General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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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 ...
I've been looking into learning how to mountaineer and noticed that the local mountaineering society still requires a training in navigation as part of the prerequisites for most of their basic cou...
The reel seems to jam when I reel it around and then if I put pressure on the reel handle, or the line, the bail flips open. I’m sure there’s something I am doing wrong. Video attached for referenc...
I have heard on this forum and others the difficulty of finding a suitable fuel since meths is illegal or hard to find, so im trying to think of alternatives, i know Americans use HEET and i have u...
Twice now I have been out winter hiking with a guide and another person and I'm trying to work out what knot they used to tie the middle person onto the rope. Let's say the guide is in front, my c...
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...
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...
When camping in cold weather, some people say it is actually warmer to sleep naked than to sleep with clothes on. Is that true, or is it better to leave warm clothes on while in the bag?
Pictured below is my knife sharpener. I’d like to sharpen my knives, but there’s so much metal built up on the stones that it won’t sharpen. How can I clean these off? Attempts with cloths and Q-ti...
I am going skiing for one to three days next week. I have some category three sunglasses I am planning to use instead of goggles. Long term I would definitely use goggles but for just a few days am...
An answer to a related post mentions that: It's worth pointing out that these are assisted and not auto belay devices, you can't just not pay attention and expect them to work. Does this mean...
Some friends and I were thinking of doing a one day hike somewhere in Minnesota. I have looked online for places but nothing I have found really gives me a sense of the place. My requirements are...
I've been trying to find the US Military's guidelines or standard for how long a soldier can go without food, for any branch of the military. Is there any such recommendation, as to how long a man...
In Norway, Sweden, and Finland, there are resident bears, but they rarely go near people, nobody practices the kind of bear safety that is necessary in parts of North America, and this does not lea...
I know that goose down is warmer than cattail down. But what are the R-values of each? How much warmer is the same weight/volume of goose down compared to cattail down? Is cattail down better than ...
I nested my 110g gas canister inside my stainless steel mug for a hike. I used it about halfway through for lunch, and when I was done put it back in the way I had packed it (upside down). Now it i...
After several years of abuse and poor care my boots have completely gone at the seams around the inner ankle (see photos) What can I do to repair my boots? My current plan is to just get some t...
A common emergency blanket has two sides, one is orange and the other silver. Which one should I keep on the inside?
My GPS (Garmin extrex 20) will not connect to my computer anymore (via USB), and therefore I cannot access the GPX folder of the device where Geocaches are saved. As a solution, I would like to sa...
