General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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In other words, could I purchase a 1 litre Trangia fuel bottle and the MSR Dragonfly liquid-fuel camp stove and use them together? Or would the smaller, slightly more expensive MSR fuel bottle be t...
Some geocaches are placed high on trees: You need to climb there to log. But standing on too thin branch can be very dangerous. Is there a formula to estimate how thick must be a branch of a g...
Caches are very often hidden in hollows. Generally any tree with more or less visible hollow is a very probable geocache hide. Often you can't easily look into that hollow because it's deep or lo...
When walking alongside eroding cliffs in more built up / touristy areas, there's usually big warning signs or closed paths if the cliff is unsafe to walk on. Sometimes it's obvious why, if the path...
I tried pitching a tarp instead of a tent this weekend. In worked well, kept off the rain etc, except for the condensation. It was far worse than any condensation I've ever had in a tent. We had...
When roaming the outdoors, it might happen that one finds oneself in a situation that is much, much colder than one planned for. What can one do in such an emergency, especially when it's so col...
I'm new to hunting. Last time I went, I found myself needing to go up or down relatively steep slopes with a little bit of snow. For that kind of terrain it's nice to have both hands free to catch ...
The title really says it all, is it legal to swim in the lakes in the Austrian Alps?
What would be the best way to test the waterproofness of different outdoor apparel such as: Boots Jackets Pants Gloves etc... I'm interested in both the binary case (e.g., is this boot still wa...
I've tried to find a few caches, where the coordinates were showing the T-Mobile telestation, such like that: I'm used to not being able to find geocache (I'm not enough experienced, or maybe sim...
The laces of my Scarpa MAIN boot been worn and torn after a few years. Since the boots are still in very good shape, I'm looking for a new lace. What features should I be looking for in trekking/h...
Having recently moved the country (North Wilts, UK) I am really excited by the idea of getting out into the land and foraging for food and to brew with, but I have no idea where to start. I don't ...
There are numerous situations when mountaineers may have to bivouac. A few of them are exceptionally not advised but unavoidable at the same time. I was going through the details of the K2-Trag...
I'm a smaller guy (5'7"/125lbs) and I always have difficulty finding clothes. I'm currently looking for some type of down/synthetic filled layer to go ice climbing in. My main issue is a men's smal...
So that I can have some spaces to wear Down or Fleece inside the jacket? Normally Large size shell is too large for me, or I should buy the same size so as fit as possible?
When I work outside in near zero degree temps and mittens or gloves are too cumbersome to work with my fingers get so cold they ache. My toes may get cold and ache as well depending on how long I'm...
There are a few monolithic granite rocks around my city. These are rocks with gradient of around 30 - 40 degrees. None of these offer a technical rock climbing opportunity. It's mostly about hiking...
I was reading the novel: No Way Down by Graham Bowley, which is a detailed account of August 2008 K2 tragedy. There was a survivor named Wilco Van Rooijen, who eventually was rescued up somewhere b...
I'm planning to climb a few volcanic mountains in Indonesia the coming year. Mostly Mt Kerinci and a few adjoining ones (I'm still making a list of those near by to Kerinci). I believe that most v...
In this question Suitable food for high altitude trekking Wedapashi asks about food for high altitude trekking. Also, in this question, there is a discussion about engergy bars. One of the answers ...
I have rappelled quite a few times. I have also done commando rappel on shorter patches (up to 100 ft or so). The pic of a cliff that I have attached below is Kokankada. The height to rappel will b...
There are many different kinds of insect repellents and bug sprays on the market: sprays and lotions, chemical and natural, huge percentages of DEET and lower percentages, etc. What type of bug re...
My parents get a lot of mosquitoes in their garden during the summer. We've tried torches with citronella additives in the oil, but this has not been effective. I don't want to install a UV-based...
Mystery- or multi-caches are not published with their real coordinates, but with fake coordinates that have to be within a certain distance of the cache. Reviewers however need to receive the real ...
How would I tie a double figure of eight knot for attaching to a rock climbing harness?
I currently wear a Polartec Power Dry base layer and a 60g Primaloft One insulated jacket. This keeps me warm all the way down to about -10C when active(walking/hiking/Cycling). At temperatur...
I bought a new pack Love Alpine TFX Cerro Torre 65:85 (this one). I am quite satisfied, but have one problem. The pack is moving to sides and isn't very stable. On begs it fits really well, bat th...
Supposedly Down (and most other sleeping bag insulations) lose a lot of their thermal insulating properties when they are compressed. When I'm inside a sleeping bag, obviously whichever side is on...
I've recently become quite interested in climbing, and I have been frequenting a local gym. As I become more serious, I'm curious how to most quickly improve. For example, Should I focus on im...
In the last few months I have come to the conclusion that I need to have a fingerboard at home if my climbing is to get to the next level. But the problem is that I live in an apartment. How can I ...
I am about to participate in a first aid training workshop. Before I do so, I am supposed to pass an online first aid course. While going through the course, I came across this section about applyi...
I have recently started trying out the backpackinglight.com mantra of a tarp and a water resistant breathable top bivy bag with a waterproof bathtub bottom (basically a shrunk inner tent). Assumin...
I climb comfortably at 5.11c at my gym (Top Rope Only), but I have never climbed outdoors so a group of experienced climbers have offered to teach my friend and I how to lead sport routes. I have ...
Myself and my girlfriend are hoping to start off in the Netherlands and hitchhike our way down to the south of Spain through various French towns / cities. We are planning on just bringing sleepin...
I'll be "backpacking" -- to imply traveling from country to country, but also hiking and camping in the backcountry -- various parts of Europe in winter for 3 months. I've camped and hiked before,...
I recently re-started to get into rock climbing but I've been having a lot of tough time with my fingers cramping up after I get off the wall. And the worst part of it is, I have to paddle down a g...
All of the arguments I've heard against using this method assume that you have adequate supplies for alternate rewarming methods. If you literally didn't, and it appeared they were going to freeze ...
My understanding is that with severely hypothermic patients you want to keep them awake if possible. I'd heard moving a hypothermic patient is risky as you dont want to jostle them, some wilderness...
I plan to do some overnight solo camping in the mountains (400-1200m elevation range) in the next few weeks to escape Vancouver for a bit. My available layers I can bring are polypropylene thermal...
What are the criteria that I should worry about when buying energy bars ? What are the ingredients to avoid and those to look for ?
Anyone with experience in bear-populated areas, what's the best way to store food when your on the move with a car? Are some foods better than others? Wondering specifically about black bears in ...
Although some have said that Tide was acceptable, I've read that any kind of detergent is unsuitable for washing water repellent / breathable material. Apparently detergent leaves behind a residue...
I've been reading a lot of product reviews, and filter/pump solutions seem to be very high maintenance, very heavy, or both. Are there any lightweight filters which can be relied on for many liter...
One of the biggest problems I have keeping warm in the cold are my shoes. When I'm out cycling in temperatures below -20°C, ordinary sport-shoes or hiking boots fail to keep me warm Cycling to wo...
When rock-climbing, I need to set up a top-rope anchor so if I fall, it will minimize chance of injury. So, how would I safely set one up?
I have trekking poles that I need to store in my back pack for air travel. However, the manual says for long term storage -- in my case, possibly days to a few weeks before I need to use them -- th...
I sweat a great deal when I sleep. When it's really warm outside at night I just keep my bag unzipped and there's no problem. However, when it starts to get cold and I have to zip my bag up, I soon...
The sleeping bag (at least as I've understood it) works in that way, that it uses the heat the body creates to create a layer of heat air between the body and the sleeping bag's border, therefore p...
All self-inflating mats I have seen are self-inflating in the sense that you’re supposed to inflate them yourself. [That is, the mat self-inflates a bit, but mostly you have to breathe the air in.]...
