General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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There are two "rules" which are commonly stated with how to wear an avalanche beacon which are closely related, but not quite the same: You should wear it over your bottom layer. The avalanche be...
I found this bug in my back yard and walls outside of my house. Can you help me identify? I was worried if this is a tick.
I was riding my bike today and I saw a number of these brown caterpillars with white strips and black spots near the head crossing the sidewalk. (Penny for scale) Does anyone know what kind of c...
My wife and I started hiking this season (we have been cycling for 10 years before that). We have pretty light and compact gear, except for the backpack. We carried Osprey Atmos 50 and Osprey Talon...
It is possible to use a dry fly as a strike indicator for your wet fly while also catching the fish that would go for a surface bug at the same time. Is the casting technique any different as it s...
How do people deal with sweating and 'feeling hot' at high altitude climbs (above 5500m)?? Just a background on myself: I've done hikes/climbs up to 3000m where temps hit at the lowest of around ...
After reading this question about emergency kits, I noticed that no one mentioned nails. Why shouldn't we include 10 or 12, common 6d (2", 6 penny) nails in the kit? Ten 6d nails weigh about an o...
Edit: Thank you for all the helpful replies. I will have to go through them all now, and I will pick the best fitting one for my question. I will go backpacking in the summer of this year, for abo...
If you buy a box of ammunition, it usually says the muzzle velocity on the box in addition to the bullet weight (or you can find the information online). Given that bullet velocity depends on the ...
My sunfish got to be over two hundred lbs.I opened up the forward deck to find only expanding foam. No Styrofoam. I see pics of the Styrofoam but need the specs/dimensions of the Styrofoam. I have ...
There are a couple of crows that come around regularly, they come as a pair. One is larger than the other. Perhaps a couple? or parent and youth? or adult and older parent? When providing nuts/see...
The Outside Online article How to Fuel for a Solo, Unassisted Antarctic Crossing starts with "Colin O’Brady thinks it’s possible—but just barely—to haul enough calories to traverse the continent. H...
I have an issue with excessive sweat in my feet, and separately I have noticed my shoes no matter the quality, function or use-profile do not last more than a year, often less. It's been suggested...
On longer climbing sessions I like to keep my cell phone close by, but most of the time I have no backpack with me. So I would like to pack the cell phone in a little case that I can put on my clim...
Take for example the picture below, taken in the Erawan National Park. The surface of the waterfall is a shade of white, maybe from calcium(?) and it actually very coarse. Even though it's somewhat...
If one were to get started fly fishing what gear would one need just to start with? Of course, there is all sorts of gear and better gear, but what would the minimum gear to start with be?
The general internet knowledge says. If there is two puncture wounds it means you got bitten by the fangs of a venomous snake.
I am wondering how to estimate the needed motor power for boating upstream on big rivers like, for example, Danube. (mean the bottom to middle part, i.e. where the Danube is wide and "slow"?). To ...
I'm looking to get myself a kayak, but weight limits are an issue for me. I like the ascend kayaks from Cabala's because of the high back seats. I'm undecided if i want to get a 10' hybrid kayak or...
When you're sailing upwind (in close reach) and there comes a stronger blast of wind, how should skipper behave? Should they turn away from the wind (because modern yachts are constructed so that w...
I'm starting to go through the book "freedom of the hills". Somewhere in the initial pages, it states that a climbing party must consist of a minimum of three members. A bit later it states that du...
Let's say your plane crashes and you end up in a forest in a cold Russian winter miles away from civilization. You have lost all your clothing; completely butt naked. You manage to get fire and m...
I love the outdoors, but I'm not really an experienced outdoorsman, hiker or camper. I have little to no education in outdoor etiquette, beyond the really obvious stuff (pick up your trash, etc.). ...
I’m wondering does anyone know what this part of a Click Up is for: I’m taking about the rounded cutouts on each side of the device on the climber side. In the normal position I can’t see what t...
Next summer I am planning to ride a bike from Belarus to the north of Norway through Finland. What measures should I take to be protected against wild animals (bears and wolves)?
Seen today (5/5/19) in an area north of Boston.
Garmin says about inReach that to have a two-way satellite communication "you need to have a clear view of the sky". And what about cloud cover?.. Say it's winter and 100% overcast with angry cu...
I am interested in summitting Breithorn this winter (late January) using crampons and an ice axe. I am in excellent physical shape but I do not have much alpine experience. I have seen mixed review...
On official USGS topo maps, vegetation is represented by green, and non vegetation by white as you can see below. How much vegetation does an area need to be colored green? Are short bushes enou...
My friend and I had an argument about this topic. He says that the cold air in the mattress will stay at the ambient temperature, so if it's -20 outside the air in the mattress will stay at -20 so ...
I'm looking to buy a new jacket for hiking/traveling during winter in Australia for temps between 8c to 15c and possibly in windy and rainy conditions. I noticed that snow jackets tend to be cheap...
I’m adapting to long-term lifestyle of outdoor living, and getting constantly assaulted by this or that type of bug has been a major issue. Sleeping in a tent has thwarted most my opposition at th...
I'm relatively new to outdoors wear and was wondering if anyone had any advice on a lightweight outer layer/weatherproof jacket for my specific needs. I'd be layering it over a base layer, mid laye...
Looking at Canyon de Chelly backcountry camping visitation by month: Backcountry camping went from usually more than a hundred per month, up to several hundred per month, throughout spring, summ...
There are many, many articles and web sites that will tell you what to do if you develop a hot spot or blister while on the trail, and need to perform some field treatment to allow you to get back ...
An example of the earthen material I have in mind, this video shows some daub prepared for a wattle-and-daub house at timestamp 7:45: https://youtu.be/wPWLlVVVDN0 Cob, cobb or clom (in Wales) i...
I'm working on a novel. The main character recently (six months ago) lost her arm above the elbow. She's attending a summer camp, and I'm wondering if, with proper planning (and probably a mountain...
I am wondering about the "cross country like" aspects of Alpine Touring gear. I am in Ontario Canada, where hills as small as 75 meters can be referred to as "mountains". I'm a relatively experie...
I've been thinking for some time to buy a multifuel stove for use in cold and high-altitude camping as compressed gas might be unreliable, and, most importantly, difficult to obtain in remote locat...
What is your opinion: Does it make sense to train rock climbing wearying a weight vest or a small backpack carrying a small amount of weight (let's say 1-3kg or 2-6.5lb) to mimic the actual weight ...
Can anyone tell me what type of bug this is? I found two of them in my bed in Tennessee, United States. It's not a tick. The shell is hard. It was alive and you could see it moving. It's .016", ...
I'm assuming that if I bought a 15 meter slackline, I could actually tie it between two trees at any length less than 15 meters apart and use it. Please tell me if that assumption is wrong. So what...
I recently wanted to climb that mountain because I literally love pushing myself and it looks fun. Information about me I am a 15.9 year old male teen (14-12-02) I live in İzmir Karşıyaka (30 me...
There are a number of "survival" products on the market that integrate "extra" strands into the standard paracord (US MIL spec, ~4mm accessory cord, usually 7 strand nylon or cotton) Most of them...
I am looking for solutions on how to effectively repel black flies while hiking or picnicking. In my experience, repellents that are effective against mosquitoes do not work at all with these ankle...
I'm a bit curious about this since the day I read an infographic tip from a veterinarian. The reason stated by her is that it helps to not enlarge the site of the snake bite. Is this correct? Bec...
I'm going to be doing some winter hiking in parks where there are going to be a lot of hunters. Probably only during bow hunting season for deer in NJ. I'll be getting some blaze hats but for the v...
Alpine slings are usually 60cm long and while they can be slung over one shoulder, it's much easier to carry them on your harness at 1/3 of the size in an alpine quickdraw. How would one shorten t...
Sometimes when fly fishing in canyons the wind will start coming down the canyon and it makes it that much harder to cast. It doesn't take a whole lot of wind to completely stop one from further fi...
I have a medical bag together, which has a red cross velcro patch on the front of it. Anyone who looks at it will immediately know that the bag contains medical supplies. However, I'm making an add...
