Posts by Tullochgorum
The examples on the site only show inshore sports sailing with a hydrofoil. This does look like fun, and downwind performance can be exceptional. Though I doubt that inshore fleet racing would be p...
There's cheap and there's too cheap! Remember - this is a tool you may be trusting with your life... For any kind of serious navigation you need a baseplate compass rather than the button type in ...
I was camping at around 1500m in the Italian Alps, and around midnight I heard howling that sounded very much like a wolf. I know there are wolves in the area (a friend of mine was lucky enough to...
There are a lot of variables here so you won't get a hard-and-fast response. It will depend on the stiffness and construction of the boot, your usage, the amount that you sweat, the terrain and th...
What I've learned in half-a-century of camping... First, don't get too stressed out - in most developed countries theft is rare. Don't let your concerns spoil your holiday! (But be sensible - the...
A through-hike of the E4 would be a major undertaking, at over 10,000k / 6,500 miles. Unless you're a very powerful walker it's going to take you at least 2 years. A section hike would take many ye...
All conventional backpacks are unbalanced Here's the problem with conventional backpacks - they are inherently unbalanced. So once you are carrying any kind of non-trivial weight, you have to lean...
It's great that you're being so supportive, but there's a limit to what you can do to help. Thru-hiking is all about self-reliance, so your mother really has to develop her own skills and mental re...
Well, this article in National Geographic provides a clue - a number of key areas on the face have become unstable, and a large rockfall has destroyed a section of the Normal Northwest Face. Doesn...
You pretty much answer your own question. Snow skirts are primarily used on 4 season tents designed for high altitude or arctic conditions. The idea is that you pile snow on the skirt to seal the ...
As you probably know, there is an industry standard for measuring the thermal effectiveness of sleeping pads known as the R-Value. It's not the most realistic of tests, but it's better than nothing...
This is from the well known trekker Andrew Skurka, who did an East/West traverse that would cross similar terrain to your proposed route. Question: I have asked around and everywhere I hear th...
I think you're going to have problems with camping. The age of responsibility in Italian law is 18 years. I've looked at the terms and conditions of a number of campsites, and they all say that e...
I've done a lot of night-walking in a wide range of conditions. I don't think there's any inherent difference between daytime and nighttime navigation - if your daytime skills are solid you shouldn...
Given the cost of down bags, it should be worth the effort to revive it. Here are the key issues: HOW BADLY IS IT DAMAGED? How good is the down? I've been told by an industry insider that soft ...
A key part of the answer is to wear socks that dry more quickly. Most of my life I've never really questioned the superiority of Merino loop socks such as the SmartWool PHDs. But I've begun to rea...
Stretch target: 10 days of GPS between charging points with minimal additional weight I'm planning some long on-trail thru-hikes where digital mapping would be much lighter and more practical. But...
I live by Dartmoor and walk there regularly (in fact I was up there earlier today). The moor carries a significant stock of sheep, cattle and ponies. I've heard of tests that found much of the wat...
Down is a natural product, so fill quality, odour and durability can vary quite markedly within a species depending on the breed, age and condition of the bird. Practical performance is also stro...
Fastpacking is lightweight or ultralight mountain travel with the aim of covering big distances over extended trips. Base weights would typically range between 8lbs-15lbs (3.5-7kg) or even less, so...
The problem you've got is that most of the larger brands are batch manufacturing in China or Vietnam. They bring the product over complete and don't hold spares of items such as flys and inners. I...
As others suggest, it's almost certainly best to go with a backpack style kid-carrier. One option you might not know about is the Aarn Universal Balance Bag which attaches to your pack. http://w...
The only answer is to go to a store and try on the sack for real. Take your actual gear to try with it, and use your normal packing technique. Try to choose a store with a trained fitter. Then tak...
Is there really such a clear dichotomy between open tarps and enclosed tents? The OP implies that open tarps offer a qualitatively different and superior experience to enclosed tents. My response ...
I live on the edge of Dartmoor and have some hands-on experience of letterboxing. What is letterboxing? It was reportedly started by James Perrott, a Dartmoor guide who placed a bottle for visito...
