Hot answers tagged equipment
19
Your legs aren't as sensitive to temperture extremes. Right now it's winter here and I'm walking around outside with a regular shirt, a wool sweater, and a wind breaker on my torso. Inside I take off the windbreaker an sweater. However, inside or outside, I'm wearing the same single-layer pants and it's not a problem. My legs don't feel hot inside or ...
12
I think capacitive gloves are your best bet. Basically, they are gloves with something that allows the screen to close a circuit with your body (your hands) and that makes the screen work. I've provided some links to reviews, but the bottom line is this: at the temperature you're describing (around 0 degrees Celsius) they will probably do the job reasonably ...
11
This is what I found from the net:
Flip the bottle up side down preventing the ice from forming near the top
Obvious one: put the bottle inside a bag or a jacket
use a heated hydration system instead
adding electrolytes (suggested by Russell Steen)
10
ALWAYS bring a patch kit for an air mattress. If your airpad is
going flat something is wrong (though perhaps the wrong part is just
getting a cheap mattress).
Get a pump that you can plug into your car (you're car camping after all).
Buy memory foam to lay out on top of your pad.
Do not inflate your mattress until completely taut. You want some
give ...
10
I think you mean "light" the fuel. "Lighten" means to reduce it's weight. It seems you want to ignite it.
The basic problem is that the vapor pressure of ethanol goes down significantly with cold. Keep in mind that liquid doesn't actually burn, it's the gas the liquid gives off combining with atmospheric oxygen that actually burns. If you have a fuel ...
9
The trekking pole should make a 90 degree angle with your elbow. This will be your reference setting that you might want change when:
Going up a hill where you will reduce the length (helps you advance)
Going down a hill where will increase the length (helps slow down or stabilize)
For more information, I found this great image here
9
I'm not sure why pants don't receive the same attention but the layers are available.
You can easily find base, insulating, and shell layers.
Olin's answer gives some good reasons layering pants may not seem as common. In reply:
(2) There are full-side-zip pants for mountaineers (crampons) and wide-opening pants for skiers/boarders and regular boots.
...
9
You have a few options:
Don't worry about the lease and accept the fact that you may lose your security deposit. You can take the board down before you move out, spackle over the holes, and hope the landlord doesn't notice. I live in the US, and that seems to be the preferred option here. Everyone I know who has a hangboard has done this, and they seem ...
9
I haven't tried it, but it looks ridiculous. If you are going to be hiking on flat and mildly rough terrain, why not get a bike with a lot of panniers.
This provides for the same carrying capacity (maybe up to 40 kg).
Probably will be less expensive than the trailer.
There is an obvious advantage when going flat or downhill.
Bikes have larger wheels than ...
8
Here's a few, some are mentioned in comments but I figure I would elaborate.
Clothes This was mentioned and you noted it wasn't particularly worthwhile on a shorter trip because you don't have many clothes. I typically go ultralight, so my spare clothes are close to nothing but I always have some sort of insulation (unless it's going to be 70+ degrees the ...
8
Each person is unique and may need one feature over another. But here is my take on the features in a rough order of importance:
Warranty: If you plan on heavy usage, make sure it has a lifetime warranty and a manufacturer that backs it up. Many will find a way to replace it in the field.
Weight: If you're backpacking, saving weight is important.
...
8
I never understood the appeal of trekking poles until I started carrying 80+ lbs packs down into the bottom of the Grand Canyon for a living. Now, I wish I had started using them sooner. Perhaps my knees would be in better shape.
Trekking poles, used properly, can take countless TONS of cumulative weight off your knees and lower back by shifting that weight ...
8
nope
yep (actually, yellow, not purple, thanks Clare)
Not in my experience, but I use clarifiers which remove the flavor in the water.
Also to clarify from comments, we did this for years before we started carrying a filter and it never damaged our containers. The plastic probably gets more damage from the sunlight caught during hiking than from the ...
8
"Fast pack" refers to setting up a tent with just the fly, tent poles, and usually a groundsheet. You leave the inner body behind. For example, here are the fast pack instructions for the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 tent, which is designed for this setup.
Fast packing saves a significant amount of weight, but makes you more vulnerable to insects and cold.
A ...
8
It all depends on how you want to mount your rock rings. I mounted mine like this from a door-jam pull-up bar:
Though you could mount them like monkey bars, or any other way:
The idea, from a training perspective, is that if the rock rings are hanging from rope you have to expend more effort with your core to keep your body from swinging. And building ...
7
The simplest ones are like this, and even the more complex ones are typically broadly similar.
Usage is to have set your peg at a useful distance (ie not too close to the tent, as it won't hold the pole/skin out, and not too far away as you might trip over it) and pop the loop round the peg.
Then just slide the tensioner up the guy rope until tight.
...
7
If car camping, you should go for the two-burner stove:
It will be far more stable than the backpacking stove. This is IMO the most important feature.
It will probably have a larger burner (thus more heat output) than the backpacking stove.
The two-burner stove will not take up much more space than the single-burner stove, and for car camping you will ...
7
I wish I was still in Yosemite for this one. I used to climb with some fairly well known climbers back in the day, "Big Wall Pete" Takeda, the Parker Brothers, even happened on Peter Croft after he taught a class and we climbed for about 45 minutes. Big Wall used to work for "Climbing" and did a number of photo shoots, I know how they get the pictures from ...
6
Hard walled cases. For my camera at first I would stuff it into a sock and wrap the remainder of that sock and another sock around the camera and call it good, then I saw a hard molded camera case in a store and threw it around a little bit in the store. After people stopped looking at me like I was crazy, I decided to buy and test it. I have dropped the ...
6
My gut reaction is this - it's a can full of human waste, it's going to smell whatever you do with it.
However, I wonder whether you might be going down the wrong kind of route with things such as bleach etc. - such chemicals may do more harm than good if they kill the micro-organisms that break down the waste. It may sound silly, I would try something like ...
6
When we car camp the night before a canoe-camping trip, we bring an extra comforter from home and put it on top of the Thermarests, under our sleeping bags. We also bring pillows. These combine to produce a luxurious sleep as far as we're concerned. I've also slept on my fair share of air mattresses, mostly in houses, and if they don't go flat they're fine. ...
6
Guidance that came with my extreme sleeping bags was to randomly stuff, as @Russell commented, trying to use a different pattern each time, and to hang it over a line and give it a good beating when you return home.
The small bags they came with seem fine - and they have lasted 10 years+ so far.
6
The big advantage that classic dome tents will have with strong winds is the addition of the guy ropes. With a popup tent, in high winds the stress will be on the tent itself, with guy ropes the stress is on the ropes and (when erected properly) a certain amount is channelled down to the ground via the pegs.
Now this isn't to say popup tents will break the ...
6
There's a number of options for dealing with such an issue, each can be appropriate depending on the situation in hand.
The wonders of paracord can come to the rescue if you have some on hand (and if not, why not!) It's usually a bit thicker than shoelaces but can squeeze through the holes and do the job surprisingly well. Depending on the length of the ...
6
First, I always have at least one shoe lace in my first aid kit (I know, not the most usual place, but I never forget it and it only needs a very small space).
Also some piece of washing line (e.g. for drying clothes) can be used.
If you don't have one of those, you can cut the other shoe lace and use half of it to lace your shoes every other hole. It will ...
6
I have heard of a wide range of stories where people were saved using some string, a piece of flint etc. (A related example from earlier this month is reported in the Hamilton Advertiser where a boy used the laces from his trousers to save a dog.)
and if they had had a survival kit they would have used that, but the problem is that most people do not carry ...
6
I don't know this particular brand, but there are two basic things I'd want to check:
Has the product been certified by the UIAA? You can look here to see. It looks like several Skylotec products have a UIAA certification.
For a harness, will the gear shop let you try a harness on, and hang in it (in the store) before you buy it? I'd want to know how ...
6
Make sure your fuel container is not in direct contact with the ground. It'll suck the heat right out of your fuel, reducing vapors.
Warm your fuel first (armpits work, closed container obviously)
If you are using actual alcohol, you're going to have trouble below freezing. As Olin mentioned, the vapors are what burn, and alcohol just doesn't produce ...
6
I would consider two items:
Trekking poles with large baskets.
And if you are looking for a pair of modern snowshoes
Consider models which have bars at the rear to elevate your feet during ascent.
It is common to use the trekking pole to flip the bar up when required.
6
If you'd broaden "down" and "wet tents" categories to "all insulators" and "all wet items", it'll cover pretty everything, I think.
Also a membrane jacket might stick to itself (coalesce) and may get damaged when you unstick it (membrane layer may peel of).
One could think about rubber, which takes new shape under prolonged pressure, but it's not what you ...
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