General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I need a new mainsheet (the rope that controls the boom on the main sail) for my sunfish. Many of the online sailboat stores, are selling 8mm FSE Orion for the job. My local Hardware store does ...
For some time, I have been following both European and American long distance hikers and a few things stood out to me, gear wise, and I was curious if someone could shed some light on it. For examp...
I recently came across a gif file showing a gang of turkeys circling what appears to be a dead cat. It appears to be a structured formation as the turkeys are trotting at the same pace and spacing ...
On a hike a while back, I was going up the less favored side of a large hill. Due to recent geological activity, the hill side had sort of cracked/split creating a 5-10 foot wide pathway along the ...
My bindings are already adjusted to my shoes, what is not adjusted yet is the release setting. From what I can tell, the optimal release setting is fairly simple and depends on height, weight, age...
I am about to start a long backpacking trip through South America, and I would like to take as little weight as possible. I have the rest of my stuff more or less sorted out, but I am a bit at a lo...
I had been a regular climber half a decade back. And, then I got off the routine. Now I am trying to get back into climbing. For that, I go to a local climbing gym kind of thing managed by a frien...
I'm doing downhill (alpine) skiing on the piste. The slopes I'm on range from blue (easiest) to black (hardest). I have been taught something called "the basic position"? (described below) How do...
In this excellent answer to Ideal and Minimal Rope Diameter for Lead Climbing it is shown how the falling weight affects the drops a rope is expected to survive. This led me to the following ques...
Use Climbing rope double up as braided as 1.5" Gym Climbing rope. What type, diameter rope, No of Strands? Found these sample videos but curious to know what would be the best way to do this? h...
I've read that to take precautions in mountain lion country, people should hike and camp in groups. Does that mean solo-backpacking is not advisable in mountain lion country (Rocky Mountains in my...
Recently there was a news article about a Colorado jogger who was attacked by a mountain lion and killed the mountain lion with their hands (ie, no weapon). What are the effective ways, with no we...
I'm an international hitchhiker and I've never been sure what kind of shoes to buy. I do the vast majority of walking on roads, carrying 15kg or so. Sometimes I'll be off-road in the same shoes. I...
I resumed climbing a couple of months back after a gap of a couple of years. After spending a month of quality time at the wall regularly in order to get back in touch, I have started to try differ...
So I built my survival shelter and I decide a nice fire would really warm things up. Is there a way I can build a fire that would heat the shelter without too much smoke? I know I could make the sh...
A recent question about travelling with dried food where the recipe did not include salt caused the OP some concern. As far as I know salt just dries out food. So if you get the food completely d...
What wild edible plants can be found in southern and eastern China? I have combed through various search queries but keep finding information on North American flora. Are there any good resources...
There are a number of places where salt can easily be found at or near the surface. Notably Salt Lake Utah, but there are also other Salt lick places of note. How would I recognize a natural sa...
I was reading Desert Solitare by Edward Abbey, and in it, he mentions that he was using bull snakes (bull snakes are non-venomous) during his time as a park ranger to help control the mouse populat...
This video for Portable Soup (aka Pocket Soup) from James Townsend popped up in my feed. If you don't know (like I hadn't until I saw the video) Pocket Soup is basically a shelf-stable ultra-reduc...
Traditional marine advice says that, if one falls into cold water, it is better to stay still rather than try to swim (unless the shore is so close that you are absolutely able to make it) to exten...
I have a climbing rope (Maxim, 11mm) that I bought back around 2008-2009 (so it's about 10 years old now). It has never been used, it's been stored properly, and the sheath and core appear to be i...
Alpine slings are usually 60cm long and while they can be slung over one shoulder, it's much easier to carry them on your harness at 1/3 of the size in an alpine quickdraw. How would one shorten t...
I'm going to be winter camping, and I'm concerned about getting frostbite. What can I do to protect myself?
I often approach deer to see how near I can get and to watch them (just for fun - not to hunt). I take care for the wind and of course to be silent enough. What else should one consider stalking/...
I sometimes climb in the gym with a partner who outweighs me by about 50%. When he's leading and falls from above his protection, I can get pulled up to the first clip. If he's not very far up, thi...
Instead of taking a bearing the "official" way, why not just see what degree mark corresponds to on the direction I want to go (in real life or on a map), and follow that degree mark? That is, why ...
In a few months my fiance and I will be joining two friends camping. My friends chocolate labrador will be joining us for the weekend. My fiance and I, whilst both dog lovers, have no experience ca...
Given a mitten and a glove (made of the same materials, thickness, etc), is the mitten warmer than the glove? It seems to me that having all four fingers together in one area (vs separate fingers ...
Which is the best knot to use as a stopper in the upper & lower part of a beads T - Holes? Also which knot is preferable for the horizontal line?
I've got an optimus nova stove and there is a round 'wick' under the burner that gets fuel on it when you start the stove. What is this material?
I used to use a liquid hydrocarbon-fuel stove for backpacking, but I hated it, one of the main reasons being that the stove and/or fuel bottle were always leaking and stinking up my car and pack. M...
I want to know if it is better to use super glue to stable beads as stopper on the main line instead of rubber stoppers. Main line could be monofilament or fluorocarbon. Any help will be appreciate.
I have been piling up carabiners, cordelette loops, webbing, ATC devices, Gri-Gri, etc., and it is all now hanging from my harness. This adds a considerable amount of weight and becomes a bit unwie...
The crazy 34,000 hectare Waterton wildfire (more than 84,000 acres) appears to be slowing down a little, but already much of the landscape is scorched, and the flames are out in a lot of places. It...
I've heard various rumors that dogs might help keep bears away, or might be a bear attractant. Is there anything more concrete than anecdotal evidence to go on? From the companionship end, they ar...
I really want to go to the country of Georgia but don't have enough money to fly there. I had a genius idea and decided that I could hire a boat and get across the English channel to France, and th...
Having just bought my first pair of skis, I am unsure how to best stack them in the default side-by-side position in which they are alligned at the tip and at the tail ends. I thought the bindings'...
While researching a driving trip to Alaska, I came across an Alaskan motor law, 13 AAC 04.265. Antispray device (a) No person may drive a motor vehicle unless it has a device which effect...
I'm not used to multi-day hikes, and soon I will be going on a 5 day hike and I thought it would be a good idea to carry a folding knife this time just to be on the safe side. I won't be needing it...
The bird in this picture is mostly gray but has black and white stripes on the flank area. It also has a white head, red beak and red-rimmed eye. The head is outlined with a black stripe which goes...
I have a few items: FireSteel, Hatchet, etc. that have a small paracord size hole at the base. I was looking to add a length of paracord so I can easily loop it over branches, tentpoles, etc. Do an...
What are best methods for non-medically-trained personnel to remove a small cockroach from their own or someone else’s ear?
According to the Garmin website, the Garmin GPSmap 66 includes an SOS beacon: These devices include an LED flashlight and SOS beacon that can be used to signal for help. They are thin on deta...
When hiking for a long distance, my legs and lower body get used wonderfully. They become really strong, lean, and exactly what I want with my lower body in general. But one burns a lot of calorie...
The cold weather has finally hit the UK and once again I am tempted to buy something like Yaktrax Pro Ice Grips. For those of you not in the UK we get some snow each year (enough to make everythin...
I used to really enjoy climbing (almost all indoors). I was bouldering around V2-3 and leading at 5+. The mismatch was all down to fear of falling - I would repeatedly bail or fall from routes th...
I'm looking for a small or mini knife for when I don't have a normal sized knife with me. I don't need it for self-defense, but just for cutting things in normal day usage. What features should I ...
As I bought an ice axe from Russia some 10-15 years ago and cannot remember their ratings, I just wondered if somebody knew (or knew where to find) descriptions of the Russian ice axe test requirem...
If you notice a loss of pressure in an inflatable boat/dinghy while underway, how can you prevent or slow the loss? This is most important in full inflatables. Even if you are in shallow enough w...
