Posts by Roddy
My kit is predominantly based on this article by Kath Wills of Llanberis MRT. HOW TO: Make A Mountain First Aid Kit The Israeli trauma compression bandage is a great bit of kit, but not recommend...
I can't answer the rest, but for here's my 2c worth for gloves. Layering : As with other clothes, layering gloves is worth doing. I'd try fairly thin liner gloves inside either mitts or a larger g...
When jackets get dirty and tired, they no longer 'bead' rainwater and will 'wet out' easier - This is when the outer layer becomes saturated with water. They should still be waterproof, because th...
Unless you're Yvon Chouinard, you're unlikely to achieve very much on your own. So the best thing is to support those organizations whose primary aim is to protect the mountain environment. In th...
They're absolutely NOT the same thing. The distance varies. But it's about 500 miles. (The North Pole: Location, Weather, Exploration … and Santa). Since its discovery in 1831, the magnetic No...
This map (and the Wikipedia article) will explain why you don't have a problem (in the UK, I'm guessing), but others do, elsewhere. In the UK, you can ignore it at the moment, but you need to und...
They shrink, apparently. For example, Beal's Precautions says: Before first use, soak the rope and leave to dry slowly. It will shrink by about 5%. Take this into account when calculating req...
Based on last Wednesday (May 16th) in the Carneddau (Snowdonia, N Wales), I'd be well prepared for temperatures below freezing at night in Scotland, even in May. I camped at Ffynnon Llyffant (at a...
There's a whole bunch of standard map and compass techniques you can use without a GPS. If you know your location before the fog came down, then you're not lost - you just can't see so far. Change...
I take a Primus EtaExpress stove with me when camping, and am slowing accumulating a collection of canisters with only around ~20% gas in them. With this little gas, they don't have enough pressur...
They are marked on OS 1:25K Explorer maps as "Byways open to all traffic". But it's a good idea to research your route beforehand as some (like the Monk's Trod) are now closed by traffic regulati...
IANAL, but... The riverbed is owned by the landowner (although the water isn't), so removing rocks (or any other item) from the riverbed is the same as removing them from anywhere else on the land...
For compasses, it will depend on the model. You can get globally balanced compasses like the Suunto M3 Global, but Silva compasses (probably the most common in Europe) tend to be balanced for the N...
I just looked at a typical UK "Pet First Aid Kit" here. http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/dog/dog-healthcare/dog-first-aid/first-aid-box-for-pets Contents are... Each pack contains 24 pi...
Liam's right that you can't/shouldn't overhydrate, but based on my experience it's easily possible to start the day under-hydrated. Maybe you're office-bound and don't drink enough water, or you'v...
Here's one study: http://www.eisberg.narod.ru/Ch17-ColdWaterImmersion.pdf And a couple of snippets, the first showing how water cools faster than air. In this test with 10degC water, subject's co...
As Rory says, low power consumption is vital, but that's likely not determined by the software, but rather by the hardware and - more importantly - how you use it. The three key things for me in S...
Hypothermia is likely the least of your problems after an involuntary dip into icy water. Drowning and cardiac arrest are the killers here. Read these, and maybe watch the videos. It's all good st...
One 'pro' of certain digital altimeters: Even without GPS they can do a surprisingly good job of distinguishing between changes of elevation and changes of 'atmospheric pressure'. This means that y...
When you think of the amount of wool we normally wear and use - and how it behaves - the only reason a wool garment would stink is that the wool hasn't been properly processed. This document is bit...
Too many layers => Sweating Sweating => Wet clothing (and plenty of it, here) Wet Clothing + Wind => Evaporative Cooling Evaporative Cooling => Cold Body Cold Body (and no dry layers l...
Whoever told you C1 are aimed at 'more advanced users' than C2 is plain wrong. Crampon grades are really about where and how you plan to use them, rather than how good you are. Here's a typically...
Popup tents are also known as 'festival' tents, and are frequently regarded as single-use disposable items! Shroptshire Star: Volunteers clear up V Festival debris - in pictures Most Vango te...
It Depends. Actually, it depends on pretty much everything: Weather, terrain, fitness, group size, and of course, how long a day is. It's better to think of 'How much can I do in an hour, and how...
Each scenario is probably different, so you'd likely make a plan on the hoof: How far are you from your previous 'checkpoint', and how far is it to the next? What time of day is it, etc... If the ...
