Activity for Monster‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Answer	—	A: What should I consider when planning my first multiple-day hiking trip on hills? Normally when people ask about their wild plans I tell them to be cautious and to build up to it. But your plan sounds pretty fun. Things to consider: Weigh your backpack, keep it below 15 kg if at all possible. An idea could be to plan your route to include shopping stops just before making camp. ... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Drinking surface water heuristics In general: the smaller and steeper the stream the better. The two main things you don't want to have upstream from your drinking spot are still water, which is a breeding ground for insects and insect borne diseases, and feces, which can be dropped anywhere but is less likely to be present the small... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to join 2 cables together with fishing line without putting knot in cable? If tape is not an option and it has to be fishing line I'd recommend some version of the round lashing, or steigersjorring in my native Dutch. It's normally used to connect wooden poles, for instance to use them in a tower higher than the longest pole. The version I think would form the strongest con... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to avoid getting wet when exiting a canoe onto shore? What kind of environment is the trip in? If you can find straight shores designed for mooring boats getting in and out dry should not be a problem. If the shores are all shallow and beach like the simplest solution would be to bring some rubber boots that can get wet. It you can give any more detail... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are some common mistakes to avoid when trying winter camping for the first time? If you have the luxury, take a bunch of stuff you're not sure you'll need. A winter hat can be great for sleeping, especially if that bag is not a mummy. An extra fleece blanket is very nice, or even just a big dry towell if nothing else is available. A warm sweater that's not getting wet during the ... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is bear spray effective against other animals? The other answers sum it up great for the most part: it will work on other mammals if you have a chance to use it. It's pretty strong stuff, and while I could imagine something like a bull elephant in musth shrugging it off, in general it will work. It will not work on birds though, as many a mailma... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the difference between a Canoe and a Kayak? The general answer is: A canoe is a boat designed or refitted to be paddled with a one sided paddle, usually while sitting on either a raised bench or one or both of your knees. A kayak is a boat designed or refitted to be paddled with a two sided paddle, usually while sitting on a seat on the floor ... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Are there any natural materials found in the wild that can be used as an effective sunscreen? As you said yourself: mud. Or cotton as Gabriel answered, or wood, or leaves, or bark, or anything that stops light from reaching your skin. Is there any natural material that without any processing can be applied as a cream, is nearly invisible in the visible spectrum yet stops much of the UV-rays? ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do you safely cut wood with a knife? If you want to do axe or machete work with a knife bring a big fixed blader, like the ones made by Ka-bar, Glock or (as a sort of lower limit on the size and weight) Mora, to name a few. Folding knives are typically not up to the abuse, and if you have one that is up to it you can get so many more ye... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are the trade offs between kayak and canoe for solo multiday trips? A kayak has the general advantage that with practice when tipped over one can roll back up. For this reason I'd say it's preferable. However, even with this advantage, if you're planning to go onto a lake far from the shore alone you will probably want to learn how to get yourself back into a boat i... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are the pros and cons of plastic and aluminim vs wood vs composite paddles for canoeing? I went back to plastic and aluminum, because I kept breaking carbon and fiberglass (with carbon shaft) paddles, but by far most whitewater paddlers prefer either of those options. They're super light and super stiff, giving maximum power for minimum effort. Carbon is a little lighter than fiberglass ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Criteria for putting up a tent in morning or evening shade Most people on vacation spend their afternoons and evenings outside their tent, going to sleep after dark, but they get up when it's already light. So evening shade doesn't really matter, but morning shade buys them maybe as much as an hour of sleep. Tents in sunlight get hot fast. For the typical sc... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Bear spray vs. rifles against polar bears? A difference on the side of the rifle would be that polar bears live in more open environments, so they're easier to see coming. A difference on the pepper spray side could be that these open plains can be windy, limiting the range and precision of the spray. So I figure the different approach might ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are good designs for volunteer-buildable trail bridges? If you want to go really basic: use two logs, maybe 15-20 cm/6-8 inch across each, and tie them together with a number (>=2) of (large, heavy duty) cable ties. Dig the ends into the ground a bit to prevent high water from carrying them off. Even under relatively difficult conditions the bridge can be... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do you know if smaller brands of climbing equipment are safe? As a final addition to the other answers: Google really can be your friend. See if any reviews or blog posts about the brand's material are available, and pay particular note to anything by pros. They may be sponsored, but they're not going to use equipment that seems unsafe to them. (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to measure combined clothing and sunscreen? Purely theoretical (in practice sunscreen isn't as strong as it says on the bottle to begin with) you multiply it. If 1/3rd of the UV photons make it through the first layer, and of those that made it through 1/5th get through the second layer as well, then 1/15th of the original photons made it thr... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are the steps you would go through to teach someone how to split logs? I've taught boy and girl scouts how to chop for some years, so I'm going to treat you as one of those. I'm also going to assume you've never worked with any kind of axe (or ax, I'm going to use the Brittish spelling because I wrote most of this before I found out there's a difference) before so I can... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How dangerous is swimming fully dressed in cotton/denim clothes? With cotton clothing the main risk is hypothermia, cotton soaks up a lot of water but also easily exchanges water easily with a wet environment, it's one of the coldest things to wear when wet. Wearing nothing is colder, but that's mostly true as long as you stay wet. Nothing dries a lot quicker than... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What material is a good alternative to neoprene? Fleece dries fast, and fleece is relatively warm while wet. It's probably the best you're going to get in normal clothing materials. But it's not an alternative to a wetsuit or drysuit, more of a "I'm going hiking with a light jacket in autumn" option, or an addition for below a wetsuit. If that's wh... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are the advantages and disadvantages of a paracord knife handle? In addition to the other answers some of these knives are meant to have a use as a spearhead. You use the cord to tie the metal handle to a stick or split the stick a little, stick the handle in between and tie it closed. For this use these knives are arguably a lot better than anything with a decent... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Are there any tips for preventing a vehicle from being broken into while parked at a trailhead? There are already loads of good tips here as I add this, but I'm missing one in particular: if you have to leave electronics behind (for some reason you can't leave them at home, like maybe you're doing the hike on your way somewhere), in particular larger items like a laptop, shut the device down (o... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Kayak for fishing and low class rapids? The type of boat you're describing here is called a crossover kayak. Some models include the Pyranha Fusion, the Dagger Katana, the Jackson Karma RG and the Liquidlogic Stinger XP. For models with different sizes: at your size you will be looking at the largest version in most lineups. You'll fit in ... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Shooting into tree As a general rule I don't think you should fire .50 cal rifle rounds at any object you'd like to keep intact. They tend to be rather destructive. As for exactly how bad it was, try inspecting the tree. Did the shots go through a solid target first, or was this a paper target/did they miss the target... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is there a website with current river water levels for Arizona/Utah? RiverApp (riverapp.net) has a pretty good selection of paddlable rivers across both Europe and the States. The data is all just coming from the separate national services, but it's nice to have them in one place. Popular runs sometimes even have useful notes on recent hazards attached from other user... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Ice skating on a frozen lake -- how thick should the ice be? (I'm going to be using cm for this piece because they're more precise and because I'm used to them, imperial readers just keep in mind an inch is close to 2.5 cm.) It depends heavily on all sorts of other circumstances. 4 or 5 cm can be enough. But it's probably not enough is there are a lot of peop... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I use horsetail as a "indicator plant" to find gold while gold pannig? The gold you find while panning didn't originate locally. It came from a gold vein in a rock somewhere but was eroded to tiny particles, carried off with a water current and deposited somewhere where the current becomes weaker. If you see horsetail growing you've found an area where there is water an... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Can I shoot a bear in self-defense? The TL;DR answer: Yes. You can always kill in self defense if your life is in serious danger from the animal or even person you're shooting, e.g. if you have good reason to believe they are trying to kill you (for instance because they're a bear and they're charging) in any jurisdiction I know of. I... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Why can I hear such long distances in the mountains? Even barring special circumstances like focal points and such you can in general hear sounds from further away in the mountains. Reason one is all the air between two points. On flat ground there is often lots of sound absorbing stuff near the path of the sound, like soil and plants. Open air carries... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How does one steer a two-person kayak? It's hard to give paddling advice without seeing someone paddle, but from your description it sounds like the person in front is actively doing the wrong thing, and quite strongly so because the person in the rear position should have much more control over the boat than the one in front. The most l... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What types of kayaks are suitable for occasional class 1 and 2 rapids While class 2 rapids are widely regarded beginner level, they are challenging to beginners. If you have no experience with them, as the question suggests, I would recommend you: Don't paddle them alone. Even going together with other beginners is still quite risky, as they can't help you, so they do... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I distinguish a dirt floor in a cave from a floor formed of very old coprolites? No, there are no risks, assuming you're asking abput biohazards. This is poop so old it has petrified, become stone and/or sand. The only microorganisms that actively live in there are ones that can also live in other types of sand. There are some forms of bacterial and probably fungal spores that ca... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the purpose of a valve on a dry bag? Letting the air out while you're closing/compressing the bag, looks like. It's probably more of a risk than a benefit in general, but could be worth considering if you need to pack tight around hard objects or edges, like having gear for a multi day trip inside a kayak. Alternatively, you could use... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What would be a good knot to tie a clothesline to a tree? The timber hitch works wel for tying the line to larger trees, the clove hitch is fine for any thin poles. (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How rapidly (or slowly) is work progressing on "consumer" exoskeletons for baby boomers to extend their hiking and backpacking years? It's always risky to make this sort of predictions, I have no insider knowledge on the industry and I think this is going to depend heavily on your budget, but I'd spitball it at twenty years for the first ones being widely commercially available, minus ten or plus another twenty years. Yes, that is... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do choices in design of a paddle-craft influence its handling characteristics? Since there is a great general answer already, I'll add one from my experience with white water kayaks. Length: Longer boats have a higher hull speed. When moving at more than the hull speed relative to the water you'll start creating waves, wasting energy. Shorter boats turn faster, and have less p... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the best rope to have in a survival situation? I think first you need to know what you want to do with it. I'd put rope into three main categories based on thickness: disposable rope, like thin sisal, medium general purpose rope with a breaking strength of a few hundred kg, and climbing rope, which is generally rated for breaking at 2000 kg, or 2... (more)	—	over 7 years ago