Posts tagged gear
My wife and I are thinking of taking a road trip from northwest Ohio to "out west" - Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, etc. I've never been farther west than Indiana, so it's a whole new terr...
I like the convenience of having a backpack when I ski. Last winter one of the lifties at the local ski hill gave me guff about my backpack, claiming that it was unsafe. I wore the same backpac...
At the moment I have a sport harness which is not ideal for trad climbing. I might buy a trad harness for outdoor climbing only, however I for the moment, I've been focused on Grivel Lynx and have ...
At the crag this weekend I noticed that my climbing partner's carabiner had a great feature: a red line painted such that you know the carabiner isn't locked until the red is hidden. I love this...
There are a few camping mugs with a carabiner handle. I wonder how it makes sense? I mean wouldn't it be more flexible to just take a separate carabiner with you? You would be able to use it for...
I'll be doing a guided tour which includes going up a steep slope on a glacier, therefore I need an ice axe. I could rent one for a couple of bucks from the tour organizers, but I was wondering if...
As far as I know canoeing is the generic term which contains e.g. canadians and kayaks. What do I have to look for as an absolute water sports beginner in terms of: costs knowledge (eskimo roll a...
What gear did John Muir actually take on long trips? I live in California these days, and around here we revere John Muir as a legend of the outdoors. But the legend seems larger than is possible....
I'm after a pair of binoculars for visiting Nature Reserves to get a better view of colonies of birds on the water (at some distance) etc. Separately I'm interested in aviation and being able to ...
You should obviously avoid rattlesnakes if at all possible. But if you do get bitten by one, what should you do? What supplies can be brought ahead of time to allow for the best treatment, and what...
I was wondering if whippet could be used as a trekking pole? Question arises from hiking on steep hills (no snow, dry grass), where any additional grip would be really helpful. I've read that most ...
Possible Duplicate: How do I treat hot spots and blisters when I have no moleskin? How do I treat a blister? How can I prevent getting them in the first place? I often get blisters in ...
I have a pair of Lowa Tibet Pro GTX (Nubuk leather and Gore-Tex Lined) and am wondering what conditioning creme I should use besides the stuff that Lowa sells as I generally like to buy from dedica...
I recently got my new Osprey Atmos 65, and I really want to attach some patches that I bought online. Will normal iron patches work or can I sew them on instead? Will it damage the backpack?
I've used one of the trail apps and was satisfied, but am looking for something better. What are the features I should focus on for selecting an app? What bells and whistles are really useful on t...
How do different ski characteristics relate to the skiing ability and snow conditions? Also how do these relate with ski durability in time? Ski characteristics: Front tip width Middle width Bac...
I am most interested in setting up a top rope anchor on 2 bolts side by side. I feel like in this case you almost have to be more careful using bolts for a top rope than sport climbing because in s...
We're planning to do a dayhike on a mountain almost two thousand meters above sea level (Mt. Tapulao). The trail is almost 20 kilometers to the summit, and me and my fellow hikers are pretty slow...
My down sleeping bag smelled like a wet dog after a damp night out. By reading this forum thread. I realized that it probably didn't dry enough after the trip. So I let it out at the air, and the ...
Most (if not all) the big rock climbing brands do manufacture their gear in China - carabiners, cams, slings, whatever. Now, I stumbled on this: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/Climbings/14...
Now that it is starting to get cold it is more difficult to use touchscreens while outdoors. I use both an iPhone and a Garmin GPS to geocache and both have touchscreens that require me to take my ...
How to make ice axe protectors yourself? I have few ideas from using duck tape to 3D printing, but it would be nice to hear about methods proven to work. The reason I want to add protectors is a ...
I have read several books about survival and outdoor field craft skills. Many of these books suggest building a survival kit out of an Altoids tin or something similar. These kits include very basi...
This dry bag comes with a valve and compression straps. I understand the purpose of the compression bag, but what is the purpose of a valve?
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 ...
I've generally seen two kinds of locks for adjustable trekking poles. Twist lock and clamp lock (Clamp lock is also called "lever lock" and "quick lock"). What are the comparative advantages and ...
My late husband died 7 years ago & I still have his gear. I'm not comfortable leading (and I've lost half my shoulder tendons anyway), so I won't use it. I think the ropes, etriers, etc shoul...
I was on a group trip this weekend where a fellow hiker brought an Esbit stove which uses hexamine fuel tabs. The temperature was not what I would consider extreme. Temperatures in the high 30s t...
I am considering getting a new air mattress for situations where I want to save weight. I already have a large comfortable one for when I drive to camping with a car. So I saw a system which cost...
Is this waterproof glue effective on Goretex? It mentions 'etceteras' in its label but does it stick Goretex to fabric? The stitching on my boot is ripped. I'm not considering sewing it becaus...
I'm looking to try out some hammock camping on our next trip to the wilderness, but I don't have any of the gear yet. I could buy it all, but as it's a trial run it might not make sense to pour a ...
I will be going to a series of 6 to 10 hours day hikes in Hokkaido, Japan. Some of these hikes are strenuous in effort, and involves different terrains. The weather should include some rain, but fo...
I was backpacking in Coyote Gulch, Utah this past week and ran into an issue with my 70 liter backpack. The entrance to the gulch through "Crack in the Wall" was a narrow "slot" entry, so the backp...
I'm heading up for some walking to Scotland soon. I will need to cross multiple rivers. I have no interest in crossing wearing my walking boots as so many people like to do as wet feet are the wo...
I have just got Grivel The Tech Machine Ice Axe. It comes with Ice blade by default. Mostly I am going to do Mix climbing on granite in Norway with Ice climbing occasionally. Do you recommend to g...
It seems like the back quiver has only disadvantages compared to a bow or side quiver. Yet many archers - including Byron Ferguson - choose to go with them. What advantages (besides looking aweso...
Several years ago, the Washington Post had an article titled This remarkable new exoskeleton slips on like a boot and makes your walking more efficient. Engineers at Carnegie Mellon University ...
In sport and trad climbing, a sit harness is widely used (except for children). However, I wondered if there is the possibility to fall out of it? One situation where I could see this happen is in...
My wrist watch has a barometer, measures atmospheric pressure in mb (millibar). What role does information about atmospheric pressure play from an outdoor perspective? Lets stick to caving, hikin...
I was reading all of the answers to Are there any situations while backpacking that would require a watch? and surprised at the number of answers that said you need a watch so you would know how lo...
One of my favorite things about backpacking is the absence of time constraints, you eat when hungry, sleep when tired and sort of track how much time is left until dark. Would there be any situati...
I have heard and hence used the term 'Mittens' for those that I use while rappelling. But, the ones that I use for bike-riding are referred as 'Gloves'. Is there a difference between Gloves and ...
Carabiners like this, are marked with the force rating. The one in this picture is rated, 20kn the long way 8kn the short way 5kn with the gate open Why are carabiners so much weaker when ...
I was just looking at a product my friend was bragging about, a headlamp with 2000 lumen intensity. When and why would I be needing such a powerful headlamp? I usually trek in jungles and forests ...
There are several manufacturers selling folding/collapsible poles, usually for hiking or splitboarding. Are they also suitable for cross-country skiing?
While Dyneema is in use for cordelettes for quite some time manufacturers started bringing long ropes made of dyneema on the market. The benefits are obvious: Less weight, less volume and no water ...
Every year or so I'll end up with plantar fasciitis after periods of time where I've walked a lot. In general my walking shoes are fine and have arch support but occasionally I'll need to use sturd...
Watching this youtube-video I asked myself if Ueli Steck is using some kind of regeneration creme. Most likely nobody will know for sure from the footage but I would be really interested what tric...
My hiking poles have started making an odd, springy noise with every step. The noise sounds like the poles themselves are vibrating each time I plant them into the ground, and it starts about an mi...
