🙄

Please bore off with your bitchy replies. Thanks.

They might say they climb mountains but I expect that just means they manage to get up the stairs when they’re pissed

Exaggeration on dating sites is not a surprise to me, but I can understand why the same or similar stories can grate after a while.

Do your Tinder photos of you watching Netflix on the sofa get you lots of interest, OP?

I like those sort of profiles as it suits my interests but the problem I found was that so many of them are exaggerating or outright lying. When pressed it's all 'well I am going to' or 'well I've always wanted to'. And then they don't like it when I actually HAVE done all the things they professed to be so into.

Oh, or 'well we can do that together' or 'well you can teach/take me'. No, fuck off, I'm not going to be your personal, free travel and activity guide. Do it yourself.

I've never been on a dating app, but don't you just swipe left or something if you're not interested?

Or can you change your settings so you don't get matched with them anymore if you're sick of them?

^ this.

It’s a dating profile. Swipe away if they aren’t for you.

On a dating profile you would always put your best foot forward and be clear about things you enjoy doing and things you would enjoy doing with a potential partner.

They just aren’t for you. Not sure how you can fed up that other people won’t have a mix of interests that suit you better. Surely they live their life for them, not you.

Getting fed up that people have slightly different interests to you is a waste of your energy

I live in an outdoorsy part of the country and I say the majority of people do spend their weekends and days off up mountains, or wild swimming, or at the beach fishing etc.

They're clearly not the right match for you but I wouldn't say they were odd or usual - lots of people love the outdoors but I find MN can be a bit odd about people who enjoy stuff like that sometimes, especially if they enjoy it in bad weather!

Well I actually prefer camping to my DH. The outdoors is wonderful.

Well they aren’t going to select a picture of them watching Netflix 🤷‍♀️😂

This ageism is really grim and the assumption that the only reason one might go backpacking is lack of funds is daft.

I think the outdoorsy men sound good but horses for courses. I’ve never done OLD though. Does nobody do anything funny in their photos, eg obviously fake ones of them doing stereotypically appealing things?

They're better company than the ones who have flashy cars on their profiles.

They feel the need to say something interesting. I’m sure they aren’t constantly climbing mountains but do enjoy it occasionally.

Probably why they are single. On mn, these time consuming hobbies tend to signify the end of a relationship.

It's all bollix too. Most of them run around the block on Saturday morning
But they think of themselves as a "hiker"

YANBU! I hate that it's become the standard profile, as now you can't tell whether they actually are outdoorsy or just pretending because they think it makes them interesting. This is bad for those who match with them who truly are outdoorsy if they're exaggerating (as mentioned upthread) AND those who would otherwise be interested, but are put off by the camping and hiking.

I don't mind an outdoorsy guy if he's happy to go and do that stuff without me, so I wish they'd make it clear whether they're looking for an adventure partner (oh no) or not. And mostly that they'd just be honest about what they're really like!

Also whether they think that to be interesting, you have to DO things rather than just naturally be interesting. I'd prefer someone who could make me cry with laughter at home (and vice versa) than someone who thinks that activity/travel is a substitute for a personality.

I had a similar moan recently OP.

75% of them have dogs, 80% of them are training for a triathlon or are into bouldering/hiking/wild camping. Which is fine if you like that sort of thing, but if you don't it leaves you with the ones who have pics of them with their middle finger up, pics wearing a wedding ring or of them smoking despite claiming to be a no smoker. Or the ones who are anti Vax or non vanilla or wearing women's clothes. Slim pickings.

I agree about the crying with laughter @HolidayAtNight FAR more sexy 🤣

When I see those pictures of them looking all outdoorsy, I think of a lonely ex wife who put up with their ‘hobbies’ and who finally dumped them!

I have a male friend who has a profile like that. He has a balanced life and isn't up a mountain every day, however he says he wants to match with someone who is active at least.
He's not interested in instagram posing women in their bedrooms with a filter who 'know their worth'. It's interesting to get a male view on online dating, which is clearly just as hard for him to match with a like minded person.