General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I recently upgraded to a modern backpack and I'm stumped as to how to tie accessories down to it. My previous backpack had tie-down points on the bottom of the pack that I could attach long straps...
I've seen walking poles range from <£10 to >£100 - and to a casual observer there doesn't often seem to be much to distinguish them, with both having good grips and shock relief / suspension....
There are a number of ways to purify water, off the top of my head we have filters, iodine, and boiling. Clearly each has some advantage/disadvantage (iodine tastes terrible, boiling takes time). ...
For short hikes you can generally ignore nutritional concerns, because you don't generally become malnourished in two days. However, for a long trip like the Appalachian Trail or other long hikes ...
Are there any good hints, tips and ways you can use to navigate around and find your location in thick fog (apart from a GPS)?
Possible Duplicate: How to avoid exploding rocks If I build a campfire with damp rocks, is there any possibility of the rocks exploding? I had this happen once while burning trash, becau...
Jezebel magazine suggests a tampon for your survival kit. I don't question that, if you just happen to have a tampon, you can use it. But at the end of the article they suggest even guys carry on...
I've been using microspikes on my hiking boots and find that they aren't up to the challenge of hiking up snowy peaks. I use snowshoes but find some mountains would be better served by crampons and...
When setting up a tent and staking it out, what is the proper tension for the lines? I generally just make them arbitrarily tight, but have no idea how that would perform in high wind or other con...
I've got some leather boots that are showing some wear and tear. More importantly, the seam between the sole and boot is starting to crack and allow some water in. Do products like ShoeGoo or FreeS...
Will regular polarized sunglasses protect me against snow blindness? And if not what type of glasses/goggles will protect me?
The 161m (0.1mile) rule in Geocaching is a pretty infamous one. However, the rules also state this: Please don't hide a cache every 600 feet just because you can. The two main goals of the satu...
This is especially problematic if you dress up in layers, the last one being, for example, a raincoat. Putting a burn hole through your rain coat let's the rain in... Are there some tricks in fire...
If I'm out in the wilderness and find myself in need of a rope I don't have with me (forgotten, not enough, another snapped), how can I make one? Are there any natural ropes I could use with minima...
Are there some numbers on how much vertical distance can people make in a day’s hike? I know that greatly depends on fitness and other factors, but I’d be happy with some statistical curve that wou...
I'm in the market for a kayak that will be used for inshore fishing, paddling, and occasionally hunting. Can anyone help me with the differences between the NuCanoe 12' and the NuFontier 12'?
Is there any resource (website, book, etc) that lists all European countries, and the state of free camping? Specifically, I want to see in which European countries I'm not fined when I place my t...
When trad climbing I have seen many people wrap their rope around a tree and then rappel, and then yank the rope down at the next belay station or tree. I have also seen the scarring as a result of...
Under the assumption that an emergency kit like the ones listed here are for the emergency of getting lost and being stranded for days, how necessary is a knife sharpener?
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...
In this question, it was asked whether bear-spray was effective against other animals, such as wolves. I know the old adage that "there has never been record of a healthy wolf attacking an adult" ...
Every year or so I'll end up with plantar fasciitis after periods of time where I've walked a lot. In general my walking shoes are fine and have arch support but occasionally I'll need to use sturd...
Possible Duplicate: What is the best way to store my sleeping bag for long periods of time? We're at the point where we have more than one set of gear. We use different gear for differe...
I know I could just carry a bottle, but scavenging is much more fun. What is a good source of vitamin C in the wild? Have spruce needles really got enough?
When backpacking, I might carry a MagLite flashlight or something similar that requires two AA batteries. I tend to favor rechargeable batteries for a variety of reasons. How can I recharge my ...
If I am whitewater or sea kayaking, it is possible that my kayak will get overturned leading to a live or death situation. I've heard that it is possible to roll the kayak so it is right side up a...
In climbing, a double fisherman's knot is used to tie together two separate pieces of rope. How would I tie such a knot?
I'm about to take part in a Ski Tour across Iceland in a few weeks time, I've just noticed by travel insurance doesn't include Search & Rescue costs, here in the UK mountain search and rescue i...
I have a very bad reaction to poison ivy. I take extraordinary measures to avoid any and all contact with it. I wear long socks and full pants in the middle of summer but I still end up getting i...
It's been a couple of years since I last had bad shin splits but I can still recall how painful they can be. I was able to heal them before mostly with a couple weeks rest. If the pain came back ...
What are the important differences between a gas and electric trolling motor for fishing in a small jon boat? I'm primarily concerned on the impact the the actual fishing (as opposed to any discus...
You should obviously avoid rattlesnakes if at all possible. But if you do get bitten by one, what should you do? What supplies can be brought ahead of time to allow for the best treatment, and what...
I'm pretty tall and I find that to purchase a brand-name sleeping pad means shelling out serious $$$. To solve this I have always just purchased a roll of foam padding that I could cut to make sure...
During certain times of the year, some of the hiking trails near where I live wind through herds of elk standing on or near the trails. What precautions should you take when hiking among elk?
It happend to me a couple of times now that I've cross-loaded my carabiner when belaying; the frequent change from slack to tension and back, moving the carabiner up and down and all that, can easi...
Luckily this has never happened to me, but even the most prepared hiker can often get themselves into difficulties if they run out of water. My question here is in your experience in remote arid mo...
This summer, I plan to walk from the Wormser Hütte in Austria to the Heilbronner Hütte in Austria. I know that this can be done in 1 day, but when googeling, the tour length differs a lot. Some sou...
I'm planning on doing some back country canoe camping this summer. I would like to avoid bringing a hatchet if possible. I also find my folding knifes get full of gunk and I am a little bit afrai...
I often camp in rainy or very humid weather, and I often have condensation forming inside my tent. What can I do to minimize this? My tent has vents, but I’m not sure how to make the best use of ...
I have heard different things from different people, but here in the South West we do a decent amount of desert hiking. Protection from bugs is usually little concern because most of the time in t...
I would like to prepare myself for the climb in the high mountains (for now by "high mountains" I mean elevation 4000 m and more, but eventually eight-thousanders). What can I do to improve my ge...
I know that the magnetic north is not exactly at the polar north, so when hiking very close to the Northern Pole, you have to take the difference into account. This got me thinking: Is this also a...
This has come up a few times in a few other questions, but I've heard varying opinions from different people in a number of answers and comments on here - some saying that just boiling for a moment...
In some places, like Scandinavia, you can camp pretty much anywhere you like as long as it's only for one night and you don't leave a mess. The freedom to roam, or everyman's right is the gener...
Say I'm hiking outdoors and I get a scrape. I've forgotten my first aid pack, or already used up the appropriate supplies. Is there anything in the wilderness I can use to sterilize and perhaps cov...
What is the simplest way to approximate time after the sun has set? Perhaps using the moon's height and phase? This would make the most sense to me, but what could you do in the case of a new moon?
I've heard that I can take glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate supplements to prevent damage to my fingers when I'm climbing. Is it true, or is just an old wives' tale?
I have heard that eating the tips off a few match heads can help keep the bugs off of you. Supposedly you sweat out the sulfur and it repels the bugs. Has anyone else heard this or is there any tru...
When trimming weight there are a lot of options. Lighter gear, less gear, etc. One of those options is to take an existing pack and trim off "unnecessary" extras. For instance, I have (no kiddin...
A common emergency blanket has two sides, one is orange and the other silver. Which one should I keep on the inside?
