Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭

I would say it's not a question of too cold, tents don't add that much warmth. Tarps and a shovel can make some very nice shelters in the snow. The real limitation is blowing snow/rain and the wind...

posted 10y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭

For an extended trip, one of your problems will be the accumulation of moisture in your insulation. I would definitely get some kind of vapor barrier layer for your sleeping bag and at least try s...

posted 10y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by System‭

Back in the bad old days, people used chocks for protection. These chocks or aluminum wedges came in many different sizes and each size had a different diameter hole in it. You bought the cord and ...

posted 10y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by System‭

There is this informal study that suggests there isn't much difference between wet gear of any fabric: Cotton vs. Wool Insulation But it misses the point entirely. It's not getting wet that kills...

posted 10y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by System‭

The optimal skin track angle is a subject of much debate in the backcountry skiing world. There are generally two schools of thought on skin tracks. The steeper the better Slow and steady wins ...

posted 10y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by System‭

There are actual standards for this. If you are going somewhere where snow blindness is a real possibility, you should have sunglasses that meet the standard. The most common standard used in outdo...

posted 10y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by System‭

TL;DR - It will help, but it's no magic bullet. Spray on DWR like nikwax or granger's will help the water bead up for a while when applied to knit fabrics. But the garment will still wet out with...

posted 10y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭

I've hiked all over the USA and the general rule is that on public land, you can hike anywhere you want, unless there are specific rules for a given sensitive area. Generally these rules are poste...

posted 10y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by System‭

These are just my personal rules of thumb for WB gear care. It goes in the drier after every trip. If there is dirt on it, it gets rinsed first, but not washed. If it looks dirty after it comes...

posted 9y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭

The minute you have any doubt about it. There really is no other way to answer this question. There are so many different devices with different levels of mechanical complexity and different use ...

posted 9y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭

I think this is one of the biggest myths in outdoor gear. No insulation is "warm even when wet", the real difference is whether it's life threatening or just really unpleasant when wet. The usefu...

posted 8y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by System‭

My 2 Cents: Winter camping requires two pads, one inflatable and one foam. The reason for this is that not having any pad at all looses a lot of heat into the ground if you are camping on snow. E...

posted 6y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭

The reality is that if there is a trail, there will be human waste improperly deposited near that trail. Recent heavy rain will wash this waste into the stream. Also, stream beds are where gravity ...

posted 6y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭

I have had the best results "waterproofing" gloves using Snow Seal which is a wax like product. Putting the gloves in the dryer for a few minutes before you apply the wax seems to help in getting g...

posted 5y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭

Personally, I can easily see how this unintended loading can happen. Second gets to a tricky part, asks leader for beta, leader moves over to get a better view of second. This question is an ex...

posted 10y ago by Fred the Magic Wonder Dog‭