Posts by Vorac
Yesterday I was shopping for breathable waterproof boots* and this is what the salesperson explained to me. The shoe material does NOT matter. The damp air from the foot goes through the membrane (...
How should I set up a two-layer dome tent for 2/4 people in deep snow (waist height)? Do I need some additional equipment (snow shovel)? Insulation under the floor (further than the sleeping pads)?...
I have a two-layer dome tent, cheap and not particularly designed for winter. Do I need to ever worry that during a heavy snow downfall during the night that tent might be covered up with snow and ...
In my opinion, the priorities when selecting trekking food are: maximizing calories per kilogram not easily spoilable, especially in hot weather reasonably priced variety throughout the trip I...
Cotton retains moisture, thus cotton socks will not do the job properly. When would actually one want to wear exactly cotton socks? A few ideas come to mind, but they are just shooting in th...
tl;dr: concrete advice under the horizontal line Agreeing with the other answers, alcohol is best left for later because it can disorientate you. And among strength, endurance, body type, environm...
It is a common advice to handle your ice axe with the pick facing to the rear. Furthermore, having a single technique of self-arrest aids in training and being prepared for an emergency situation. ...
This is my first bow - it's a low-end recurve with a draw weight of 14kg nominal. At the shop they told me not to string it by bracing it against my foot, because the limbs get twisted sideways. Th...
How safe is sleeping in bear country? I, too, like to sleep in a bivy sack under the stars. And while during the summer I am not too concerned about wolves (in spite of locals reporting attack...
Camping under a tree protects against rain wind morning dew heavy sun (worst on beaches) you can hide your bike from the rain ;) But you lose the sight of the stars. If rain is possible, it i...
Carabiners on the shoulder straps can add two bags of easy-access items. Just don't put more than several kilograms inside, the shoulder straps soft mesh could get damaged. Carabiners on the waist...
I think that a fair way to split the weight between group members is ... everyone to carry their own. Including food, clothes, bedroll, part of the tent. This prevents the inexperienced and unfit ...
Polishing a blade means sanding it with very fine compound (more than 2000 factor). Specialized pastes exist just for that. For example:
This answer address efficiency i.e. to climb quickly, without getting too tired. It is something in between an answer and a comment. One advantage of walking consistently is thermal balance. That'...
I am not familiar with the reptiles around the world. I can however, share the results of my (informal) research (read: googling) of several years ago. I did that, because I was going alone in the ...
The esoteric "answer": Try footwraps. Advantages: dirt cheep can be wrapped in any preferrable way, to provide the most padding against the most aggressive edges of Your shoe at a short break(5...
There are two main factors that cause me to get thorns in the feet when hiking barefoot: Usually, the forest ground consists of many layers - grass, beneath it rotten leaves, beneath it grass roo...
Consider a vertical rock with clip-ins 3 meters apart, dynamic rope, no more than 15 meters ascent. I guess most probable and dangerous is to fall just as one is clipping in. This way the rope is ...
A folding knife is always a great idea. I carry mine everywhere - city and backpacking. It gets used at least once a day - open a beer, cut a string of rope, cut up food, remove a thorn, open up a ...
I recently got this. 41bgn. Takes 4 AA batteries (I do not like the tiny AAA-s; also 4, not two). Is VERY bright with fresh batteries. Not too heavy. Also, they claim it is for divers -> good in...
What is the best way for a trekking group of two to sleep in deep snow (meter or more). What equipment is to be brought? Preferably, the technique should work on shallow snow and plain frozen gro...
A small group (2-10 people total) is travelling in a wilderness area. For whatever reason a person or a couple get separated. What is the best strategy for the lost ones? What is the best strategy ...
To remedy the lack of sources (and hard numbers), I've started to write down here (for easier references) what is given for caloric values here: USDA Food Composition Databases. Feel free to contr...
I guess the only difference when traveling alone is that everything is more dangerous, difficult and time-consuming. :D Here are some things I did before undertaking my last long trip alone. Did...
Jason S's "use the map" or / and Russell Steen's "use landmarks" Noam Gal's and berry120's "use the sun" (1) Graham's "use the stars" use rivers - rivers provide water, animals, human-inhabited pl...
