51
votes
Accepted
Caught in the rain without rainwear or raingear
Strip off.
Your skin is waterproof. Assuming it's warm (because if it wasn't, you'd have proper gear, right?) then you're not going to freeze, especially if you're walking. So take off everything you ...
- 2,249
29
votes
Accepted
Suffocation while cooking under an umbrella?
The answer to this is a resounding: No.
The main problem with suffocation and cookers is in enclosed spaces where there is no airflow. Suffocation when using a cooker can happen when either the O2 ...
- 11.3k
21
votes
Accepted
Why do upside down tree leaves mean rain
This is the old saying, "When leaves show their undersides, be very sure rain betides." From the farmersalmanac.com:
The leaves of deciduous trees, like maples and poplars, do often to
turn ...
- 2,790
20
votes
How to keep paper from being damaged by water in the outdoors?
At the risk of stating the obvious...
... just not letting your paper get wet in the first place is by far the easiest and cheapest solution.
How you might ask? These solutions worked well for me in ...
- 13.4k
19
votes
Caught in the rain without rainwear or raingear
So, if you're caught off-guard, you won't have anything with you that offers direct protection, such as: raincoat, poncho, garbage bag, tarp, or any other portable shelter. It also means that you won'...
- 3,717
17
votes
How to keep paper from being damaged by water in the outdoors?
The solution to this problem is waterproof paper. You can get it in notebooks, journals, legal sized for printing maps or documents etc. I have also seen at least one organization that had their ...
- 69.4k
15
votes
Is a full waterproof coat more important than waterproof trousers for hiking?
I can totally see your point of view as your coming from forestry or generally working outdoors, but this is fairly straight forward from a hiking point of view:
Hiking is walking, meaning work for ...
- 21.8k
13
votes
Caught in the rain without rainwear or raingear
My experience as a cyclist is that getting wet doesn't matter (because skin is waterproof): what matters is getting cold. So the goal is to stay warm enough.
Your warmth is affected by your exercise (...
- 562
12
votes
Caught in the rain without rainwear or raingear
Get out.
You can quickly cool down when it's raining out, in particular when the rain is horizontal and it's 4°C outside. You say there's no shelter anywhere near. Then walk as fast as you can to ...
- 27.5k
12
votes
What first aid steps should you take for someone who faints after being injured in the cold rain?
Send someone to get help, even if it's hours away. The casualty's life may depend on it.
Someone needs to grab a phone and start walking. They should check periodically for signal, including at ...
- 27k
11
votes
Accepted
How to keep socks from wicking rain off pants into boots
GoreTex Gaiters are what I've always worn, and I've never had a problem with wet socks before. The GoreTex is nice and light, and breathes so you don't overheat or get very clammy underneath. You can ...
- 53.7k
11
votes
Accepted
At what temperature does rain become not chilling?
I'd say, very hard to answer as it depends on a lot of factors, especially personal preference (e.g. I get cold if I'm tired or hungry). Other factors would include exposure time, wind, sunny/cloudy, ...
- 1,077
10
votes
Accepted
Is a full waterproof coat more important than waterproof trousers for hiking?
I say you should always wear the gear that you already own and you are comfortable in instead of following some fashion trend. If you like your setup go for it.
Beyond that I think there are some ...
- 9,648
9
votes
Is a full waterproof coat more important than waterproof trousers for hiking?
Intro:
You can get wet from sweat or wet from rain, or a combination. The waterproof breathables depend on the outside surface being not wet. So the outside layer has to shed water. This generally ...
- 12.1k
8
votes
How can I tell how much, if any, rain is in an approaching cloud?
Randall Munroe has the single best article on this I have ever seen, over on his What-If site where he discusses what would happen if all the water in a cloud formed one giant raindrop.
I recommend ...
- 25.1k
8
votes
Does firewood have to be stored inside or is storing it in a lean-to sufficient?
Very simply, the drier the wood, the more efficiently it burns, and the easier it lights.
A lean-to on the downwind side of the house is very common as a long-term wood store (there's generally a ...
- 27k
8
votes
Accepted
What's the fastest way for a single person to setup a tarp umbrella/leantoo in the rain in a nothern temperate forest?
Lean-tos are hard-sided structures, and are not really meant to be set up quickly. As a hiker and scouter, I and my group carry tarps all the time, and expect rain to greet us wherever we decide to ...
- 2,343
8
votes
How to keep paper from being damaged by water in the outdoors?
One option is to laminate your paper. Normal lamination pouches aren't ideal. You need special pens for them, and they always fail at some point (usually when you need them). There are matte ...
- 21.8k
7
votes
How to keep socks from wicking rain off pants into boots
If you don't need the full rain pants, then gaitors should do the trick. I would wear the gaitors over the top of all of your other layers, and just wear them when you need to, as otherwise you will ...
- 69.4k
7
votes
Accepted
What first aid steps should you take for someone who faints after being injured in the cold rain?
Note that I am a student of wilderness first aid, not a teacher.
However, what you describe sounds like a serious life or death situation and not a time to worry about social norms.
I advise you, and ...
- 4,124
6
votes
Accepted
Do self-inflating sleeping pads have to be kept dry during trips?
Not exactly, if your sleeping pad gets wet and you lay your sleeping bag on top of it then your sleeping bag will get wet and that's not a good thing.
Otherwise, your sleeping pad is preventing air ...
- 69.4k
6
votes
Open-sided tarp in rain
Setup is the answer here. You would preferably want your open side to be lower in elevation than your closed side, so that you dont have ground runoff running into your tent. Same as for a regular ...
- 533
6
votes
Can a rope&bucket used to gather water from a well be kept outside, tied to this well, or does it have to be kept inside?
Wells are covered to keep the water clean, not to keep it dry.
A well bucket rope is only going to be as long as needed, one end is going to get wet several times a day. Even in single person home ...
- 30.5k
6
votes
How can I tell how much, if any, rain is in an approaching cloud?
Isolated clouds are going to be easier to judge than gradually thickening cloud cover, as cloud height is important. I assume you've already established that the cloud is approaching you, though you ...
- 27k
6
votes
Tent in the rain
I wouldn't say what you are experiencing is normal - my Helsport tent has been in use for at least 20 years (for weeks and weeks) and it is still working perfectly. Although, depending on the original ...
- 13.4k
5
votes
How do you dry wet socks when camping/backpacking if it's raining and the socks cannot be hung to dry outside
A key part of the answer is to wear socks that dry more quickly.
Most of my life I've never really questioned the superiority of Merino loop socks such as the SmartWool PHDs. But I've begun to ...
- 11.8k
5
votes
Does firewood have to be stored inside or is storing it in a lean-to sufficient?
Yes, many (most?) people keep their firewood outside. You may want to bring it inside a day prior to burning to maximize the amount of BTU so that it burns hotter and also create less residue (...
- 8,071
4
votes
How to keep paper from being damaged by water in the outdoors?
When it comes to printing, there are printable vinyls for both laser and inkjet printers. Some inkjet inks run badly in the wet whatever the substrate, while others show little or no deterioration. ...
- 27k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible