Like most other things in photography – I believe (said the peanut farmer) that a walk-about lens is a compromise – if not, then there would be little need for interchangeable lenses.
But one man's walk-about could be different to another's – in which case his walk- about lens might also be different. For instance, the city dweller and the farmer.
So - when Hogs mention “walk-about lens”, should we imagine their circumstance and then the lens accordingly?
It is highly probable that the two city dwellers would not agree over what makes an ideal walk-about lens - and the same for the two farmers.
So really, there is no such thing as a walk-about lens - but perhaps a general purpose lens, which is what most “kit” lenses are designed to be.
Therefore we should not, perhaps, abandon our kit lenses at the earliest opportunity – lets just call them walk-about lenses.

Like most other things in photography – I believe (said the peanut farmer) that a walk-about lens is a compromise – if not, then there would be little need for interchangeable lenses.
But one man's walk-about could be different to another's – in which case his walk- about lens might also be different. For instance, the city dweller and the farmer.
So - when Hogs mention “walk-about lens”, should we imagine their circumstance and then the lens accordingly?
It is highly probable that the two city dwellers would not agree over what makes an ideal walk-about lens - and the same for the two farmers.
So really, there is no such thing as a walk-about lens - but perhaps a general purpose lens, which is what most “kit” lenses are designed to be.
Therefore we should not, perhaps, abandon our kit lenses at the earliest opportunity – lets just call them walk-about lenses.

I believe there is much confusion between the terms walk about and general purpose. The ideal walk about lens will be determined by where you are walking about and what you plan to photograph. A general purpose lens is a lens that does not excel at any one application but is useful in many applications, from wide angle to telephoto.
A walk about lens can be pretty much anything you want it to be or need it to be.
A general purpose lens is a jack of all trades, master of none.
My general purpose lens is also more often than not my walk about lens on one of the two cameras I usually have handy, my Canon EF 28-300 f/3.5-5.6L IS USM. I've used it to photograph flower shows, car shows, car races, dog shows, family gathering, city scenes and country scenes, kite flying, beach activities and generally anything I felt like pointing it at, and lots and lots of photos of my dogs. It works great with a speedlite and without. It is quite the general purpose lens and although it's not the sharpest lens I own, unless one is preoccupied with pixel peeping, it's sharp enough. I've made pleanty of 13 X 19 prints from images shot with that lens and they look just fine.

Like most other things in photography – I believe (said the peanut farmer) that a walk-about lens is a compromise – if not, then there would be little need for interchangeable lenses.
But one man's walk-about could be different to another's – in which case his walk- about lens might also be different. For instance, the city dweller and the farmer.
So - when Hogs mention “walk-about lens”, should we imagine their circumstance and then the lens accordingly?
It is highly probable that the two city dwellers would not agree over what makes an ideal walk-about lens - and the same for the two farmers.
So really, there is no such thing as a walk-about lens - but perhaps a general purpose lens, which is what most “kit” lenses are designed to be.
Therefore we should not, perhaps, abandon our kit lenses at the earliest opportunity – lets just call them walk-about lenses.

With respect, Hogwash. I have found that even on my ranch in Colorado at 7000 feet, fishing at a mountain lake at 9200 feet or downtown Santa Barbara my 24-85 lens just fine. I could use it anywhere and have for 90% of my photography. For the other circumstances such as macro photography I use a 105 f2.8 lens. Of course the 105 does well as a portrait lens too. Only for specialized use such as wildlife photography or wide(r) angle photography will I ever need anything else. I have been to American cities, African plains, European countries and the 24-85 did pretty much most of my shooting and did it well.

Let's remember that kit lenses pretty much fall into the same MM range as professional lenses. The difference is the quality of materials in building the lens. For most photographers the image quality of kit lenses compared to professional lenses would be nil.

I am not talking about want here but genuine need.

Dennis

Like most other things in photography – I believe (said the peanut farmer) that a walk-about lens is a compromise – if not, then there would be little need for interchangeable lenses.
But one man's walk-about could be different to another's – in which case his walk- about lens might also be different. For instance, the city dweller and the farmer.
So - when Hogs mention “walk-about lens”, should we imagine their circumstance and then the lens accordingly?
It is highly probable that the two city dwellers would not agree over what makes an ideal walk-about lens - and the same for the two farmers.
So really, there is no such thing as a walk-about lens - but perhaps a general purpose lens, which is what most “kit” lenses are designed to be.
Therefore we should not, perhaps, abandon our kit lenses at the earliest opportunity – lets just call them walk-about lenses.

While I can't totally disagree with you I have one small thing to bring up. To me and I suspect many of us, a walk around lens is one we walk around with because it is somewhat lightweight and also handles the majority of our photography chores as well. I look at the 28-300 lens you mentioned and think that, yes, it can be a walk around lens for you if you use it for a great proportion of your photographs. But for most of us we want lighter and handier size wize for a walk around lens since we hardly use the 300mm part of the lens. Again, I am not disagreeing and if that is the lens you mostly use the we have no disagreement at all. But I am curious. How much do you use the 200-300mm side of your lens out of all your photography with it?

Dennis