General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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Background: About 8 years ago I bought a rather cheap tent (about 100 €) for up to 4 people. It's quite large, you can stand upright in it's centre and there's an awning almost as deep as the sleep...
Friend and I had this discussion, and came to no conclusion: Hiking in the mountains. Crossing a range through a pass. Peaks on either side are a good thousand feet higher. Are you at serious r...
Suppose you're leading a short pitch (20-30m) and you have two followers, or you want to double rope the route, and want to simply half your rope and tie into the centre, pulling the two halves up ...
I love camping and backpacking and have always wondered if it would be better to use a hammock instead of a tent. I want to know if a hammock is a viable replacement for a tent if you don’t care h...
In reference to this question: Avoiding leaks from stove and fuel bottles? What fuel type is the easiest on your stove as far as cleaning and maintenance are concerned? If you have a stove that c...
I've only seen parasols being used in movies, cartoons and other artistic media, but extremely rarely in real life. Somehow it feels like I would look ridiculous with one in hand walking around the...
Often times in city parks people will use the trees for slacklining, the problem comes when they use trees that are not big enough, and given enough time and users this can be unhealthy for the tre...
I have been looking at new rods and several people have suggested a baitcaster. I currently have a spinning reel that I am comfortable with but I would like to try a new rod/reel type. What am I g...
More states in the US are decriminalizing switchblades, yet there are many other methods of opening a folding knife with one hand such as studs on the blade or groove to make it easier to open. I ...
Can anyone share any experience re-using ordinary PETE disposable water bottles until failure, as a lightweight and low-cost alternative to dedicated water bottles/bladders? How long did they last...
Near Camping la Brise in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France, mosquitos are quite hungry. Which areas around the sea tend to have the least mosquito population? Which characteristics (climate, habita...
In addition to space blankets, you can get reusable tarps with a reflective coating on one side. For the most part, they are just like regular tarps with grommets for tie downs and are big enough t...
I hike in an area where packing in all your water is the only option. For longer hikes when it's warmer one bladder won't hold enough. Does anyone make a practical way to connect two together so ...
While walking in a state park in New Jersey last week, my husband and I came upon what looked like anthills. This small sign was posted on a nearby tree: "Please don't step on the mounds of dirt. M...
The rains are doing all sorts of things to the landscape in Waterton-Glacier National Park this summer. All of the trails in the park appear to serve as water ways for rain runoff, and the rain app...
I'm looking for recommendations on how I can carry my Canon bridge camera while hiking, so that it doesn't get in the way too much but is easy to get to when I want to take a photo (typically of an...
Bogs on my Lemmenjoki and Hammastunturi map are marked as either easy or hard to traverse. What conditions should I expect from both terrain types in summer (mid August)? Does easy mean one can wal...
I have found the bull hitch really great for tying my paracord to secure to an object, like a stick, branch or other long object. The reason I like it is that compared to other hitches like the gir...
Several plastic sit-on-top kayaks are being marketed as "unsinkable" and "sea-worthy". However, I read that few people had to beach when the did not close the front hatch properly. My question is:...
We live in Massachusetts, Northeastern United States. It's late July, and our temperatures this month have ranged between 70°F (21°C) and 90°F (32°C). Mourning doves, Zenaida macroura, live here ...
I keep seeing a particular bird lately and I don't recognise it. Can anyone help? I've only ever seen it from the car and in flight so I have no photo's unfortunately. It's black and white about...
The electric igniter on my jetboil has been giving me trouble. It's not completely broken, but I'll only see a spark 5 or 10% of the time. This means I don't completely trust my stove, and have t...
Our tent was featured as ants free thanks to protective grids. However ants just ate holes in the wall material. Some research shows this is not unusual. Which tent wall material do I need to p...
I was searching around after a new hiking tent, when I noticed a specification called "unisex", I know that something is "unisex" if it's suited for all genders. Though it makes me wonder, how on e...
We have several posts about fire most of them are about specific challenges. A recent question had myself and others searching for fire starting basics. We don't seem to have a post about it. Wh...
In a couple of weeks my buddy (husband) and I will be doing a few dives on the UK's Jurassic coastline, in Swanage. It's said if the vis (visibility) is good here you can often see seahorses, as t...
The last time I was attacked by leeches I thought I'd taken enough precautions such as pulling my socks over my trousers and avoiding walking through particularly wet areas or long grass but I stil...
I've attached a picture, I got this used backpack (Dana Design Arcflex Astraplane) and I'm trying to figure out the straps on this thing. I noticed there are two strap adjusters on the top.. are th...
Due to forest fires in Sweden, many Swedish counties have issued a total fire ban, such as Västerbotten and Jämtland. In most cases, this includes camping stoves, and therefore has the potential t...
If a scenario in which you go in the forest or next to one, how are you supposed to craft a containers? All the web-ressources I can find for filtering water thanks to the multi-layer rocks (from ...
I am hoping for more than anecdotal evidence about the negative effects on black bears of the human scent -- ranging from meh to Yecch. This question is prompted by two anecdotes I have to offer:...
I recognize the official system for French waymarks of Grand Randonees and local paths like shown here: but I've also seen large white rectangles with a horizontal red line in the middle. They are ...
I was thinking about heading to a place where there is a chance to confront a coyote. It worried me a lot then..this question popped up. If I have big enough speaker that can play sound of coyote'...
I am going to go to the Yellowstone park and other parks in the north-west (e.g., Glacier park); I'll be there for a couple of weeks in the late summer and we will sleep in tents in campgrounds par...
There as been the claim that European and North American wolves behave differently, especially when it comes to encounters with humans. This was brought up in a comment in this question on a wolf e...
My brother and I are planning to get PADI, (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), certified. The e-learning course in July, 2018 is $180, which isn't super cheap. Can I buy one and re-us...
My medical kit already has some MRE style clean water bags, purification tablets, as well as OTC anti-diarrheal pills at the ready. However, now, I am researching what options there are for hydrati...
(Note: I'm a total noob in fishing). I've seen some so-called "pre-rigged sets" with a hook and a float attached onto some line and wound around a piece of plastic: They usually come with some ...
We're planning a trip to Acadia National Park in Maine, USA. It would be in July or August. We'll be spending two days, with a night in a hotel in one of the surrounding towns. (We haven't chosen t...
I am in eager search for any suggestions in terms of a personal sleeping bag liner we use for winter in our zipped together sleeping bags and for our summer tour we’re we mostly stay in huts. We ca...
On a recent camping trip, I was having great difficulty sending messages with a Garmin InReach. I was in a woods with a moderately thick canopy overhead, but next to a small river so I could step o...
I am trying to learn some history about rock climbing. I know initially rock climbing was purely an outdoor activity, and according to this article in the 1990s indoor climbing gyms started to spri...
I have the specs of a pretty interesting carabiner. It's made from titanium, it's lightweight and strong. These seem to be great attributes, but there are two caveats. It is pretty expensive ($5...
We were recently driving through Berlin Hew Hampshire, and saw these small islands in the river for several miles. There was not a good place to stop and take a picture of them, but they show clea...
How do I know what type I should use when I'm planning a camping trip?
Is there any special equipment needed for diving with Nitrox(more than 21% O2)? In Germany there are regulations and laws that say that you can only dive using Nitrox if you have this special equip...
Has anyone had good experience using an ordinary drugstore oral thermometer in the backcountry in winter weather, and getting trustworthy readings? I made the experiment (on a night that was aroun...
There was recently a storm near me. T was a lightning storm and I was wondering if it really is true about it only hitting tall things or if it is really just an old wives tale. If it is true why i...
I'm looking to go scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef next year. I've not yet been certified, but I plan to do it soon. If my only scuba experience is the certification course, do I need to wor...
My husband and I are learning to Scuba dive this year with a friend. We're doing the SSI courses, which require a large number of dives to progress through each qualification. Open Water through to...
