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I have always been under the impression that cotton is the enemy of a hiker - it absorbs moisture and just becomes a horrible wet casing around you, transferring away all the heat. I was therefore...
My feet were frostbite, so I put my feet in hot water when I got home. Ice was forming in my shoe. After I put my feet in the water they puffed up A LOT, they were badly swollen!!! Should I get med...
I'm trekking up the Kilimanjaro and planned on using my sleeping bag which is rated for -10 / +10 with an extreme at -17 degree Celsius. I read that temperatures may plunge down to -25° at the very...
I'm currently in a French overseas territory, and almost all of the dive centres and clubs here use the CMAS system. Whenever I've booked in for a dive, the dive centre has looked at my PADI qualif...
I believe, many of us may have set this theme of mountains on gmail. Did anybody care to know what mountain is it?
When on extended outdoor excursions are there any scenarios where you can leverage urine as an efficient tool? An example would be: You're in your sleeping bag in a tent and it's -30*C outside, yo...
I've got a pretty good understanding of how GoreTex works. I understand that the outside chemical coating effectivly holds water off the outer layer (using little chemical spikes). But I can't q...
If you're on a multi pitch route and you decide to abandon the climb and retreat(say the weather has turned unexpectedly). What is the minimum amount of gear you should leave behind as a rope ancho...
Is sandpapering your finger tips an effective way to improve anything about your rock climbing? On occasion, I will see climbers in YouTube videos or people at the local crag using sandpaper on th...
How would I go about taking a compass bearing of a distant peak and then relate this to the information on a standard map?
In many of the mountaineering expedition books that I've read, there are references to cutting of snow steps on slopes. What is the advantage of cutting snow steps? Why not use crampons and do a ...
Now that I've been using my khukri for a couple of months, the surface is getting rather stained by plant sap. I've tried rubbing it with a piece of cloth and ash but the stains just refuse to disa...
I am an avid snowboarder and I have noticed that socks made of merino wool are incredibly good at wicking away moisture while keeping my feet warm. However, I was wondering about other textiles tha...
Very recently I had been to a climb where I learnt about an alternate route that requires a huge crack to be climbed. It is of about a 100-120 ft roughly. Though I have experience in climbing open...
If I understand wind-chill (which I probably don't), the air feels colder because your body doesn't have as much time to heat the air as it passes by. But in that case it seems like there should b...
In a Ray Mears BBC Demo, The Importance of the Sago Tree, he travels to Seram in Indonesia and witnesses the natives using Sago leaves to create this really cool pot at 2:40: The Nuaulu tribesma...
I am looking for a new fishing rod and reel (combo ideally) but prefer to support non-asian made products. Is there a European manufacturer of fishing rods/reels that doesn't outsource everything t...
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?
We are going to descend some snow-covered glacier on skis while roped-up. If my partner falls into a crack, and I stopped him (i.e. didn't get dragged down there), what should we do next? Assumin...
I just bought a new sleeping bag online and it came in a large draw cord bag and there was also a small stuff sack in the package. What is the point of the large draw cord bag?
I have never used a Mummy type sleeping bag, rather I have hardly used a sleeping bag. I am afraid, I am more of a carry-mat, sleeping-pad and a blanket guy. It never occurred to my mind that What...
I posted this on travel.stackexchange.com originally, but it was recommended that I post here as well. Let me know if the question is off-topic and I'll remove it. I am visiting Kauai shortly and ...
I sweat a great deal when I sleep. When it's really warm outside at night I just keep my bag unzipped and there's no problem. However, when it starts to get cold and I have to zip my bag up, I soon...
We've all been on hikes that pass close by a good lookout. A rock or ledge sticking out with a good view. Sometimes these are heavily maintained by park rangers, but often not. If I'm on a tra...
I am looking for sustainable alternatives for carrying out human waste. WAG bags, though convenient, sadly have to end up in land-fills. I am looking for a system where the non-biodegrading compone...
