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Something that occurred to me after asking is that a Prusik is bidirectional, whereas generally the arborist's knots are unidirectional. I believe the unidirectional knots are easier to both slide...
Warm Your Core! One thing all climbers have in common, is a big poofy down jacket. Your fingers are only going to be as warm as your core is, so keep your core warm, and that nice warm blood will...
I live in New Mexico, and have done lots of hiking all over the state. Several things first. (1) In the northern part of New Mexico (anything north or, say, Socorro, the Forest Service campgrounds...
The biggest giveaway is that you can't follow them for very long before you encounter an obstacle. Usually it's branches hanging over the trail that you have to duck very low to get under. The trai...
It is illegal to wild camp in England outside of Dartmoor. A lot of our woodlands are privately owned. It maybe relaxed in places, as in, people get away with it, but you might find that harder dow...
What you witnessed was almost certainly mating. As this article from TheScientist explains, “Explosive breeding” is a common reproductive strategy among frog species. Males congregate near sour...
In addition to the other answers, I'd like to recommend BirdForum, a large online birding community. It's free to sign up, and they have a specific forum devoted to answering bird identification qu...
The DMM device you linked to is as far as I know the only product that has this name officially, but a dead man anchor is a general term for what is in mountaineering also called a t-slot anchor. I...
Kristin Hostetter on backpacker.com writes: I never pack a clothing item that doesn’t work within my layering system. Always bring long john bottoms for chilly nights, a pair of waterproof/brea...
The issue with the French Prusik being attached to the leg loop is less that the leg loop fails but more that of the distance between the prusik and the ATC. Obviously if they meet the French will ...
Learn their behaviors: many encounters become accidents because they escalate to that level in a way or the other. Learn that not all the bears are the same, different kind will act different...
I would generally agree with the "as few as possible approach", but would add that if it is a question of safety or avoiding lots of time wasted (which in turn may morph into a safety issue), then ...
A grizzly bear can climb a tree with relative ease if it has branches large enough for it to grab onto, but they can't climb trees like a black bear can, especially a larger grizzly, they're much m...
A few years ago I was walking in the woods in western Washington state (USA) the forest was Douglas fir, with undergrowth ranging between 2 and 10 feet high (1 - 3 meters). There was no trail. I w...
Three blade broadheads will leave a wider wound channel and thus a better chance for a kill as bow kills are usually blood loss. It can be argued that two blade gets better penetration but, in my ...
The question doesn't state what geographical area it's about, and it really isn't possible to give an answer that covers everything. In this answer, I'm only going to deal with pristine backcountry...
Dehydration will very quickly reduce your ability to undertake the activities required to survive and so finding and conserving water should be a very high priority in any survival situation. Cle...
I haven't tried this on woodsmoke creosote, but in general I've found that dishwasher powder or tablets do a much better job on organic gunk than standard dish soap. I would try dissolving a hefty ...
I would suggest sticking with a spinning reel with the caveat that if you're fishing for a bigger fish (>10 lbs) use a baitcasting reel. Benefits of spinning reel: simple to use can easily sw...
First off I had this same question Michael, How can a belay device used in "direct" or "Guide" mode not have a load rating. After all would you rappel from a figure 8 with out a load rating on it, ...
The Relevant Highway Data Source: National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), Quick Facts 2014: (VMT is vehicle miles travelled) Combining the data for 2014 for passenger cars ...
I've never had too much trouble with a double cuff - a velcro or (better) elastic inner cuff and a loose outer. In the worst conditions, an elasticated inner cuff under a goretex glove with long el...
While working outside in the rain and when wearing a rain jacket, I have two simple solutions for keeping as dry as possible when the weather is miserable. I do not wear wrist bands because I like ...
To put the upper limits into context 25kg comes up a lot in a military context and is often quoted as a standard combat load. For example 25kg is the load for the hill phase of British special forc...
Check out the website http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildcond.htm As of March 3, 2016, the website said this about General Conditions under the heading Wilderness Conditions Be prepare...
