Activity for Erik vanDoren‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Answer	—	A: Eye safety when starting a fire with a magnifying glass Use your finger. Equally to using your finger to cover the sun when trying to spot something in the sky you can use the principle to cover the bright spot. You will be closing one eye and putting the finger between your eye and the bright spot to cover it just enough to not bother you I used tha... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to get mould out of rucksack? Sun will help, you can leave it in the sun taking care the whole affected area gets direct sun then, still outside, brush off all that is possible with a stiff brush. After that you can proceed to a proper wash. For the wash you can use oxygen bleach, it will have a better outcome than regular bleach... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How much gelcoat should I remove before redoing the entire hull? Talking of brushing coats make things a bit difficult because you can apply thick or thin depending on your "hand" and if sanding is required, which could mean even 4 coats, you have some coarse sandpaper scratches to fill. Quality is also a factor in amount of solids, some cover little. You are tryi... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is amine blush only a concern with new/ongoing epoxy repairs? Amine blush is something you will have to deal only on new repair. In old and exposed repairs the blushing would likely be long gone. Basically amine blush is salts of amine carbonate, they will combine with CO2 and air moisture to form hydrates of amine carbonate. They are a result of the curing p... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How is underdeck rigging done? Not everything needs to be located underdeck, often some hardware is semi-sunk in the deck, or grouped at a navigation/manoeuvring location on the boat. This can make it less visible. Even in more conventional non-luxury sailboats the fact that everything is neatly routed along the deck helps in redu... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I keep a water-proof barrel dry for use in a canoe? Always inspect the seal, the closing ring and the barrel lip when buying used barrels, some are pristine and other have been somewhat abused. In certain cases the seal might look good but, from factory or if a bit old, doesn't apply enough pressure on the barrel lip or the metal ring wedge shape is a... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What to look for in Marine Grade Expanding Foams The foam is a quick way to securely glue and fill the gap between block and hull without going to heavier products. All the expanding foams will eventually degrade and in practice you could get plenty of years of service from any expanding foam. There are a lot of different kind of formulation and av... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do you get back in canoe, by yourself? There isn't only one method, there are a few. Partially the choice depends on which canoe you have (big and wide, very stable or tippy, or a small solo) and if its calm water or not. What you can do with a big canoe might need some tweaks when it comes to some small solo and a canoe with good seconda... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How should latex socks be fitted to a drysuit? The sock would have been glued in there, yes. In service the socks and the wrist seals would have been replaced often as they didn't last long. Now you can glue either booties, the latex socks or just an ankle seal. (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: I shoot horribly at archery tournaments - what can I do about it? Its something that happens in every sport. Generally target shooting the mantra is: bad day, drop everything for awhile, go get a beer, chitchat, help others in the club or simply call it the day. The worst thing one can do is fussing on a bad shot, and after that it becomes fussing about fussing on ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to walk on the hot beach or rather hot sand? Well, it seems that everyone goes with either walk on the wet sand or protect your feet... However, I've done this in the past since I was a kid (overtime you get used to the hot sand): the really hot sand is just the thin top layer, just underneath is warm, so one way is to dig your foot, a little l... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Should I eat when I don't have anything to drink in a survival situations? I think the problem is the generalization. It depends on the food. Watermelon is surely not comparable to trail mix. Also I have my doubts about the idea that berries are a problem and a mash to squeeze out the water is better than eating them because of the skins and seeds... that makes no sense. Th... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How should I clean epoxy out of the insert that goes in an arrow shaft? Heating can help, but you have to be careful, infact an "insert removal tool" is basically a brass bolt as tip of a soldering iron. However if you have a soldering iron with bent needle tip for electronics you will be able to work it only where you need running into the threads, you will clean it bu... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Downsides of a bullet point for 3D archery They didnt give you any reason for that suggestion? Sometimes depends on clubs, one club I was member of years ago was extremely fussy about which were allowed and which not. There is a difference in aerodynamics but at the end it comes down to the target: the intent is to reduce damage to it. The f... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I stop my scuba mask from pulling away from my face after equalizing? Its a bit hard to give a proper answer as you are at the beginning so the reasons it happens might be a few different ones Since from other information in the comments you say that this happened during the pool sessions of your course and you are not certified yet, I don't think is ok giving you too... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Handling IT-Band Syndrome when hiking As general rule a physical assessment is necessary as it can be the result of compensation for other problems (flat feet or hyperlordosis for example, just to name a couple). The treatment involves stretching the Iliotibial Band itself (eventual thickening cant be reduced that way but the ITB is atta... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are the markings on the Grouse Grind? The trail is divided in quarters marked by signs (still more about elevation than actual distance) and the elevation is signed in 40s increments (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to get rid of RV awning/canopy stink? For marine covers there are some cleaning products made on purpose that you could use on the awning too. The DIY route consists in solutions of bleach+water or ammonia+water that tend to be nasty to deal with and dispose of (cant just let them on the ground), they do work. Peroxide is another soluti... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: V-chamber vs trapezoid construction The answer to "it is considered in the temperature rating" can be yes, no and maybe... Really it depends on the manufacturer and how they test it. It also depends where the manufacturer market is: in some part of the world there are some standards and in others there aren't. One of the ways to find ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What attributes does a good reliable beginner kayak have? Can you specify you don't look for a whitewater kayak? Other than that the use you will do, and expect of doing in the future, of the kayak will be a big part of your choice: a little calm inland lake and sea will call for two different kayaks. My suggestion to beginners is always to try as many as ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Travel trailer with pets during a tornado Trailers can be literally thrown around by a tornado, even high straight winds can be a concern, under it is not a safe place. Usually the idea is to know when they come and move out well before they hit: you, family, pets... these are the important things, the rest is replaceable so don't waste ti... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Starting a Fire with a Battery - what are the fundamental guidelines for safety and efficacy? As principle behind this think about your old light bulb. One emergency method of lighting a fire used to be to break the glass of the light bulb in your flashlight and burn the filament, no more no less than the way its done with a strand of steel wool for example. Now, when you put the filament bet... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can one tiller a bow without a tillering tree or similar wooden device? Back when I learned to build my own bows a guy in the club I belonged to used just a ledge and a baggie of lead weights (tire balancing stuff). I suppose you could reproduce it "in the wild" hanging from a branch and a bag of stones. However that guy was an expert that forgot more than I'll ever know... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Can a 'Flameless ration heater' be used to safely start a fire? Yes you can. Well... sort of. You can open the bag and use the magnesium powder (its a mixture really) inside as fire starter (think the classic old photography flash kind of effect but much much less violent and spectacular as that mixture would be a slow burning one) or you can light the hydrogen ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What do life jacket ratings mean (Type I, Type II, etc)? Given you mention "type x" I guess you are referring yourself to the US classification. In other countries (like Canada or Europe) classification, requirement and approval is different. So, for The USA, they vary in terms of application and buoyancy. Type 1 has about 22lbs (100N) of buoyancy and it... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What causes these shallow indentations in cheek of axe head? Looks like scaling to me, the way scaling is dealt with when forging depends a bit on the composition of the metal and the heat that is used (lots of heat=lots of scaling, you can eat away a lot of the material just in scaling if you work too hot). Normally after you acquire practice working scaling ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Preparing rice and mashed potatoes with warm instead of cooking water Keep in mind that any water you are cooking with is still liquids you are intaking. A pantry full of dehydrated food is an awesome weightsaver in places were you always have water available but in a dry place you need to carry it with you. Efficiency-wise, I personally found the scout kelly-kettle ty... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it safe to add boiling water to Mylar? Apparently there are various grades of Mylar pouches (one of the companies I work with switched from bags from some Asian seller to a marginally more expensive North-American company because the first one did not have any explicit certification as food grade, even if they don't pack food in them). T... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Are the seagulls begging or contentedly sighing? The sound you are referring to is probably a plaintive call used to attract attention (of a mate or from the little ones to the parents for feeding) it might just be them wanting to be fed. You can find a better explanation with sound samples here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/HerringGull/soun... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Does a life-straw replace my water while hiking? Lets say you planned well all your hikes and you know you will have constant availability of water all along the route then you could rely only on the Lifestraw. That said even for the best planned hike you can find that a seasonal source is not available in that particular moment or that some source... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Can I use a blue plastic tarp to float my vehicle across water? The whole thing comes down to weight, if your setup can displace more than its weight then it will float, those jeeps were made to be very light. You could be in the situation where your "wrapped car" could float but its so deep in the water you wont be able to move it anywhere (or you would need an ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to transport diving knives / shears? It really depends on locations so if you are traveling make a point to check. Your local club should be able to give you all the info for your area and abroad if they organize group dives in other countries, otherwise just contact the destination dive club (and keep in mind that in some places the si... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can the attitude that one is a guest in black bear country prevent hassles with bears? 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 differently. As general rule they don't want trouble as much as you don't. Knowing how they act, what th... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What exactly is meant by the diameter of an arrowhead point? It's the big part of the point. You match it to the diameter of the shaft (or widest part of the insert or shaft reinforcement). If you get a diameter much larger than the shaft it can bug you when you go pulling the arrows from the target (depending on the type of target you use). With my crossbow b... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Will Black Bears actually follow you up a tree They are faster and can climb better than you, so if they want you they can get you. They rarely see you as real prey so they might not climb a tree to get at you, still... its a risk In this video you can see a bear climbing a tree where two hunters are. At first it looks like it could be the same ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What should I do when in an unintentional contact with a bear? It kind of depends on which bear, black bears are one thing and brown bears another. And lets say that you have actually taken all the precautions to not attract a bear in your camp in first place, a bear wont be going through your pack in search of your iPod. First be aware of your surroundings whe... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What do you call a long-handled hatchet? try to look for a "hunter's hatchet/axe" or a "forest hatchet/axe". Its easier if you can just look at catalogs of manufacturers like Gransfors and get an idea of what you want as often you can find the name hatchet and axe used interchangeably in some sale catalogs, manufacturers are more precise. G... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are good indicators of hail approaching? In order to distinguish hail from a thunderstorm you should know how the temperature is decreasing with altitude. Generally if it decreases really fast you have formation of hail. (Edit: you mentioned dew point, this is where condensation of warm hair happens, freezing level is not the same thing and... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I prevent myself from getting pumped when climbing? I don't do any climbing but, as therapist, one suggestion I would give to you is cold rinses, (edit: cold if you do things yourself, to be conservative, a therapist would use ice, unless you know how to use it properly limit things to cool or cold) between if possible and after. A rinse wont cool you... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Any reason to carry a mug outside of the backpack? I was taught since I was a kid to make noise while hiking, tends to keep animals away from you, snakes were I was and bears where I live now. Later I learned that whistling or a bear bell are also useful to warn hunters you're around. Whenever I saw people with the mug hanging outside their pack I al... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do PADI and SSI qualifications match up? Im certified SSI and my gf is certified PADI, from what i understood in term of qualifications the SSI AOWD differs from PADI AOWD in the experience needed to access them. While PADI lets you go on to AOWD from OWD without other experience SSI requires that you gained a few specialties and a certain ... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago