General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I bought new mittens for my kid for the coming winter holiday. They should be waterproof or at least water-resistant. Normally when i buy clothing, i wash it before wearing. The fabric may not hav...
I am often skiing with some friends, and would love to have some way of communicating. I've seen quite a lot of bluetooth based systems for motorcycles, but not as many for skiing. The ideal syste...
When hiking in Israel I've seen some trails that had information on them to contact IDF first for permission before going on them. How I'm supposed to get the permission? How much in advance you h...
I've been using various map apps with offline storage on my smartphone(s) for several years now. The main problem with them is the battery drain. I've searched for e-ink devices with GPS but only f...
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...
So this actually stems from the fact my last two pairs of wellington boots have split - as have my husbands, and his were a different brand - my boots were both Joules (~£45 so low-mid range boots)...
Target shooting is expressly permitted on National Forest Lands. However, finding a good place to do it is not necessarily straightforward. What would be good strategies to find a place to target ...
What equipment is necessary for driving on 4x4 trails and rougher forest roads in the Northeast United States? This would include safety equipment, recovery equipment and any other equipment neede...
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 was recently backpacking in Olympic National Park. I didn't have a tarp with me (was being cheap. Bought one shortly after the trip) but had a $5 umbrella. It rained a bit during one the mornings...
For an older guy (say 65+) who likes to hike alone - are a mule or two a help or a hindrance? Maybe a mule for the pack, and a second mule to ride when I get really old? Historically people prefer...
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've seen small radar reflectors for sale. Should I carry one when kayaking? What else can I do such that boats can use their radar to be aware of my location when they can't see me due to poor v...
Under a windproof shell mitten, is an insulating liner mitten significantly warmer than an insulating liner glove made of the same material and thickness? This is a different question from "Are mi...
We prefer watching animals from a distance, to try and cause them the least disruption. Every so often I've seen an animal in a distant part of a large area that doesn't appear to feel right. For i...
On a hiking trail recently, I overheard some people talking about going "catskiing" as part of a winter vacation from school. Obviously, that doesn't mean skiing with or by means of a cat. What...
I'm very new to camping. In fact..I'm trying to prepare for my first camping. One thing that I can't find answer even after googling and searching this site is..how people travel with camping stove...
As seen in the picture, this sail boat is sliding over ice rather than sailing through water. If I were to try this ice sailing, would I need to follow boating regulations? This might not be th...
I saw an article about the Long Trail, a 272-mile trail through the Green Mountain range in Vermont, USA. It's famous for being the oldest hiking trail in the United States, having been built betw...
I am stealing Charlie Brumbaugh's question about canoeing on an open lake, because for kayaking you would get different anwers, and it's important to distinguish those. If you are kayaking on a...
I have an interest in sextants and how they work, mostly from reading the Horatio Hornblower novels. I know that sextants are still sold. While I am sure that are not nearly as precise as GPS is n...
I have a group of friends who live in Florida, United States. One woman is blind. One man uses a wheelchair most of the time, although sometimes a cane is sufficient instead, or a friend to lean on...
Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne (1876) describes how Siberian hunters used to hunt bears with nothing but a knife. This was ideally done with a single lethal blow, to damage the fur as little as po...
I was recently reading an article on UKClimbing by Andy Kirkpatrick about clothing in winter. It talks about vapour barriers: I’ve played around with vapour barrier socks over many years, and ...
Is there a good technique to warm up your boots in the morning? Should you just put them on and warm them up with your feet or is there a better alternative?
I'm a keen hiker, in South Africa. Or, I was... But then our delightful darling daughter was born 7 months ago, and my hiking hobby got replaced with a new hobby. Anyway, my wife and I are very kee...
My backpack of course has a rechargeable gas lighter. I am considering buying a good Zippo, as I feel it more resistant, and it does not need to be kept with your hands to stay on. Would you sugges...
After purchasing full leather boots (similar to these boots) I had many blisters for the first few hikes until I broke in my boots. What are the fastest ways to age the boot so that when my foot w...
Is it safe to carry the 20 lbs propane gas cylinder in the minivan? I have carried the small Coleman's gas cylinder for camping in car trunk but now with family, I am not sure if what's the right ...
There are basically two bear-resistant containers meant for storing food while backpacking, bear canisters and Ursacks. What are the pros and cons of each?
I have heard of people using powdered instead of regular peanut butter for backpacking, mostly on the theory that it is lighter. How does powdered peanut butter compare to regular peanut butter?
I was hiking through the snow to a frozen alpine lake and it made me wonder if there were ice-skates that would strap directly to a mountaineering boot instead of being a completely separate boot? ...
Seen in November in the Rincón de Ademuz, Valencian Community, Spain. I'm not sure whether the "tail" is a stinger or just wing cases, and I didn't want to find out! This was a pretty large insect...
I was sorting some old camping equipment at my parents' house and found several butane canisters for a camp stove. One of them has some rust on the metal around the shoulders; it's slightly pitted ...
A few nights ago I saw some minks in the grass right next to a seasonal irrigation canal that is dry most of the year shortly after dark. The irrigation canal has no fish or crawdads in it, because...
As the summer goes on, the cottontail rabbits are getting bigger and at the same time I am seeing fewer of them, presumably as predators whittle their numbers down. What percentage of baby cottonta...
I keep seeing trail runners who instead of a small light backpack, have a running vest with small front pockets and then one on the back. What is the advantage of a running vest over a small backpa...
The last time I went fishing, there were numerous times where I could tell that the fish were nibbling on the fly because it would move the strike indicator ever so slightly, but they wouldn't actu...
If you have tracking set on your GPS device and you forget to turn it off overnight, for instance, the track distance will continue to increase even though the device is not moving. What is happeni...
For short trips, lithium-ion batteries to recharge your camera/phone/GPS make more sense. For something like the Appalachian Trail where batteries aren't going to last the whole trip, a solar charg...
Rather than take a can of chicken while backpacking, it's possible to open the can, drain the juice and stick the meat into a ziplock which makes it much lighter and a ziplock is much more compact ...
I am planning a long bike and canoe trip (bike tows canoe, canoe carries bike and cart), There are a couple of purpose built products for towing a canoe with a bike dumb stick & woody hitch but...
There are a couple of pretty good answers in How to make a cargo trailer?. After looking at those, at the answer to What are the safety concerns of a high vs a low mount trailer hitch? and doing s...
I am very familiar with dumping septic holding tanks in a camper on land. I do it regularly and safely, either at the camp ground or at home. I am considering a boat trip on the Ohio and Mississi...
I have done lots of hiking on trails with switchbacks and one thing I have noticed is that the length of the legs (how long you walk in one direction before switching back to the other) can vary w...
My team at work has occasional outings and one of the activities we've talked about for the future is kayaking or whitewater rafting. I've never done either and am also dependent on expensive pres...
I'm currently trying to remark a trail that seems to be forgotten or had very little use in the past few years. The markers that remain (different types of ribbon) are fraying or crumbling dependin...
Another scary scenario: Let's say you're in a situation where you have to jump off of a cliff into the water to survive. The cliff is at least 100 feet high. What would be the best way to surviv...
I really need to wax my G-1000 trousers - but I do not own a clothes iron and only a flimsy travel hairdryer. The instructions for the trousers/wax say, I should use either to melt the wax after ap...
A U.S. wilderness area prohibits road-building and other forms of development. Are bridges on hiking trail permitted, or are all river crossings in wilderness areas necessarily unbridged?
