General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I think I should've donde this ages ago, but, well... better late than never. Could you recommend a good insurance that covers climbing? It could be a travel insurance or a medical insurance. I'm...
I have been reading for a while about the altai ski "the Hok" . It is being promoted as : the Hok is a ski to be used whenever and wherever there is snow. With a partial climbing skin integrat...
I'm planning to go skiing this winter, having not been for a few years. I remember that in the past, the first few days often ended up being cut a little short as my legs were aching too much from ...
I'm spending the weekend in San Francisco, and after a week indoors at a conference I'm keen to do something outside. My plan had been to ride the trolley down to Fisherman's Wharf, hire a bike and...
Almost all outdoors activities require having a certain quantity of water to prevent dehydration. Many types of jerky or Freeze-dried foods contain high amounts of salt. Should that be considered? ...
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 ...
A group of friends would like to go camping in Northern Pakistan on their own. The only problem is to know some locals who can help us with food and a place to find where we can put up our camps. H...
Isn't Nor'easter supposed to move from the Northeast to Southwest, hence its name? But the recent Nor'easter that hit the Northeast US right after Hurricane Sandy seems to have moved from the south...
I understand, and practice, bear-safe rules like hanging (or canister-ing) during summer months, but what about in the winter when bears are (theoretically) hibernating, and the shorter / colder da...
What are the criteria that I should worry about when buying energy bars ? What are the ingredients to avoid and those to look for ?
I'm planning on hiking about half of the AT Northbound at the start of May 2013. What sort of temperature ranges can I expect to encounter, and what should I look for in a sleeping bag to best suit...
Should I change my food habits for my winter activities? Is simply increasing the quantities or choosing food with higher calories enough?
So every winter working in the dry cold, my skin, on my hands and feet, cracks. Particularly between my fingers and toes. What can I do to prevent this?
For hiking in polar bear country, this answer cites a page that advices to avoid camping under the stars at all times. Yet people do go trekking on Svalbard, and I don't think the density of huts i...
I was recently convinced to buy a pair of trekking poles for backpacking. But how long should they be? What is the optimal length to adjust my trekking poles, when carrying a heavy pack? I have t...
One of the biggest problems I have keeping warm in the cold are my shoes. When I'm out cycling in temperatures below -20°C, ordinary sport-shoes or hiking boots fail to keep me warm Cycling to wo...
I am very happy with my starm-proof spirit stove (similar to this model, but older. When others are struggling to find a place outside the wind, I can cook wherever I like — provided I can lighten ...
Which natural (non-synthetic) fabrics are good for hiking winter weather? I know cotton will generally trap moisture and invite hypothermia, while wool is warm but heavy. What other natural fabri...
Some animals are big and dangerous and, when hungry, may realise that humans contain a pretty decent amount of meat. I've never hiked in such areas, but they do exist. Photo from Wikipedia, CC-B...
Growing up hiking the southern Appalachians, I've never actually needed a four season tent. However we are starting to look at hikes around the country where the temperatures and conditions get wo...
What is a free-standing tent? What are the advantages of a free-standing tent as opposed to a tent that isn't, and what are the disadvantages? See also: What is a self erecting tent and why should...
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? ...
What is a self erecting tent? What are the advantages of a self erecting tent as opposed to a tent that isn't, and what are the disadvantages?
At the end of this month, I will be spending some days in Kraków, Poland. I might have a half or a full day available and apart from exploring the city, I'd like to do some hiking in the close surr...
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...
This year, a Danish citizen went missing without a trace in the mountains of northern Sweden. It is not the first time; in total, ten people are registered as missing after venturing into the mount...
I'm looking to buy a flashlight/torch (or build my own even if that works out cheaper), and am looking to take the following into consideration: Good battery life (LEDs would probably suit best i...
Our tent pan has a LOT of very tiny holes in it. We've never had to use a footprint, and our tent has always kept water out, but that is no longer the case. I don't want to carry a footprint due ...
The dark winter is approaching on the northern hemisphere. At my latitude (67½°N), the sun sets at 15:00 by now, and a little more than a month away the polar night will start. So far, I'm virtuall...
It's late October and in cold, northern hemisphere climates, winter has arrived, and moderate northern hemisphere climates will follow soon. In my area, small lakes are already frozen and people ha...
I'm a non-skier right now but am thinking of going on a ski trip. As far as I can tell there are two options for learning. On a dry ski slope before I go Start my trip with learning What the th...
Is it good idea to use city tickets for public transport (laminated or in string bags) as exchange objects or traveller objects (krets)? Are such items welcomed by the geocachers community? From t...
I'm looking for a freely accessible website that provides access to recent high-resolution (<~1–5 km) satellite-based snowcover estimates (snow / no-snow). Many meteorology websites provide an i...
Commercial slackline solutions seem bulky, heavy, overpriced, and a little too industrial for my liking. I have 6 carabiners and 50m of tubular webbing. What knots do you recommend for building, an...
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...
What are the legal issues when entering school areas while searching for geocaches? Some caches are located in such places. The first is available without problem for children and teachers, but wha...
So I've been running to work as my form of commuting and I've been getting by with my Gregory Z45 internal-frame pack for carrying whatever I need for the day. What bothers me about this pack is t...
I have read several blogs and watched videos on hunting where I have heard people use the term glass. I have no idea what it means and I have found very little on Google about what it could mean. ...
I've been watching a LOT of snare/trap setting videos. They spend an lot of time making the snares nigh invisible. None of these snares would seriously injure a person, but I would like to avoid ...
In very deep temperate forest (5+ days out), what dangers can endanger the life(s) of a group of several fit individuals. Motivation of the question
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 was trying to find statistics for the number of caches in Germany, that are registered in portal opencaching.de, a free of change and open alternative to GeoCaching.com. But I've failed to find s...
I use a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir sleeping pad. This is not self inflating, so I have to breathe in to the sleeping pad to inflate it. Are there any precautions for storing the bag to avoid gnarly bac...
Well does it? Or does it only grow on one side? Or does it grow only on the side further from the equator? Is there any truth to this old adage?
Whenever I surf with wetsuit booties on, either the boots themselves become waterlogged or the leg of the wetsuit fills with water. I've seen people use tape. Is this an effective method? What tape...
Kevin did a nice job of providing a quality answer here for how to find the leak if you are at home. However I usually realize I have a leak when it deflates under me in the middle of the night. ...
I went camping last trip and my nice inflated pad... deflated. I always carry a patch kit but I discovered another issue: I couldn't find the leak. The leak was small. It took quite a while of me l...
I went camping a week ago and it was so cold. I woke up many times at night shaking because of the cold. I have a cheap and old Wal-Mart sleeping bag, and I am thinking about buying one of these $1...
I have heard that a fire in a cave or under an overhang can cause a rock collapse, potentially injuring the occupant. Is this a real risk?
So I read this answer and I was wondering what contraption produce the most water when you don't have a water source? So what water trap produces the most water? Specifically, what should I do with...
