Tag Info

No, it is not safe to use denatured alcohol for two good reasons: Denatured alcohol refers to a class of ethanol produced for industrial uses that has been "denatured" which essentially means "made undrinkable" by mixing other compounds that are toxic or unpleasant to humans. The thing is, you, as the consumer, have no idea what exactly was mixed in. ...

For hanging packs, you can use vines. Find a vine you than can bend almost double (the shape of those ribbon campaign ribbons) without it breaking. You can use those as is, until they dry out. If you need more weight, you can braid them. If you can't find vines, you can use new green bark off of smaller plants. If you can peel at least 12" of bark, you ...

If you didn't bring rope with you on purpose, you may still have shoelaces. You could use them in a bowdrill to make a fire in an emergency (but you better know how to make and use a bowdrill well beforehand). Two plants that make good cordage here in the Pacific Northwest are Stinging Nettle and Fireweed. You can use it fresh and green, but if you properly ...

Wilderness medicine protocols taught by the major Wilderness First Aid / First Responder training companies (and subsequently adopted by most outdoor organizations) are fairly standard and quite clear about wound management in the back-country. The standard accepted practice for treating a wound is: stop the bleeding - usually possible via direct ...

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 ...

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 ...

The method by which carabiners in any color are coated (either gate or body) is anodizing, which is going to be nearly impossible to sufficiently replicate with anything practical and cost-effective at home. With anodizing, the coating essentially becomes part of the aluminum itself. So anything you put on the gate will wear off relatively quickly and ...

Unfortunately nail polish would probably gunk up the locking mechanism. I wouldn't put nail polish on any moving piece of a carabiner. You can use nail polish to mark your gear so you know that it's yours (and not your partner's). You may be able to find a multi-color scheme that indicates the carabiner's date, but generally that's not an issue (if it ...

You can use a fine sandstone with a little water on it. Sandstone works the best because of its fine grain and good abrasive quality. Using water smooths the sandstone surface. Drag the stone slightly diagonal away from the edge on one side Change the side with each stroke Check the sharpness with your thumbnail once a while Repeat If you can't find ...

Actually they can probably be fixed. For the cap there are two options with JB Weld that I have used. The first is described here, but basically consists of coating the original cap with JB Weld kwikplastic. The second is more complicated, but a better fix in my experience. First you have to coat the bottle nipple with a polyethylene lube, so ...

I would try these options below in order, if you haven't already done so. Repair Contact the manufacturer or a retailer that sells that brand. There is a good chance they might fix them under warranty. I've had many good experiences with getting older equipment that you think might not be covered taken care of, but each brand varies on how far they'll go. ...

Real 550 cord (paracord) has an outer braid over multiple twisted strands of fiber (7, I think). If the cord is too thick, whack off a piece and pull out as many strands as you need to get the job done. It's incredibly versatile stuff and you probably should consider it basic survival gear. But make sure that it's the real deal. I'm not sure that a lot ...

I always carry para chord with me. It can be used for building shelters, hanging food (to hide from bears), securing items to a back pack, staking down tents, and also it can be used as a shoelace. Para chord is usually made out of spectra or nylon (the same as climbing rope) and has a tensile strength of (usually) between 400 and 600lbf. So next time ...

To always have a duck tape with you in case something break (taken from here in french) Disadvantage: it is not biodegradable

There are many folk and wild remedies you could learn, depending on what you're carrying & where you're hiking. Some examples: Honey will protect from infection. Spider webs will stop bleeding (for small cuts). Common plantain soothes burns, scrapes, etc. Chew it up to make a salve.