General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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If you have full stuffed bag full of laundry with two handles, how would you tie the handles?
When preparing for a trad climb, I usually divide my rack into separate groups where each group is connected to a single carabiner. So for example all the small nuts go into carabiner 1, middle ran...
What are the main risks of a glacier in winter compared to the risks in summer? How can you deal with these additional risks? Which additional materials or thoughts do you need to have? I would li...
I recently visited a local outfitter upon whose walls hang various pieces of vintage outdoor equipment. I was unable to identify these, or even guess which outdoor activity they might have been rel...
I found this spider yesterday running across a sidewalk next to a canal, it was bigger than a quarter and I think it was carrying an egg sack. Does anybody know what kind of spider this is?
I am a long time gym climber, and I climbed outdoors for a couple of times. I fail to understand why climbing outdoors is more appealing than climbing indoors. If the goal is to climb harder, whi...
Let's say your plane crashes and you end up in a forest in a cold Russian winter miles away from civilization. You have lost all your clothing; completely butt naked. You manage to get fire and m...
So I have wanted to catch sharks like 7 gill in california and I have some questions about reels and rods. So I want to be able to cast my bait out to where the sharks are but most people seem to ...
I'll be driving to Norway in November and intend to sleep in my car on a few nights. For myself I have a sleeping bag and a few blankets, so the temperature should be no problem for me, but I will ...
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 ...
In principle, it is known that full body harnesses are useful for situations where the center of gravity is higher - e.g. for children, or for Alpine situations involving carrying heavy loads. A fu...
I read on https://www.walmart.com/ip/Isdin-UV-Care-FotoUltra-Active-Unify-Fusion-Fluid-Color-SPF-50-50ml/304385886: Isdin UV Care FotoUltra Active Unify Fusion Fluid Color SPF 50+ 50ml is a tin...
I am always interested in the history of rock climbing. Lately, I tried to collect data about male and female first ascents to visualize progression in rock climbing over time (I have a small blog ...
I have leather gloves and mittens and I want to waterproof them. I usually use mink oil on my leather boots to condition and seal them, Can I do the same for gloves and mittens or should I use som...
I have been writing my initials onto the dogbones (webbing connecting biners) of my quickdraws with a sharpie (permanent marker) so I can tell them apart from everyone else's. Recently, one of my c...
When I first saw a man get kicked by a kangaroo, I said "nope to Australia" because that is mainly where kangaroos are. Then, I looked on google and it said kangaroos are not dangerous. So now I'm ...
I will go to rural areas in Madagascar and have an Inmarsat satellite phone. Does anyone know which number I can dial with this phone in an emergency? I already know that 117 is the local emergenc...
I have seen two articles about bloodsucking lampreys in UK rivers, which warn swimmers about the risks of lamprey attacks when swimming in rivers and lakes. Our river lamprey spend their adult live...
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...
The last time I was in looking for fishing gear, they also had a bunch of "tactical" pants. They seemed like they would be decent pants for outdoor activities. What exactly makes a pair of pants "t...
Related to this question where the difference in size might possibly be due to one of the 3 peregrine falcon chicks being male, how do they tell whether a peregrine chick is male or female? Eventu...
When climbing multipitch, what is the cycle of things you do when climbing each pitch, and what are the associated voice signals?
I just saw this small winged bug out in a prairie would anyone know what kind it is? Top view Side view
I plan to go on a hike with someone allergic to latex. Usually I would pack small plasters and leukotape, but this is not an option in this case. How can I replace these items with latex-free equ...
My sunfish got to be over two hundred lbs.I opened up the forward deck to find only expanding foam. No Styrofoam. I see pics of the Styrofoam but need the specs/dimensions of the Styrofoam. I have ...
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 ...
Two weeks ago I planted two small cherry-tomato seedlings ("tidy treats" variety; the description used words like "small" and "compact") into one 10" pot. I now know that's too close; I'm a beginn...
We have often used the large snow free circles that form in the spring around the trunks of large trees as camping spots. Even in an area blanketed with deep snow, there will be such bare, dry gro...
In addition to choosing a correctly sized paddle board, one also needs a correctly sized paddle. How does one determine the correct size of paddle for stand up paddle boarding?
How do people deal with sweating and 'feeling hot' at high altitude climbs (above 5500m)?? Just a background on myself: I've done hikes/climbs up to 3000m where temps hit at the lowest of around ...
Found in the woods next to my home in central Connecticut, USA Trying to identify, i am putting it on a shelf in my room and would like to know what it is
On trails that go up steep hills, there are usually switchbacks where the trail goes first one way and then other, resulting in an overall less steep path. In the complete absence of a trail, how ...
This National Geographic article describes how feeding ducks bread is actually harmful. Among the items listed as safe to feed to ducks it lists corn. Does this mean that cornbread is an acceptab...
I read about the murders of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland. What safety mistakes these girls did during their camping trip? What could have been done to avoid this situation? How ca...
I recently heard from a guy who decided to cut a cedar tree from a ditch line for a Christmas tree instead of buying one. He said that after getting it home and decorating it that it started to ha...
I love the outdoors, but I'm not really an experienced outdoorsman, hiker or camper. I have little to no education in outdoor etiquette, beyond the really obvious stuff (pick up your trash, etc.). ...
How do you deal with handling hot pots / cups without using a pot grip (see the picture for an example)? It's inexpensive and rather light-weight, but why add gear if you can use what you already h...
Why do climbing professional use less than 5 fingers on some holds? From https://www.lagrimpe.com/abc/le-mono-ou-bi-doigt/ I mean, why don't they put the other fingers, even if they don't quite...
I had a near miss yesterday as I tried a strategy of a fellow surfer: I buried my mechanical car key in the sand, put my bag on top of it, and went surfing. A few dogs on the beach must have shifte...
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...
According to the Audubon book on bird houses, they should not be constructed under a branch or other support that a squirrel could use to jump down to them. However, in that case, how do I make a ...
My wife and I are new to foraging. We recently found a large number of what we believe to be puffballs in a field. They look like this: From the information on the Wild Food UK site it sounds...
I have a SOTO Triple Mix canister (Power Gas 250, SOD-725T) which is a mixture of Butane, Isobutane and Propane gas. I use it with my SOTO WindMaster but I have not used it in over 10 months. It ha...
If you tie a figure-8 knot while rock climbing and fall a few times (especially if they're dynamic lead falls), the knots will become so difficult to untie that you sometimes have to use a carabine...
My backpack has straps that are way too long and I would like to shorten them, both to save weight and to make it more organized. How can I cut the straps and then seal them so the ends don't come...
For example, which recommendations should backpackers follow while carrying heavy weights, and should backpack straps be tightened or loosened?
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 would like to understand if skills/experience gained in rock climbing are going to be useful in climbing steep ice/hard-snow. Of course the gear as well as techniques involved in either are diffe...
I have an American Giant sweatshirt that is fantastic. Superb quality and fit. Heavy 10oz cotton. What would be the best way to add water resistance to a garment/fabric normally water resistan...
Spotting scopes are used for all sorts of things in the outdoors, from watching climbers on big walls to observing wildlife. Usually, the reason for using one instead of a pair of binoculars is the...