General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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The steering on my Yamaha 50TLR outboard motor is very stiff. What can I do to make it easier to steer?
In an episode in the tv series "I shouldn't be alive", crew members of a yacht racing team got caught in a violent storm and found themselves stranded in the Gulf of Mexico after their boat capsize...
I just purchased a daypack to stuff inside my larger backpack while travelling. It came with cinch-straps but I'm not sure of the proper way to use them (if there is one). The daypack is a North...
Let's say you are camping with a large group, and someone starts a camp fire. You're away for a bit and come back to find everyone panicking and the fire to be much larger than actually planned (i...
From browsing this site, I have learned that US national parks and wilderness areas have restrictions and that campsites need reservations, sometimes months in advance. I've never seen anything lik...
I recently moved to a property on 20 acres and I'm a total noob when it comes to hunting. There are several deer stands setup all over the property mostly along the tree line overlooking some open ...
At a casual look, grass with a bit of surface water on it can look very similar to a potentially deadly marsh, and in many rural places there can be lots of both after it's been raining! In dry wea...
We ran into a hiker on the AT last year using a kevlar back to keep out bears and rodents. He said the product was an Ursack and seemed very happy with it. However he'd never had a bear try to ge...
We didn't always have the weather forecast available everywhere, and there's times when it would be useful to be able to be able to take a good guess at weather conditions in the near future by loo...
I have bought a North Face RoadRunner 3 tent 10 years ago. It is a great tent, and it served me well during a 9-month trip to South America. The problem is that the transparent part of the rain ...
If I were to go mushroom hunting on a hike, Should I trust a field guide, or do a little research on it first? I've heard of too many deaths caused by mushroom eaters making a mistaken identificati...
I've not found a "must read," general information (news, trends, photos, product reviews, etc.) rock climbing website. Climbing.com, for example, is riddled with missing images and dead links, whi...
We have several used gear shops locally, which also sell climbing shoes. I'm looking to start climbing and I am considering buying used shoes to save cost. Is it ever safe to buy used shoes, and ...
I recently bought a pair of Meindl Ohio winter boots. I am generally happy with them, but I have noticed that, after a day of wearing the boots, the tongues of each boot tend to migrate outwards. ...
We're planning a 9 to 10 hour dive. We can't go that long without eating. What kind of 'food' could replace at least 2 meals of the day so we can 'survive' a long dive like that? We'll figure out...
As in the title, when going Geocaching what are some standard implements and tools I should carry with me to get started so I'm not caught out?
On my last bike ride I was riding on a trail and I was going pretty fast, fast enough that I went around a corner really fast and there was a doe right in front of me. I stopped as fast as I could....
Many mountain hikers recommend drinking hot fluids, because they provide a lot of energy. According to the discussion "Does eating snow help dehydration?", the actual calorie gain is minimal, howev...
I would like a watch that would give me access to the raw data it records. Not some magic transfer to the cloud where graphs are built on the fly for me. The data-points that I'm interested in ar...
In other words, it would be a site where you can "subscribe" to certain locations and then have the service email you if the weather forecast matches the kind of weather conditions you are looking ...
Tyvek generally comes in 4' and 5' wide sheets. To make a suitable tarp, footprint, groundcloth, etc. I will need to sew together a couple of sheets. How do I seam seal the Tyvek to prevent leaki...
I'm currently looking to buy a new tent. The old one had a floor that was said to withstand a hydrostatic head of 10000 mm, but the tents I find in the stores here go to at most 3000 mm for the flo...
The Question Can I store my white gas fuel canister with the stove pump attached? Follow-up Questions Is it safe to store white gas fuel canisters partially filled with white gas? Does this h...
When I'm hiking with my friend, some of the time we hike together, but sometimes we hike seperately, and may be some kilometres apart only to meet on the agreed location for the evening. Our next ...
For an incoming trip, I am considering buying a camelback hydration system. There are two options available at my local preferred dealer, and I would like some advice on which one to choose. The ma...
Following this video I have made pemmican. When making the pemmican I used a food processor instead of rocks (because I'm lazy). I handled it with care, and according to this handbook, this stuff...
I've recently heard an opinion (from a sailor that attempted to beat a 122 day, westward route, around the world sailing record) that freeze-dried food is actually very healthy, as it contains less...
Possibly the most common injury I see when hiking with groups is when someone turns or rolls their ankle. Assuming that access to a vehicle is not feasible, what is the best way to deal with the i...
I have been given conflicting information for how to minimize the impact of traveling in small groups in wilderness areas. For groups traveling off-trail in areas where it is appropriate I have hea...
When buying Tyvek online, there appear to be a myriad of options and numbers. Which numbers are suitable for making a tent footprint? Known numbers: 1443R, 1622E, 10G, 10GX, 1460, RV, 14M... (ma...
I'm looking into buying a rope for rock climbing, and I know that I need a dynamic rope for lead climbing. However, trying to find information on the elongation percentages of ropes is proving tric...
I am testing my new Suunto Ambit2. Great watch! I like the way it can be configured and the analysis of the data! However, I am a little bit surprised to see that the software solution from Suunto ...
The black waterproof rubber seal round my Garmin etrex h has just started to peel away, and while not a major issue at the moment I don't really want to use it in the rough when it's waterproofing ...
Is it normal for the Evenk/Siberian hitch knot to open out in use, particularly when tied to a large diameter object (think tree) where the rope enters the knot close to right angles from the load?...
Me and my girlfriend will go there in January and we plan on hiking for a week or so. Unfortunately there are no maps or books available for NZ hiking in my area. Could you recommend some for me? ...
I've come across a Kelty Kids carrier. The tag says 'Kangaroo', and the date code on it is F11-95, style 21959030. I've called Kelty and looked on their website. The problem is that the Kangaroo...
I have a backpack with rip-stop material that is quite beaten up from scrambling over granite boulders. What are some good materials for patching the holes, what kind of thread should I use, and ho...
If I want to build an igloo to keep me warm in a snowy climate, how can I go about this? What size blocks should I cut? How big should the entrance be? How can I mitigate the risk of the igloo co...
What kind of mementos am I allowed to collect from State and National parks in small quantities, if any? I am especially wondering about: pebbles, shells, sea-urchin-skeletons, sand-dollar-skelet...
I'm debating what equipment to buy to prepare for a cold weather in mountain terrain and felt it might be useful to test what different temperatures feel like while wearing chosen equipment. My com...
I was skinning into a yurt last weekend with my regular downhill (telemark) skis. On the way back out, I noticed a lot more snow sticking to my skis... Granted, the weather was hot, and snow was st...
When crossing a glacier (or other mountaineering activity for that matter) I've heard that roping everyone together without having a fixed anchor is falling out of fashion since more often than not...
I need to replace some guylines on one of my tents. I normally use some paracord lying around but they have been getting tripped over more and more. I found some glow in the dark paracord, but be...
I've been top-roping for several months. About a month ago I found out how much fun bouldering is. I've been getting quite a few scrapes on the knees working certain routes, or from falling. I'm...
My husband and I are planning to drive from Kansas City, through Nevada (stop and see the arches) then to the top of California (to see the redwoods), see a few waterfalls in Oregon, travel through...
In addition to "longest walk possible" are there any good guidelines for finding trails/areas in the southeast that are typically less crowded on holidays such as the 4th of July? State parks here...
I'm planning to head to the Alps this summer to walk the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt. Does anyhow know how far in advance I need to book the huts? Months, weeks or just a few days? Also t...
On www.windfinder.com they changed the forecast map. now it looks like this: before, it had much more details, and you could zoom in it to find out the perfect spot for the forecasted wind direc...
There is a local shop that sells small brand name gear for pretty good prices. I am looking at their harnesses and quickdraws and would like to know: 1) Whether the equipment is safe - say compar...
