|
Even if your plans are just going on a day hike, think about what you'll need to survive overnight and bring it. poo poo can get ugly in the backcountry. Nature is not safe. Accidents happen and sometimes you get caught. Research what the trending temperature and conditions have been for nights in the area for that time of year and prepare accordingly. Some places the temperature and conditions will vary little, so you won't need to worry too much. But where I live, it can easily snow at altitude at night int he summer while it was super warm during the day, and it's something I always need to consider if I happen to have a bad accident and am forced to spend the night. I learned this the hard way. While I didn't spend the night, I got into major trouble in the late afternoon, and it took over 2 hours to secure a rescue on a cliff overlooking the town where the rescue team was based. In that time the temperature dropped significantly and I had neglected to bring a fleece jacket, I just had my lightweight waterproof shell. The trip was projected to be only a few hours, but I had my accident towards the end of it. On top of being in shock, I was freezing cold and it was way worse a time than it could have been had I been prepared with the proper layers. So don't skimp on any trip! I also find it helpful to know just how much water your body needs in a day to perform optimally. It might vary a bit from person to person, but I know for me that if I'm not getting 3 litres a day while backpacking I start to get dizzy and experience blackouts. For that reason, I love my Nalgene because I can track exactly how much I'm drinking and keeping myself properly hydrated. I have a litre and half bottle so as long as I drink two of them I'm solid.
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2017 13:09
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 20:28 |
|
|
I've always used alcohol stoves for my personal trips and only used other types for school trips. I love my Trangia, although it seems have a difficult time producing enough heat when temperatures drop. I'd prefer a gas stove for winter conditions.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 25, 2017 15:34
|
|
|
I like to bring good sandals when I backpack to hang out at camp or to use if I encounter a flooded trail and I don't want to get my boots wet. Barefoot is good too, but there tends to be so many sappy needles and twigs everywhere I go because the forests here are almost entirely conifer, and I prefer to not get that crap on my feet. I go barefoot while car camping though, it owns.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 26, 2017 04:34
|
|
|
Where I live, fires aren't usually banned because of fire hazard, but because our forests are so slow-growing and the biodiversity is so sparse that if people regularly burned deadfall the forest floor would be cleared of any detritus within a week and that would leave absolutely nothing to contribute to the natural decay process.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2017 10:15
|
|
|
Pennywise the Frown posted:
Rescue crews around here sometimes post on social media about how much they appreciate people wearing bright colours in the outdoors, it really helps with locating victims.
|
|
#
¿
May 12, 2017 08:58
|
|
|
thatguy posted:I'm confused why people are so loving duped about the polyester industrial complex saying that wicking fabrics keep you cool. They never ever keep you cool. There is literally no fabric better than cotton for hot summer months for shirts and pants/shorts. If you want to jabber about hypothermia or your wet crotch, fine w/e Don't listen to this guy.
|
|
#
¿
May 13, 2017 03:08
|
|
|
Everyone being deliberately dense about cotton: knock it the gently caress off. Know what environment you're getting into and dress appropriately. I trust all of you are smart enough to be aware of the reasons why cotton is good for some environments and not others. It works in dry deserts because hypothermia is less of a risk than hyperthermia and cotton is good at removing heat from your body. I wore cotton and nylon on an 8 day paddle through Canyonlands in summer because I knew it would be okay. Damp cotton was great at cooling us off under the blazing sun. Granny trails and frontcountry trails in cooler climates are okay too because it's almost impossible to be out long enough alone to have your core temperature drop to dangerous levels without getting to your vehicle or getting help. I will never wear anything cotton in the Rockies in the backcountry because this can happen any day of the year:  That was backpacking in the middle of July. It's not safe to wear a poor choice of materials just because I'm being stubborn or stupid or think I'm some hardcore badass. There's reasons we keep inventing better technologies. It makes life better. People can and do die here from exposure and they're often found with wet or frozen cotton layers that sapped all their heat and killed them. I'm not going to be one of those statistics. If I'm going to go, I'd better end up eaten by a bear.
|
|
#
¿
May 17, 2017 23:37
|
|
|
Bogan King posted:Given I live in a place that is shorts and t-shirts all year round this never cotton stuff is amazing. Dress for the area you're going to be, it's as simple as that. Exactly. Dress for your conditions. There's different materials out there and they either work well or they don't. To say that cotton is a one-fits-all material is as stupid as saying cotton will guarantee kill you no matter what. It's as stupid as fighting over whether there's only one rule on how to layer for the entire planet. Can we stop this stupid derail now?
|
|
#
¿
May 18, 2017 03:33
|
|
|
If you want to fight about material, you have my blessing to start a thread. Keep it in there. And as someone who has a hypermobility disorder, hiking poles are my heroes. No shame.
|
|
#
¿
May 21, 2017 05:52
|
|
|
Levitate posted:but generally for mountain water that's cold and clear they work fine. I'm still more of a chemical treatment w/ aqua mira person. As long as the water is clear I personally don't really see the point of using a filter but that's mainly for my own personal experience in the mountains Same here. I'm so close to glaciers that the water is just silty with glacial flour. I've never used anything but AquaTabs. I just use a double dose because the water is usually only a couple degrees above freezing and I don't want to wait 2 hours for my water to be ready. I do bring 2 bottles per person anyway so I can have water at all times.
|
|
#
¿
May 23, 2017 05:18
|
|
|
I'm "backpacking" next Saturday! The campsite is only 2km from the road so it's considered backcountry. But that means we're shopping for a new tent, because our MEC Tarn 3 has a torn fly, bent poles, and broken zipper. The last few car camping trips were interesting to say the least. The poles actually bent in Canyonlands during really intense sustained winds over 3 nights. So at least the story behind that is interesting. Has anyone ever used: North Face Talus MSR Elixer Mountain Hardwear Optics MEC Volt Marmot Catalyst Marmot Tungsten I'm comparing them but I can't quite make a decision. I'm also assuming very few people know of the Volt because it's Canadian. But it's lighter and more spacious than all the others and that's a pretty big bonus to me. Edit: Changed my options after more research Edit2: I made a Facebook post about compiling a spreadsheet with spec info to compare everything and now one of my friends is posting Kijiji ads for 6 person Coleman tents 
SulfurMonoxideCute fucked around with this message at 02:23 on May 27, 2017 |
|
#
¿
May 26, 2017 23:13
|
|
|
Landsknecht posted:MSR Elixer - p good, a bit lighter but not super light, nice tent Where I am, the Volt is almost $100 more than the Elixer at the same store. We are leaning towards the Elixer, it has a lot of features that suit our style. Optic 3.5 is our second choice.
|
|
#
¿
May 29, 2017 03:58
|
|
|
Dukket posted:For thread relevant chat: Do silk bag liners help much with temp? I'm naturally pretty greasy so it would be good for my bag, but would also like it if my bag was a bit warmer ( and didn't have to buy a new bag). I remember asking this a little while back elsewhere when I was planning on doing a bit of winter camping and wilderness survival and was worried I'd freeze. I think the consensus was: a little bit but not significant.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 12, 2017 21:49
|
|
|
Dukket posted:Thats more or less what i figured the answer was. I didn't get one. Just slept in my snowpants and parka which were plenty warm.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 12, 2017 22:48
|
|
|
My husband and I have bags that zip together. When backpacking we always zip them up together unless we're too exhausted to bother. But we're cuddlers and been together over 18 years and backpacking together for 6 so we're safe. When we car camp we'll use them on an air mattress and sometimes combine with some comforters if it's cold.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 16, 2017 05:20
|
|
|
I've never really found it to be too much of an issue for us, it tends to get quite cold at night here and they're both mummy style so we cinch it as tight as possible. If either of us get too hot, we tend to just pull an arm out and that releases enough heat, like when you're in bed and you let a foot out to cool off.Morbus posted:Picnic Princess, when backpacking with your husband what do you do about sleeping pads? My girlfriend and I have tried tying together two inflatable pads, but someone always ends up in the gap, or one pad slides over/under the other. Plus the space between the two pads is noticeably colder on cold nights. I'm thinking about just getting a two person inflatable pad. We have two Ridgerests, this style:  A gap can sometimes happen, but I find that they don't really slide around too much. The bags slide over them much more than they slide against tent material. SulfurMonoxideCute fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Jun 16, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Jun 16, 2017 05:50
|
|
|
I guess it depends how long you're out for. I tend to do 5-7 day trips so I just take an extra shirt or two and some extra undies and socks and don't bother washing anything until I'm home.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 16, 2017 06:46
|
|
|
Even when I was living off the grid in Belize I wore the same thing every day and only did my laundry once a week by tossing my clothes in a bucket of well water with a drop of shampoo and agitating it with my foot for a few minutes. I'm sure I stunk but everyone else did the same thing and they probably did too, our noses probably just tuned out the stench. In certain situations you just kind of let things slide.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 16, 2017 09:08
|
|
|
Ticks are only a major issue here in spring so during the blasted heat of the summer I tend to wear light shorts and bring pants in case the weather turns. Having been in hot sun one moment then a blizzard a couple hours later in July I always bring layers on anything more than a half-day hike.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 23, 2017 05:25
|
|
|
I'm so glad all my water sources are headwaters, I can just get away with aquatabs and never worry about anything.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 29, 2017 11:44
|
|
|
Wagons are great, my husband and I are shopping for one right now to replace our Camry. And funny thing, we still hadn't made a decision on a backpacking tent, because we weren't planning on anything due to forest fire smoke which fucks me up because of combined allergies/asthma/chest cold/still healing from pneumonia. So I've been stuck at home trying not to die for the most part. But I did go out for a night last weekend and we ended up borrowing a Hubba Hubba 2P tent from my sister-in-law and we actually fit in it unlike other 2P tents we had in the past. So now I've started a new comparison spreadsheet and narrowed it down to 6 with stipulations being mostly mesh, 2 doors and vestibules, under 2kg, under $500. That narrows it to 6 models. We'll likely make the decision in person. Fortunately both retailers are literally across the street from each other.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 2, 2017 19:17
|
|
|
MoldyFrog posted:Two 1L smart bottles come in lighter than a 2L platy. They are also much cheaper to buy and if my water container breaks I have a backup. Where I go, the water is crystal clear fresh out of glaciers and just needs Aquatab treatment, but the water is also about 4C so it takes over an hour to treat it. Two bottles lets me ensure I have water at all times rather than having to go without. Treat one, drink the other.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 29, 2017 01:53
|
|
|
Looks like I'm going to have to pick up a bunch of new gear soon as I'm planning on backpacking the Isle of Skye in April and May next year. Spending more time in a place I'm not familiar with means my lovely old gear might not be good enough. I also have to decide whether I get new bigger packs for my husband and I or travel with a third bag that we store somewhere on arrival because we pack some things on the exterior of our packs like foamies when on the trail and I don't trust that they'd survive the flights.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2017 07:58
|
|
|
Clever. I have traveled with a backpack before but everything fit inside so I never bothered worrying too much. I even have some friends in the UK who might be able to help with storage. Bag inside a bag is clearly the simplest way to go about it. Thanks!
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2017 18:29
|
|
|
I bought some cheap lightweight snowpants off Amazon for an overnight wilderness winter survival course, and they turned out to be pretty amazing. I don't think I'd want to walk more than 10km a day in them, but realistically in winter I'd never do that anyway because I'd be so much heavier than summer.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 30, 2017 08:25
|
|
|
I haven't closed any either. I think they lock after a certain period of time.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 14, 2017 03:58
|
|
|
I don't think I know anyone who has any other snowshoe than MSR but the Canadian market is notably less diverse.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 11, 2018 20:09
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 20:28 |
|
|
Real talk, I honestly bring two neoprene knee braces, a tensor bandage, and excess ibuprofen and tylenol 3s on my trips, but I have hypermobility so I'm guaranteed to be in pain all the time. If I'm having a particularly bad time I also need to bring my wrist braces with me too, but that's only if they were already hosed up before I left. I have to tuck my backpack under my knees or bring a spare pillow to sleep on the ground so they don't end up bending backwards all night.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 21, 2018 03:38
|
|