The Gear House » Helpful Tips

How To Properly Fit an Internal Frame Backpack

Chris — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:55:27 +0000

I was just flipping through the ALPS Mountaineering website and came across an extensive pack fitting guide that they put on the website for internal frames. If you are looking for information on how to fit a backpack or how to properly adjust/fit an internal frame pack, then you should check out these steps.

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ALPS Mountaineering Internal Frame Pack Fitting

What you need to start a fire properly

Chris — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:00:15 +0000

The secret to making a good fire is to build it up gradually, beginning with small pieces of wood, then progressing to larger branches and logs as the fire gets going. Your wood should be graded into tinder, dry kindling, and lots of small sticks, large sticks, and logs. Get each size of wood burning well before adding larger pieces.

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Tinder

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You will need a ball of tinder at least the size of a grapefruit, buffed to its finest consistency. Tinder is the most important part of a fire, since you cannot start a fire by just lighting thick sticks…unless of course you use a manufactured firestarter that takes the place of tinder.

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Once the tinder has begun to burn, you can add dry kindling in the form of small sticks and leaves. Make sure that the kindling is bone dry. The sticks should be about the thickness of a pencil.

Small Fuel

Scrooge When the kindling is burning well, you can add sticks about the thickness of a finger. The sticks take the flames from initial stages to a fully burning fire.

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Main Fuel

Large sticks act as the main fuel. They should be thicker than your finger, but easy to break into manageable pieces. You will use mainly this size fuel for your fire.

Large Fuel

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Thick logs are for keeping an established fire going all night, or in a semi-permanent camp. Make sure that they are completely burned when you put out the fire or you use enough water to completely put them out.

Keep Vital Equipment Around Your Neck

Chris — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 04:02:32 +0000

When going out in the oods, you should never be without your most valuable and vital pieces of equipment. You should take great care to not lose or break them, since they can’t be replaced and may be crucial to your survival. Each of these items should be attached to a separate strong cord and be hung around your neck, available when you need it. Tuck the items inside your clothing when not in use to prevent from breaking them.

Compass
Multi-tool/Knife (if not on your belt)
Whistle
Watch (if not on your wrist)

Consider these items your outdoor bling!

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Put Together Your Basic Survival Kit

Chris — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:00:50 +0000

Along the same lines as the post from the other day about setting up your own camping kit, you should also consider setting up your own survival kit. No wait, let me rephrase that – set up a survival kit. Obviously it does not need to be as extensive as this one that we will mention, but get what works for you and makes you feel like you are ready to survive in the wilderness if you need to. However, remember that there is no good way to test out what is in your survival gear unless you need to survive. That being said, maybe try taking your survival kit out one day and use only its contents to see how you do at night.

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In survival situations, a few key items can make the difference between living and dying. These important items should be carried in your pack at all times. Depending on the size of your kit, they could fit in a small dry box Dead and Gone the movie

or a bag.

Safety pins – use these from securing your clothing or mending your sleeping bag or tent. Could also be used in first aid situations if needed.
Thin wire – wire can be put to many uses and may be reused over and over again. It should be thin enough to bend easily, yet not so think that it will break.
Fishing line – choose a strong line for catching fish and lashing tools.
Fishing hooks and sinkers – pack plenty of small fishing hooks, floats, and split shot weights. Small hooks can be used for catching both large and small fish.
Life saving equipment – the most important items of your sruvival equipment should be kept in a small tin with a tight fitting lid.
Reflector/Signal Mirror – you can use the polished lid of your survival tin, or a specially made one to attract attention in a survival situation. Looking through the hole in the center, you can direct reflected sunlight towards an airplane.
Button compass – this is essential (depending on your needs and knowledge).
Candle – keep this for fire lighting rather than as a lamp. Do not use tallow candles because they putrefy in hot weather.
Matches (storm proof or water proof)
Needles, thread, and buttons – keep several needles in your kit, all with large eyes, as well as plenty of thick, strong, and preferably waterproof thread. Wrap the thread around the needles and store them in a plastic bag. Large buttons are useful for securing the flaps of tents or repairing clothing.
Magnifying glass – a magnifying glass can focus sunlight on dry tinder, making it smolder, so that you can start a fire.
Wire Saw – a wire saw is easy, if slow, to use, and can cut most materials. Keep it covered with a film of grease so that it does not rust or break.
Salt – this is essential for survival. If you do not replace the salt lost in sweat and urine, you my become very ill. You can also buy salt tablets as opposed to carrying a baggy of salt.
Plastic Bags – a strong plastic bag is useful for many different things, such as carrying water from a stream, or collecting water from vegetation in emergencies.
Pencil – a pencil is invaluable for making notes on where you have been and what is safe to eat, as well as for drawing maps. Along this line, also carry a small notepad or piece of paper.
Adhesive bandages – you should have them in various sizes to prevent abrasions from becoming infected or to pad blisters on your feet.
Antibiotic tablets – these should be kept until you really need them.
Water sterilizing tablets – keep these for emergencies, when you are unable to boil water that you believe is unsafe to drink
Mug or Pot – you want to make sure you have something that you can boil water in. Whether it is an old tin mug that your other survival gear fits into or a small compact pot that is multipurpose. Carry something to keep your hydrated when possible and also to help you cook food.

Set Up Your Personal Camping Kit

Chris — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:00:28 +0000

Bug psp A good collection of camping equipment is only created by trying different things and seeing what works best for you. After you come back from a trip, look through everything you took and separate your gear into two piles: stuff you used and stuff you did not use. Leave the “stuff you did not use” pile at home on your next trip. What you add and remove from the kit should be based on your experience from previous trips as well as the type of trip you have coming up. With that being said, here is a pretty good base list of items to take on your trips.

Map
Compass
Flashlight
Multi-tool/Pocket Knife
Cooking Pot Set
Water Bottle
Water Purifier
Stove
Stove fuel
Plate, Bowl, Mug, and utensils
Towel (a regular towel or a pack towel)
Wash kit (soap, tooth brush, etc)
Lip balm
First aid kit
Waterproof matches
Sewing Kit
Survival Kit
Sunblock
Tent
Sleeping Bag
and of course Clothes.

As you start to go on more trips and try out the different gear, you will quickly realize what you need and what you really should have left at home so you were not carrying the extra weight.

For a more detailed list, that lays out different clothing options and more, check out the post What To Pack For A Backpacking Trip What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? dvd Naked video .

What are the essentials that you take with you on a trip?

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Are You An Urban Backpacker?

Chris — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:07:36 +0000

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Breakin’ rip This is by no means a new thing to hit the scenes, but I have been reading a lot of posts, articles, and tweets about it lately. Urban backpacking is a type of traveling focusing on flexibility and low cost. Urban backpacking consists of backpacking around different cities, towns, or countries. This is accomplished by using a variety of different methods of travel including trains, busses, and hitchhiking. Urban backpackers then usually stay at hostels or low cost hotels while in an area seeing the city.

Over the next couple weeks, I am going to share some different tips for urban backpacking about what to pack, things to do, ways to travel, and finding places to stay. I know I usually focus on wilderness backpacking, and I will continue to do so, but I thought this would be a great route to take the posting for a couple times.

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What do you think?

Are you an urban backpacker? If so, leave some comments about your experiences, links to your blogs or pictures, and the types of articles that you’d like to read. I’ll try to post about all topics suggested!

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Washing Your Sleeping Bag

Chris — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:30:28 +0000

Is your sleeping bag dirty or starting to smell? Here are a few tips for cleaning/washing your sleeping bag. Never dry clean your sleeping bag, down or synthetic. Hand washing is the recommended method though machine washing works well (in a front loader only). As for soaps, any liquid detergent will do. Powdered detergents are okay if you can get them to dissolve thoroughly.

Here are a couple rules:

Use warm or cold water only; excess heat will destroy any sleeping bag.
Use half as much liquid detergent as you think you need.
Remove the spun-dry bag from the washer and place it in an extractor (a high speed centrifuge, available at coin operated laundries). One pass through the extractor will remove nearly all the water.
Dry the bag at a low heat setting in a large commercial dryer. Be sure the dryer actually puts out low heat. If it doesn’t, jam a magazine over the safety button so you can run the dryer with the door ajar.

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Another thing you can do when drying your sleeping bag is to add in some tennis balls to the dryer. This will help fluff the bag .

Make Your Own Backcountry Cutting Board – Tip from Backpacker.com

Chris — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:00:36 +0000

I was just over at Backpacker.com taking a look around and found this great reader tip about how you can make your own backcountry cutting board.

Michael Irvine from Santa Rosa, CA shares the tip:

To make a backpack-friendly cutting board, I trimmed plastic cutting boards from Target into small circles that fit snugly inside my cook pots. These lightweight discs keep my knives from dulling–and provide a hygienic place to store ingredients while I cook. Fame release

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One of the follow up comments from a visitor to the site even suggested cutting a notch or putting a hole in the board towards the edge to help with getting the board out of the bottom of the pot if it gets stuck or suctioned in from washing it. Great tips!

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Make Your Own First Aid Kit

Chris — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:34:39 +0000

When traveling or being outdoors, it is important to carry a first aid kit with you no matter what type of activity you are doing (camping, backpacking, rock climbing, kayaking, biking, anything). Many first aid kits will just be a few simple items that are good for any activity. However, it is important to have an in depth kit that will allow you to face most emergencies and challenges that you come across.

The only way to be fully prepared for the trip that you are taking would be to buy a sport specific first aid kit or to create your own. The American Red Cross has a good list of general supplies that should be in any first aid kit, including:

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2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)

1 blanket (space blanket)

1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)

1 instant cold compress

2 pair of non-latex gloves (size: large)

2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)

Scissors

1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)

1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)

5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)

5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)

Oral thermometer (non-mercury/non-glass)

2 triangular bandages

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You see the full list on their website.

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However, if you are looking to create your own, there is a great website that sells the different items you would want to include and you are able to pick and choose rather than buying just a standardized kit. The Emergency Essentials House of Usher hd website allows you to select only the items that you want in your kit and purchase. You can see this great order page here

Light My Fire Grandpa&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#039;s FireForks Make Fire Cooking Easy

Chris — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:22:40 +0000

WoodsMonkey has a great article about the Grandpa’s FireForks from Light My Fire. I have sold many of these and have more on the way and believe they are great items. Look for them to be in the TheGearHouse store soon (which will also be getting a MAJOR revamp).

Heres the article from WoodsMokey:

Cooking food directly over the flames is a practice that goes back as far as man has had fire, and the basic practice still hasn’t changed all that much. Take a look around any campground that you happen to be near and you’ll find folks roasting hotdogs and marshmallows on pointed sticks right over the fire. It simple, it works, and it’s fun for the kids to both cook that way and to make their sticks ahead of time. However, it isn’t always the most efficient way to do things. It’s not uncommon to lose your food into the fire with the old single prong pointed stick. Multi prong sticks work a little better and you can find metal two tined fire forks at most camping stores. The problem with those is either that the big ones are too long and bulky to take on anything but a car camping trip, and the smaller are generally all metal including the handle portion. They also tend to be rather short and quickly heat up since you have to be closer to the fire–not to mention the fact that the metal transfers the heat to your hands much more than it will with a wooden stick. Enter Light My Fire and their Grandpa’s FireForks.

Light My Fire is well known for their fire starting Ferro rods as well as their colorful Meal Kits, but the little FireFork is a stroke of genius in my opinion. LMF took a piece of stainless steel wire and bent it in such a manner that it leaves you with a springy opening that will clamp over most sticks and which gives you two prongs to stick into your food. The Fork works well with hotdogs since you can spear them in at least two spots to balance out the load and you can roast marshmallows two at a time on it too. I’m sure folks could come up with a bunch of other stuff to cook that way too from sausages to freshly caught fish. The beauty of it is that since they just provide you with just the head, it makes for an ultra-light (0.6oz) and ultra-compact package to drop in daypack or rucksack. Once you get where you’re going you can either find a fallen stick or cut a branch of appropriate size and you’re in business. You don’t have to carry a long pole with you and you can make the shaft as short or as long as you need it to be, When you’re finished, feed your stick into the fire and toss the FireFork back into your ruck and you’re done. LMF even provides brightly colored tine covers with each one to keep the fork from poking into other gear or to make it easy to differentiate which one belongs to each person.

In some ways, I think that Grandpa’s FireFork may be the best of all worlds for kids. They still get a chance to go out and harvest their marshmallow stick, and may still have to cut it down to size so they get the fun of making the stick as well. Once they do that and then they pull out their brightly colored FireFork (perhaps matched in color to their LMF Meal Kit?), they’ll have a sturdy and efficient fork for some old time campfire cooking! You can find four-packs of FireForks at many outdoor stores and they should run you a very reasonable $15 for the set.