General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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550 Parachute cord is a very small kermantle rope (has a core and an external sheath) as you can see in this image. The minimum breaking strength of the cord is 550 pounds, hence the name. It i...
While backpacking with an inflatable or self-inflating sleeping pad one runs the risk of getting holes in it. This does happen fairly frequently, and while they do make kits, I would like to know ...
Wild strawberries are very tasty, but I have only ever found them by accident. What locations would be good starting points to look for them?
What is the best way to leave a fire unattended for a short time and then to return to use it again? Here is my imagined scenario: arrive at a camp site and start a fire in a pre-made iron fire p...
As some of you who are also active on bicycles.se may know, I broke my collarbone in a bike crash last year, and it's now got a titanium plate in there. I'm not sure whether it's the plate or not,...
I have recently loaded a bullet --which didn't fire twice when I pulled the trigger of a bolt action western field m820a 22lr rifle. I have pulled the bolt all the way back but the bullet is stuc...
Given that temperature decreases with altitude, and yet inversions happen where cold air is below warmer air, as a general rule of thumb, where would the warmest place to sleep be? Here is one pl...
I am planning to hardboil some eggs and immediately, while hot, wrap them in cling-film before stowing in my pack. How long will they last before going off? (I am in NZ so eggs are not washed like ...
A taut-line hitch is used to tying tent ropes to a stake. It can be manually slid up/down the standing part of the rope, so as to adjust the tightness in the line, but it holds well under tension. ...
I live in northern British Columbia where the relevant declination values are currently Magnetic declination: 17° 45.30' East Grid declination (for Natural Resource Canada's NTS maps): 16° 17.04'...
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 ...
A comment on recent answer suggests that kernmantle ropes are more easily damaged than a conventional twisted rope. This is contrary to what I learned very long ago. So far I've been unable to f...
I'd like to try tarp camping. 3m x 3m (9ft x 9ft) and 3m x 4m (9ft x 12ft) tarps of differing material are plentiful and many are even affordable. Which tarp shape is more versatile in the number...
I saw a new product for rain protection the other day. Frogg Toggs makes a line of rain gear out of a polypropylene material that I have not previously seen used for rain gear. Does anyone know h...
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...
I'm here hunting turkey in Virginia and I keep hearing unidentifiable sounds that I'm pretty sure are not turkey. One of the most common one is something like a monkey (chimp) cackling/laughing. I...
the "politicised" debate of female clothing not having pockets (it is especially about skirts and dresses) left aside, I wonder if there are any cotton climbing pants left on the market that have a...
There are a few questions regarding safety of water purification, one regarding expiration date, another regarding iodine, but I know that there are more than one types of water purficiation tablet...
My surfboard leash broke at one end and I'd rather repair it than buy a new one. How can I repair it?
I'm planning a camping trip in Yosemite with a group of friends for some time around mid-March. I know it can get cold at that time of year, but that's the only time we could all arrange the time o...
I keep looking for better ways of protecting my hearing when shooting, and it looks like wearing both plugs and muffs is recommended for indoor shooting (centerfire gunshots range from 160-170 deci...
So I have camped in France, in the Vosges region, in the locality called "Le bonhomme". Where there are many wild boars. It was in a dense forest, with a freezy weather. (-5°C) My camp was just a...
The campground I'm thinking of staying at has tenting spots, but they don't have power. I need to be able to charge my laptop, phone, and possibly a portable electric heater. They also offer RV spo...
We all have discussed and read Hypothermia quite a lot of times and are aware of general concepts about it. What made me wonder the most was an incident about a mountaineer on Mt. Everest. With the...
In the past, I have always slept with my backpack wedged uncomfortably beside me due to limited room in a fully manned tent, since I'm concerned about bag theft when miles away from civilization. ...
Several times I have been in locations where tsunami risks are either actively signaled or self-evident. Lima where I am right now has long beaches dominated by cliffs with exit routes about every...
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 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...
Every year we read stories about people getting lost in a forest or in the mountains, with no way of calling for help. Sometimes this is due to a lack of experience, sometimes due to accidents, som...
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...
I have a feeling this can come in handy but I don't know why exactly has this been provided.
I did a few sport climbs this week, and on two, it seemed that the area between bolts was just blank, and if I went to the side it was easier. I could still reach the bolts, but I was afraid I was ...
Wild dogs appear to be dangerous. Should I be running if I come across one, or should I stand fast and defend myself? They are a social animal, so they will be in a pack almost all the times.
Recently there was a story about some people in Texas who brought three bobcat kittens home and then called animal control after the bobcats bit them. It's also happened once in California where a...
My 6 year old daughter was playing with ropes today and tied a knot of her own creation. I tried to demonstrate to her the importance of learning to tie good knots that don't slip, but when I went ...
This is part of the chest strap of an Altura Morph backpack/pannier that I use for commuting. I've lost half the strap and one of my bikes can't take a pannier rack so I use backpack mode on that ...
If while hunting I come across a rabid animal and I kill it, both to end its suffering and to prevent it from spreading rabies, what should I do with the body? I wouldn't want another animal to ea...
For packaging dehydrated foods for backpacking, the two options that I can think of are mylar bags and vacuum-sealed bags. What are the pros and cons of each method?
If I cook a hot dinner on a canister stove and plan on cooking a hot breakfast in the morning, can I leave the stove on the canister overnight or would it be better to take it off and reattach in t...
There are a lot of mountaineering routes that go up the downwind side of a mountain. Like the CMC route on Mt. Moran in the Tetons or the Gooseneck Glacier route on Gannet Peak. The added danger o...
I found this dragonfly, here, at around 13,400 ft. The coordinates are 43°10'52.96"N, 109°39'17.74"W if anyone would like to check the location themselves. It didn't look like it was moving...
In the case of a roped up team marching along a glacier with some hidden crevasses, the greatest risk is of a team member falling in and then dragging everyone else along before they can self-arres...
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...
I saw a bird with an injured wing among the rocks on a beach in Portugal (Algarve). The bird has been on the beach since Friday evening, and her wing feathers have completely dropped off by now. I...
Imagine the following situation: A group of friends found a remote spot in a state or national forest that they really like. They keep returning to the place quite often, lately there are at leas...
My ice ax came with a leash already on it and I have never had any problems with it, but almost all of the other ice axes that I have seen in use lacked one. One obvious pro is in case of droppin...
If I use a space tarp (basically a heavy-duty reusable space blanket) as a sunshade or as a ground tarp with the shiny side facing up, do I need to worry that someone might see it and think that I ...
By situational awareness I mean (but certainly don't limit it to): Looking behind to familiarize yourself with the return journey. Looking ahead to see what the best route will be. Knowing the a...
I know that NC permits open carry but I'm actually interested in cultural implications of running into people in the woods who may be weirded out by it. I've hiked a lot in places where it's legal ...
I have plenty of gear and I live in a small apartment. I am planning to buy an outdoor closet to put on the balcony to get some extra space. Here's a sample to show you how it would be like. I ...
