41 Camping Hacks That Are Borderline Genius

Posted on 2018-03-30 by shskr

I’ve used a few of these tips and they work great. Most of these items you can find in your recycled bins.

These tips and tricks will guarantee you’ll be a totally happy camper this summer.

Source: 41 Camping Hacks That Are Borderline Genius

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How to Build a Survival Fire

Posted on 2014-03-02 by shskr

The average back-country explorer today has fewer occasions to practice the art of fire-making than in years past. Our modern focus on “Green living” wilderness experience and the light efficient backpacking stoves has helped to make the campfire a thing of the past. But knowing how to start a fire in a survival situation is a skill that could save your life.

Successfully building a fire in wet, windy conditions is not easy, and requires a bit of knowledge, practice, and experience – as well as a few critical tools and hints.

Understanding the properties of fire will help you be a better fire-maker. The Fire has four elements that must be present for any fire to start or continue to burn.

Fuel

Without a continuous supply of fuel (wood, alcohol, gasoline, coal, paper, etc.) a fire will go out.

Heat

Without enough heat a fire cannot start. Remove the heat from a fire and it cannot continue.

Oxygen

A fire requires a constant supply of oxygen to keep up the chemical reaction.

combustion

The combustion process feeds more heat to the fire allowing the chemical reaction to continue. Remove any one of these four key elements and the fire will not start or – if already burning – it will go out.

The Fire-building process to build a wood-fueled fire you need an ignition source and three types of fuel. From smallest to largest, they are tinder, kindling, and fuel wood.

The Ignition Source can be anything that will supply enough heat to ignite the tinder.

Possible ignition sources include:

butane lighters

waterproof matches

a fire-steel

magnesium fire starter

Fresnel lens

fire piston
even two sticks rubbed together

Survival experts recommend carrying at least three different ignition sources. Tinder is used to catch the first spark or flame generated by the ignition source and transfer it to the kindling.

Tinder should be dry so that it catches fire easily, and burn long enough to dry wet kindling and allow it to catch fire.

Some good sources of tinder are dry tree bark, wood shavings, dry grasses and plant material, paper, pitch, dry pine needles, or char cloth. You can make tinder at home by dipping rolled cardboard “Fire Sticks” in melted wax, or coating cotton balls with petroleum jelly. These homemade fire starting aids burn hot and long, perfect for igniting wet kindling. There are also many versions of commercial fire starter tinder products available.

The Kindling is added to the burning tinder. Good kindling is small and very dry, so that it catches the flame from the tinder and burns hot. Use dry twigs, cardboard, or small wood pieces. Make a “fuzz stick” by shaving a dry stick with a sharp knife to leave curls of thin dry shavings clustered at the end of the stick.

Fuel wood, larger sticks, branches and small logs, are added over the hot flame of the burning kindling. The fuel wood burns more slowly and creates a bed of coals that continually release heat, igniting added fuel as it is placed on the fire. Once the fire is established, simply add fuel to keep the fire. Besides wood, you can use peat, dried animal dung, twisted grasses, or coal as fuel for your fire.

Although dry fuel is best, even wet or green wood will burn once the fire is well established. Before you start building your fire you should gather a generous supply of materials. Your fire will consume a lot of fuel, so gather 3 – 4 time what you think you will need, and more if you will be spending the night.

Choose a place for your fire that is near a good source of fuel, but keep safety in mind to prevent wildfire. Clear the area around your fire site of all combustibles to a radius of 4 – 6 feet. Contain the fire in a ring of stones or in a pit dug several inches into the ground. Try to find a place protected from the wind to avoid spreading sparks or embers – starting a wildfire could endanger lives and cause damage that you may be liable for. In bad weather, seek a sheltered site as heavy rain will put out even the best built fire.

Getting your fire started is a three-step process:

Arrange your tinder in a generous pile of loosely spaced kindling.
The kindling needs to allow airflow to the fire, but be close enough to catch fire from the burning tinder. Use your ignition source to light the tinder so that the flame rises up through the kindling. Add more kindling to the flame, making sure to keep plenty of air space. Continue to strengthen the fire with more kindling, then start adding pieces of larger fuel wood until the fire is well established.
As you feed the fire, arrange the wood in a way that maintains the airflow:

In the Teepee method the fuel wood is arranged like a teepee with the tinder and kindling inside. As you add extra fuel it is leaned up against the side of the burning teepee structure.
In the Log Cabin method the fuel wood is stacked in layers that alternate direction over the burning kindling, creating a sturdy structure that is less susceptible to premature collapse. Unfortunately, this method allows the least amount of air to enter the fire.
In the Cross-ditch method the fire is built at a small x-shaped trench dug 3-4 inches into the ground. The intersecting trenches allow air to flow underneath the fire, feeding the fire’s center with essential oxygen. Practice Makes Perfect

Be sure to practice your fire-making skills before you actually need them. Learn how to use a fire-steel by practicing in your backyard fireplace or at the campsite. Learn how to make a fuzz stick, experiment with some easy to make fuzz sticks and challenge yourself to build a fire with wet materials in bad conditions.

Practice provides a valuable experience that could save your life in an emergency. These two essentials – matches and fire starter are the most important. I always carry an extra lighter and fire starter (a film canister full of lint from the dryer) in my first aid kit.

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Outdoor Equipment Basics

Posted on 2014-01-29 by shskr

The highest quality outdoor equipment for backpacking uses advanced space age materials to offer the lightest and smallest possible package for easy carrying.
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Sleeping bags are the most important piece of equipment any backpacker can own. They keep the camper warm in the coldest conditions but they are also the largest and bulkier piece of gear.

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The lightest and warmest bags use synthetic materials for the casing and the interior as well, though down is still widely popular because of its superior insulation properties and ability to compress to incredibly small sizes. If you are not allergic to down, these are the best bags money can buy but just be sure to not get the material wet. Wet down feathers become heavy and lose their insulating properties making the bag useless. Synthetic filling is often much cheaper and can keep its insulation characteristic in wet weather and is hypoallergenic, but often does not pack as small as a down bag.
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A tent is the next most important piece of outdoor equipment used for backpacking. The outer tent fabric, called the rain fly, is almost always a synthetic nylon material that is treated with a waterproof coating to keep the interior of the tent dry in rainy and snowy weather. This covers the tent which is often of a synthetic material and mosquito netting for adequate air flow in warmer conditions.
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Cold weather tents lack the netting to keep interior heat and prevent any wind from entering. There are four season tents which are suitable for a variety of conditions from summer nights to winter adventures. A three season tent is suitable for all but the coldest conditions and a wall tent is used for extreme mountaineering.

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Wall tents integrate the rain-fly into the walls of the tent instead of keeping them as separate pieces. The poles are often made of aircraft aluminum for strength and low weight, though some tents use composite materials such as carbon fiber for the lowest weight and highest strength.
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Other important pieces of outdoor equipment used for backpacking include the pack itself which can be made of anything from canvas to synthetic material and often include an aluminum metal frame for more support of heavy loads. These packs contain straps and attachments for everything from water bottles to tents, sleeping pads, and other camping accessories. A high quality pack will last for years and hundreds of miles with little or no maintenance.

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Two important items to carry in a survival kit

Posted on 2013-03-08 by shskr

Watching CNN there was a story a while back that said, the government recommends that every resident should have in their home or in their car, a 72 Hour Survival Kit. Two of the items listed in that kit are a flashlight and a knife.

Flashlight:

I have used flashlights for camping, which had alkaline batteries in them. The problem with that is batteries drain fairly quickly. Now you could buy LED type flashlights for a reasonable price. So why should you consider replacing your common flashlights with LED flashlights? The reasons range from better light to longer battery life.

One day while I entered a liquidation store, I stumbled across a hand squeeze rechargeable LED light that can be used without batteries. To view what the flashlight looks like check the link:
Dynamo Wind-up LED Flashlight I carry one in the truck and a couple in my gear bag. I also have a Lighting EVER LED Headlamp, 18 White LED and 2 Red LED, 4 Brigthtness Level Choice in my hunting bag. It is very bright while coming back in the dark from a hunt.

Knife:

Most survival experts recommend a fixed blade knife that can be used for skinning, cleaning, knife hunting, notching, cutting, sawing and many other uses. I like to carry my kit in a small container, therefore most of the items must be compact. I like the folding lock blade, with a serrated edge. One feature the knife must have is an easy to open thumb hole or stud, that can be opened with one hand. GERBER E-Z Out Skeleton - Serrated Edge is a great product that I like and use and is affordable.
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Stay Safe

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Successfully building a fire in wet, windy conditions is not easy, and requires a bit of knowledge, practice, and experience – as well as a few critical tools and hints.

Understanding the properties of fire will help you be a better fire-maker. The Fire has four elements that must be present for any fire to start or continue to burn.

Fuel

Without a continuous supply of fuel (wood, alcohol, gasoline, coal, paper, etc.) a fire will go out.

Heat

Without enough heat a fire cannot start. Remove the heat from a fire and it cannot continue.

Oxygen

A fire requires a constant supply of oxygen to keep up the chemical reaction.

combustion

The combustion process feeds more heat to the fire allowing the chemical reaction to continue. Remove any one of these four key elements and the fire will not start or – if already burning – it will go out.

The Fire-building process to build a wood-fueled fire you need an ignition source and three types of fuel. From smallest to largest, they are tinder, kindling, and fuel wood.

The Ignition Source can be anything that will supply enough heat to ignite the tinder.

Possible ignition sources include:

even two sticks rubbed together

Survival experts recommend carrying at least three different ignition sources. Tinder is used to catch the first spark or flame generated by the ignition source and transfer it to the kindling.

Tinder should be dry so that it catches fire easily, and burn long enough to dry wet kindling and allow it to catch fire.

Getting your fire started is a three-step process:

Arrange your tinder in a generous pile of loosely spaced kindling.

As you feed the fire, arrange the wood in a way that maintains the airflow:

In the Teepee method the fuel wood is arranged like a teepee with the tinder and kindling inside. As you add extra fuel it is leaned up against the side of the burning teepee structure.

In the Log Cabin method the fuel wood is stacked in layers that alternate direction over the burning kindling, creating a sturdy structure that is less susceptible to premature collapse. Unfortunately, this method allows the least amount of air to enter the fire.

In the Cross-ditch method the fire is built at a small x-shaped trench dug 3-4 inches into the ground. The intersecting trenches allow air to flow underneath the fire, feeding the fire’s center with essential oxygen. Practice Makes Perfect

Practice provides a valuable experience that could save your life in an emergency. These two essentials – matches and fire starter are the most important. I always carry an extra lighter and fire starter (a film canister full of lint from the dryer) in my first aid kit.

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Flashlight:

Knife:

Stay Safe