General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I picked up a couple fingerboards from the pro shop, and hung them on the rafters in our basement. However, I have no idea what the ropes are for, unless someone might tie the boards to a tree. Wha...
When resurfacing counter-tops, ceilings, etc. in marine vessels, what materials stand up the best to moisture, yet are manipulable enough without excessive tooling? This can be at many levels of d...
I use ropes to paint Silos. We use epoxy paint which invariably contaminates the ropes. Has there been any tests on these ropes for paint contamination
I have a diesel powered sailboat. What are effective ways to avoid microbial contamination of the diesel fuel? And what do you do if the fuel becomes contaminated? [This question originally asked ...
The Jet Boil Minimo is supposed to be an efficient cooking system that uses FluxRing technology: FluxRing® technology makes it possible to heat a conveniently shaped vessel with extremely high ...
Might not be a real question for The Great Outdoors.SE, but definitely a real question in our lives, at least mine. I understand, agree and believe in Leave No Trace philosophy. But, when we take...
From all the tents I saw, including the two I have, most of them had black floors. Sometimes, the older tents have differently colored floors, but all the new ones are all one color (usually bright...
For those of us out there that do not have friends/family members as adventurous as us or are few in numbers for our geographic region; we are forced to head online to find partners. For example, ...
I need some help planning a a hiking trip to CO. I have been on a couple of hiking trips and have grown up going into the mountains with my family but I have never been the one to plan a trip. I'm ...
I have done some miner kayaking and can barely roll but want to get into kayaking. I would mainly use it at the lake but I want a kayak I can also take down a river. I knew I didn't want a sit on t...
In mountaineering, the turnaround time is the point in time at which the party will turn around and head down the mountain regardless of how close to the summit. This is typically done to make cert...
Aversion to snakes, or at least a predisposition to strongly avoid snakes, appears to be deeply rooted at the genomic level in primates. See, for example, The Human Evolution Blog. Be warned, the...
What gear do I need to climb buildings? Can I use a suction cup lifters? Or is it a safety risk, since this piece of equipment was clearly not developed to climb buildings?
I'm planning to go to the Austrian Alps with my 6-year-old daughter in one week. We would like to go on Großer Priel, 2515 m. The plan is to go for three days (sleeping two nights in a tent on a sn...
TopHat has two roving points in its range. One is the Roving Crown... ... and the other is called Charly Point. They seem to have an identical concept but still the Crown costs three times a...
The easiest way up Half Dome is the cable route (rated Class 3), which looks like this. As six people have died on this route since it was put in place, and it looks really steep and scary, how ...
My town (Groton MA, USA) has 110 miles of trails open to the public, but virtually no signs helping people navigate at intersections in the woods. I am on the Trails Committee, and I'm pushing har...
I walk along Del Monte Beach in Crow City, USA (Monterey, California) quite often. It is not too rare to see dolphins frolicking (so it seems to me, although they may just be going about their bu...
I loved and appreciate the concept of Mountain Huts. Though I have never visited one, this really sounds appealing. In my country, India, we don't have Mountain Huts, so we have to manage it all on...
I have an older shotgun designed for lead shot, by law I can only fire steel shot. Can I fire steel shot, or do I need get a new shotgun? If I can use steel shot, what additional maintenance is r...
Here in Germany (and I think I can even speak for the majority of the EU) it's indeed quite common to bait game. I've recognized that this technique generally encounters critic on US media (blogs, ...
I like using small boats for duck hunting. I was recently given a sit-in two-seater kayak that I have painted and I am ready to take out on the marshes. Although I have used small canoes and the ...
I have been thinking of putting a sail on my canoe with will probably require the use of an outrigger. (related: Outrigger and/or leeboard when sailing a canoe?) I was thinking about using a secti...
While researching my answer at In a boat repair, what would cause Gelcoat not to harden? I learned about amine blush. Amine blush is a waxy layer that forms as most marine epoxies cure. It can be...
Humans differ in their food preferences. One person loves oysters, another can't stand them, etc. What about animals? Are there any rabbits that don't like carrots? Lions that don't care for zebra...
I have recently taken up bouldering/rock climbing to learn some rock climbing techniques and learn rope skills. In my research, I have come across two types of climbing: static and dynamic. Altho...
I'm curious as to the difference between an oar and a paddle. Does it have to do with shape, material, or size? Is it solely related to the type of vessel for which it's used? In other words, c...
I can hike uphill practically all day. However as very soon after I start a descent, pain builds on the outside of my knee. What is causing this and can I do anything to prevent/mitigate it (othe...
In 2014 I moved to Alaska. After a few days there I started feeling something crawling and flying around my head and neck area. At first I thought I was imagining things because it would only happ...
In Western Ghats, India where I hike, the grass grows tall in the monsoon season. It very well exceeds human height (taller than 7 feet). Last month on a hike the trail suddenly went into such gras...
Here's what I want to do, I want to camp (pitch a tent and go hiking) but I don't want to stay too far away from Los Angeles, and I want to camp in a place with a toilet and maybe a shower, I might...
First: I am not a sailor. Sail boats usually have a lot of lines, block, cleats, jams, travelers and what not on their decks to control the boat and sail system. This looks like a cluttering mess o...
I want to screw a board in my house to mount indoor climbing holds, like an indoor wall. so a piece of board with evenly spaced screw holes in it that accept the standard screw mounts for climbing ...
I want to test a shrinking tube as my arrow winding. Commonly I've used the normal yarn and glue combination. However, I wonder how to apply enough heat (at least 120 ° C) to the tube without d...
Obviously cross/back-country skis can be damaged by skiing over things like rocks, stones, gravel and asphalt. What about other, softer objects exposed when the snow starts to melt, like sticks, ro...
I want to be able to commute part way to school via skiing, but can't carry around full length skis all day. Has anyone heard of or used a good pair of compact cross country skis?
I currently own the most basic closed cell sleeping pad that one could buy. I'd like to upgrade to a better self inflating pad. I've narrowed it down to about two options: REI AirRail 1.5 REI Trek...
Is there any method for making the initial stages of an abseil smoother when the anchor in use is at foot level and the ledge drops off abruptly. I have had a big swing before when trying to do thi...
I have been mountaineering for about four years now and one of the things I have learned is how important a good knife really is. A knife that is sharp, durable, and can take a beating can make a ...
While climbing Killi (Mount Kilimanjaro), we were reminded to drink constantly until we reach the summit. I noticed that when I did stop and take some sips of water on the final push, I initially ...
I'm a big fan of ultralight hiking. One of the more creative aspects of not taking much on the trail is personal hygiene. My hygiene kit consists of: Toothbrush & toothpaste Dr. Bronner's so...
I'm looking to use a piece of paracord as a ridge/sag line in my hammock setup, to do this I want to be able to tie the two ends together in a fashion that will allow me to alter the length of the ...
I went for a few hikes in Gran Canaria. The trails were perfectly signposted and everything. My beautiful experience was a little bit disturbed by the sheer amount of stone piles everywhere. You co...
There is a crack about 12 inches (30cm) long on the edge of my Sunfish sailboat. I am not sure if the crack is all the way through the fiberglass, or just the gel coat. It is on the corner betwee...
I have a 20cm long, 2mm wide, 1mm deep gouge in the Fishscale portion of a cross country ski. How would I repair this scratch? Some have suggested Ptex will just burn into it too aggressively, othe...
This question may seem obvious — but is a national forest always a forest? In Norway, statskog — which quite literally means national forest — is a state agency owning forest land, but also vast am...
One of my dream climbs is to climb Snake Dike on Half Dome at night with a full moon. Are there any special considerations for rock climbing at night beyond bringing headlamps and extra batteries...
I have bought a ultralight travel hammock and now I need to buy a rope to hang it. My weight is about 200 pounds (90 kg) and I want to have the lightest ropes to support my weight, but I'm confused...
What if it's night and you want to find north? How do you locate the North Star in the night sky?
Someone told me that you should treat a snake bite (in the wilderness) by cutting a X in the skin (with a knife) and sucking the stuff out of it. This sounds a little weird to me. Is this really a ...
