General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I am making up emergency kits. What is the min I can survive on if the only source of water is what I am carrying?
I've only just started bouldering, and we have been using the easiest to grades VB-V1. I find V1 are moderately challenging but the next step up, V2, I just entirely struggle with. What can I do to...
While this has happened about 22 years ago, I never really stopped thinking about it and still regard it as unsolved mystery. While I asked plenty outdoormen, nobody had this experience. Having rec...
Whenever I surf with wetsuit booties on, either the boots themselves become waterlogged or the leg of the wetsuit fills with water. I've seen people use tape. Is this an effective method? What tape...
I took a surf lesson and got the following: Splash/ sand in the eye in an abrasive way that put me out for 20 minutes and was bothering me for few more days Bright tropical sun Pros / cons of h...
What product or combination of products best protects your hands while kayaking in winter? I’m interested in a system which provides comfort for extended paddling but also the peripheral activitie...
Disclaimer first: The brake-hand principle (always hold the braking strand of the rope) always applies to assisted braking belay devices, including the Grigri. This question is in no way targeted a...
I am going for four day hike in Western Ghats. The terrain is rocky humid and It is one of the eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity in the world. I am trying to pack my rucksac...
One of my flashlights that has a black anodized aluminum housing has a couple of scratches on it, all of the way through the anodized coating. How can I cover up the scratches so that its complet...
I've noticed when climbing and bouldering I have a tendency to get occasional flappers on my palm. A flapper being a callus or blister that has peeled back and hangs on like a flap of skin. I trim ...
Very recently I had been to a climb where I learnt about an alternate route that requires a huge crack to be climbed. It is of about a 100-120 ft roughly. Though I have experience in climbing open...
Recently, I heard of three tourists from Germany drowning in a lake in Alaska. Their boat overturned and they ended up in the water. All three of them were wearing life jackets. This is what I don'...
The Reverso 4, ATC Guide, and others all have a keeper wire loop for carrying. However, the wire seems unnecessary -- one could simply cut it off and carry the device using the large hanging eye or...
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 live near the ocean (South Shore MA) and am new to kayaking. So far, I've paddled in streams and rivers that connect to that ocean. My last kayaking adventure involved me being oblivious to boate...
Some background links to Aravona's question here. Basically I am her other half and over the course of the night the tent was opened many times. As people will know opening a tent in the wee hours ...
Suggestions on how to backpack with urinary incontinence? Not a fun topic, but I’m headed out on a 5-day backpacking trip and am concerned how to pack out any used products without attracting bears.
Is it okay to throw away the non-edible part of the apple - the apple core / or in general fruit waste? Does it decompose on the rock (maybe with the help of animals) and temperature, or does it in...
I have a subscription service from komoot for maps. Is there any GPS device that supports offline maps and GPX, preferably with android OS integration. Example scenario would be: Use an android bas...
Thanks to @Ken Graham, I just heard of an activity called rail biking. It involves riding a certain type of bike along sections of abandoned railroad tracks. It sounds like a lot of fun, and my hus...
A recent answer said: Any mains electric (100-240V) going to a tent needs to be GFCI-protected (Europe: RCD) since you will be mixing electricity and water in close quarters. Source I know I ...
Location: UK East Midlands, suburban garden. Bird: possible marsh tits, something in that size range with a black cap. Time: late July. Two similar-looking birds were observed making high-pitched,...
How should I heat that tent? Is heating It with a heater okay? Are there any safe devices designed for electric heating? Is it safe to heat a tent 24 hours? Do you recommend heating while sleep, o...
Sadly after many years my trusted Helsport tunnel tent1 took some damage in a storm that I'm not sure will be repairable. I'm therefore looking into the possibility of getting a new tent. When I l...
Long story short, I got a huge oily stain on my raincoat. More precisely butter, on the shoulders part. It looks bad, it smells like butter, and I am really not comfortable having it on my clothes ...
I'm looking for a multi-purpose rope for camping with the following specs: Synthetic Preferably 7/16" dia or less 750-1000lb test break strength I don't plan on climbing with this rope but it w...
Bears are mostly attracted by smell of food. That is why we are supposed to keep the food items in airtight and sealed packs or preferably finish up all the food (cooking and consuming) far away fr...
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 ...
When birds gather into groups, they fly in a variety of different formations and patterns. Some birds fly in a formation that looks like the letter "V". Several species of geese, pelicans, and ib...
Once a year I go on a backpacking trip with a friend of mine who lives near Sacramento, California. He likes to bring his dog. The trip lengths typically range from 2-5 days (including car travel),...
I would like to try winter camping. What are some common mistakes first-timers make when trying to camp in the cold? I would be camping in temperatures between 0 and 32 Fahrenheit (-17 to 0 degree...
We just bought a tandem kayak, we took it to the water and we can’t make it go straight. My husband is bigger than me so he sits on the back. We rented kayaks before, so we are wondering if it cou...
I was given a St. Croix Avid AS60MLF, and I have no idea why this top guide is on the opposite side. The rest of the guides are on the same side as the lower one in the picture. Only the top one ...
I'm currently hitchhiking in South East Asia where it's of course always hot. I'm getting a rash around my ankles that I've had in the past but never looked into. (The same rash, but on a differe...
I'm considering stand up paddling as a sport for rest periods for my legs (running, hiking, cycling) and a way to train upper body muscles. I've checked the prices, of course the cheapest are the...
I've had a couple of opportunities to go standup paddle boarding (SUP'ing) which is pretty fun. Every time I've used one so far, I've rented it form a place where somebody pointed and said, "OK...
I am a very large man - I am 6'4" and weigh 450 pounds (I've lost a 100 pounds in the last year). I bike or walk everyday, (and swim laps occasionally) but want to add another sport to my exercise...
I have been trying to find the "canonical" post on this topic without success - each post has its own take on the issue. And I understand that opinions and preferences abound - but I'm looking for ...
A lot of deer hunters put a rifled barrels on their shotgun and shoot sabot slugs. I know that without rifling a sabot slug has no stability. But there are two common types of slugs designed for ...
We want to trek in a jungle for 4 days and we want to carry sufficient food for all days without it becoming rotten. Is there a special tool we should buy or a specific case to take into account in...
UPDATE - 26 OCTOBER 2017 I just received an email from JanSport Customer Service (after I had sent them the pictures you see below). They still maintain that the subject backpack is a Cascade mod...
We encountered these guys in a small inland (freshwater) creek in southern WA. There were hundreds, covering low flat rocks in the water; every one carrying a shell made out of either tiny rocks,...
I found this insect under my shirt while working, it is the first time I ever see something like that and it is kind of too small for me to tell what it is. I do not have a property measuring t...
If animals eat each other daily and defecate, why don't rainforests and the natural world smell like rotten corpses and feces? Wild animals don't have recycling people.
Knee is basically one of the main joints that provides you the ability to walk. There are several ways to prevent or ease the knee pain (see Knee pain when descending a mountain), but I would like ...
I've been paddling three times (one week each) in rental (Canadian) canoes. My girlfriend and me brought all gear and food with us and there still was plenty of room for our dog in the boat. I kno...
My optometrist assures me that all polarized prescription lens will now also assure 100% UV protection. Is this true and if not how can I insure that I’m getting optimum UV protection from new pre...
I have been climbing for a short while and loving it. Now that I've gotten a fair bit of practice with indoor climbing I'm thinking about where this new love of mine can take me. The obvious answer...
Would it be possible to use canoe paddles - and eventually some cords and beach stakes - to hang a bug net such as this? Our paddles will be about 2 meters (6.5 feet) long and can be split in ha...
Sure you have to look out for crevasses which is nicely explained here: How to detect a crevasse on a glacier. But what else does one have to consider when trying to cross a glacier? Some glacie...
