Posts by bmike
Only in contrived or extreme examples does wearing less clothing about your body in fact make you warmer when camping. The areas where I might consider it warmer to not wear clothing inside a slee...
When I'm home running or on a day hike, I prefer to pierce the skin as soon as a blister forms and drain all fluid from a blister to reduce the pain and further irritation/inflammation. In this cas...
For winter hiking, I prefer to wear a hydration bladder inside my coat and you can fill it with warm water if desired for an extra heat bonus when you start out. When camping in the very cold, yo...
Cotton is the dominant bedding material choice worldwide for several reasons and as long as you aren't getting into the bag drenched and have adequate water control for your environment, I can't se...
There are three criteria to be balanced in my thinking on the situation of when and if to activate a call for help to a rescue service: Do you have the skills and training to extract yourself saf...
I would say, dismiss the bowline on a bight since it needs a backup stopper knot to prevent loosening over time so it's not a "complete" knot like the other candidates. The bends on the yosemite b...
The most important thing is to know what is being hunted so you can know how the hunters should be approaching their prey. It's best to talk to several hunters to find out from them where they will...
It would say it varies to a high degree since the source of the meat and the cut of the meat will be the primary factors in determining how many bacteria (and which type) will be on the surface of ...
Private camping is both allowed and nice on Masonboro Island which is North of Carolina Beach, NC and south of Wrightsville Beach, NC. You are close to civilization but the island is only reachable...
My rule is don't eat wild raw meat, cook it when you can't be sure both it and the preparation are sanitary. The only exception is fish caught from a line when I'm able to cleanly sashimi a species...
I have used both the Pro version of YakTrax as well as the normal version that lacks the velcro strap across the forefoot. They are amazingly well engineered, durable and perform as advertised. On...
I would argue that there is a wide functional gap in safety helmets for various sports. The design tradeoffs are easily summarized: Can this helmet be designed for a single use or does it need to...
Never remove cold water from a cooler so long as the water is cooler than the outside temperature. Opening the lid allows more warm air in, but assuming the lid is on the top and air disturbance ...
Since a high quality polycarbonate helmet is now so light, affordable and durable; the added cost and limited weight benefit of carbon fiber seems to be of limited use for all but the most weight c...
In dry climates you can take advantage of evaporative cooling - especially on a bike. In hot and humid places you are stuck with insulation and pre-cooled water and/or ice. Have you experimented t...
Flint is your best bet and it sparks much better with steel than with a rock like iron pyrite. The better rocks you find, the less the tinder matters, but you will need something like a cotton ball...
Down is fairly easy to measure in terms of loft when you lay out the old bags. Basically, if the feathers are so crushed that after a proper wash and fluff you don't have a bag that holds up the fa...
Physical barriers are my deterrent of choice. A good hat with mosquito netting is a northern Minnesota must have. Second best is traveling with someone more attractive to the insects than you. The ...
