Most backpackers, hikers are amateur (& often professional) photographers. I use a photographer's ephemeris app that gives the orientation and times for sun rise / set & moon rise / set. When I get to camp (& sometimes on trail), I use my compass to locate these directions in the event that the rise or set times may give unique photos. Many campsites offer good photo opportunities and you can then plan your shot in advance.
I got a chuckle out of the tip to use a map and compass instead of a digital app for navigation. For those of us who are older, this was what we all learned because paper maps were all that existed. Learning to navigate by looking at your surroundings and using a map is still a skill everyone should know for safety. Electronic devices can break, run out of charge, etc.
In brutal cold winter conditions, put boiling water in a sturdy water bottle prior to going to bed, double bag it, and sleep with it in your sleeping bag. Bonus points if you squeeze it with your thighs as major arteries run along there and it will help keeping you warm. This is a total life saver in winter camping.
For reading paper maps, if you don’t often have time to learn you can try realistic video games like arma or DayZ. If you just hop in solo and drop yourself on the map randomly you can use a map and a compass to try to figure out where you are. I understand some people might bash me for this, but I’ve learned to read paper maps really well with this method. It’s really accessible, especially if you’re into video games, so you can get a lot more hours in at the end of a busy day. It also helps with getting familiar with having a sense of direction.
If you use aluminium star type tent pegs, they can hurt the palms of your hands as you try to push them into the ground. Problem solved, go to a hardware store and buy a plastic 'T' plumbing joint, about 2cm wide. Place the horizontal top of the 'T' in the palm of your hand and slip the vertical tube over the top of the peg and push your peg into the ground. Easy to use, effective and painless.
We bring a small bit of shamwow cloth to soak up excess morning dew or rain on our fly. It speed starts the air drying process and makes packing up quicker.
also know as a Swedish dish cloth, and yes they will absorb much more water than something like a Packtowl. Plus, you can get them in cool colors like Pink!
I've repurposed my old down jacket (which has several patches on it now) and am now using it as a quilt for my jack russell terrier. I stuffed the end of each sleeve into the pockets and zipped the pockets (nearly) closed. It should be super cozy for her and is light and squishable to carry for me. Thats it. My only hack...
The mating of the bags only works if one has the opposite zipper. Now a days companies make their bags with less insulation on the back as it is considered wasted there.
I think there is no need to coat the oil with your hand, pour some and move the cup, that way your hand stays clean. Uff tip 5 rules Now the debate... Butter VS Oil
oil is way easier. It's more shelf stable(or pack stable) so it won't melt or freeze on ya, or become a breeding ground(as quickly) for nasties to ruin your trip. I haven't done the math on the calories/weight of both which would be an interesting comparison.
I was very surprised on a winter hiking trip to find my olive oil bein almost solidified at about -5⁰C. But it was useable after warming it in my pocket and didn't taste weird or something.
Hack: boil water and pour into a snappable bowl (Fozzils for example) it unsnaps and flattens to easily lick clean while also saving a big headache and energy on scraping burnt scraps off ur pot. Only a mere 1.4oz penalty for the mess savings
I decided to give your glasses idea a go. I sorted it all out, the glasses and the elasticated cord, and it worked, but also didn't work. What I hadn't planned for was the glasses balance, as I tried to secure them, they kept tilting and I lost focus. If I then tightened them to compensate for the tilt, the lens came so close to my eyes I couldn't blink. Not to worry, back to the drawing board for me.
I decided to have a second go with another pair of glasses. It all worked out fine, their balance is fine, the lens's now sit vertically in front of my eyes and the bridge sits correctly on my nose. I can now throw them in the top of my rucksack and use them if I need to.
You have a comment saying you have it working now, but in case you have this issue again you can always get as cheap set of "riding glasses"normally sold as cycling gear and pull the foam spacer from the frame and set it between your face and glasses, it will look and feel janky but keep the lenses away from your eyes. Bonus points of you find a pair that has the same design as your normal glasses and get the benefit of keeping dust out of your eyes. Myself, honestly I just deal with readjusting my glasses constantly.
Some good tips. But in Canada and some mountains do nit fill your pot w water in winter, it will freeze for sure. Do use a thermal bottle to keep water hot and do boil up water the night before, add to a good bottle (Nalgene) and slide it into your cold sleeping bag to warm things up.
I sometimes use a bivvy and own a Alpkit Hunka. Its really good but just a tube. I'm old and not as supple as I used to be so my wife's friend (who's a wizard on a sewing machine) sewed a 4' zip down one side for me. It is now so much useful to use, so easy to get in and out of.
i use a mini spray bottle with oil so it coats the pan without haveing to use your fingers in Norwegian winters we often fire our multifuel stove inside the tent just to heat it up, tent becomes a hot tent at the cost of a little cheap fuel, be careful of fires though! you can trim all off all the labels from your clothes and shorten all your straps to save some free weight you can make camp slippers out of some ccf and gaffa tape
Tip #5 can also be pretty helpful for someone like myself who wear glasses while riding a motorcycle with helmet on😊 so thank you for that tip suggestion 👍🏻
I suffer from acid reflux, (I have an electric bed at home) so I want extra pillow height to help me when in my tent. These days I use two blow-up rectangular pillows, both with the valves at one end, stacked on top of each other. I push them into my rucksack liner with my Rab down jacket on top, and I pull my buff over them to make them into a comfortable pillow. It works well for me.
Wear ur down jacket backwards? Over top of ur backpack straps? Wow, now why didn't I think of that? Still, I don't want any perspiration in my down jacket, or risk it getting wet, but a zippered fleece? I'm "down" with that😅 be bold, start cold. On second thought, I use Decathlon's MT-100 down jacket, that can stuff into it's left pocket, and I carry a waterproof rolltop bag to compress & protect it, stuffed into it's pocket when wearing the jacket. So I could do this...
If you own two ZenBivys, Zenbivies not sure how to pluralize that but they don't have zippers. Instead they have these little loops that my wife and I couple up with a rubberized cord organizer that we bought. It's a spaghetti thin, flexible coated wire that we cut into segments and use to attach the meeting sides of the Zen while keeping the outside still rigged to the sheet. Admittedly, it's the sweetest friggin thing ever.
ok tip #4 is a bit whack, lol. Just do some jumping jacks, start jogging or something to warm up, or wear the jacket like normal since even the most packable puffies are not small enough to easily fit in any side pockets. So, if you need to annoy another person to stuff your jacket in the front pocket of your pack, you might as well just wear the damn jacket normal and put it away yourself like a big boy 😋 Great tips and video though!
when hiking in winter at dinner i boil some more water and put it in a nalgene or similar put a sock or two oround that (socks will dry faster if wet) and stuff that in the footbox of my sleeping bag so its get prewarmed and a bit heated through the night plus in the morning you have water that isnt frozen.
for the glases hack, I use stainless wire for first 50mm then rubber band, this helps with srabllity. for the clothes in sleeping bag use a drybag or condensation might become a problem , I live in Northern Sweden close to Arctic circle and -40 is not unknown, so any condensation is a bad thing. map and compass are great and well worth the extra weight, a week ago my wife found that out the hard way, phone just froze with a white screen and refused to even shut of, so she suddenly understood why I insist on physical map/compass
More than 50% of thru hikers suffer from diarrhea on the AT, mostly due to contact with common bacterias. When hiking, assume your hands are DIRTY. Please, do NOT spread oil in your pot with your bare hands
Hardly the biggest worry given the food & oil is about to be cooked… if you’re prepping food anyway I doubt spreading the oil around the cooking pot really adds any risk. In any case wash your hands
I've drilled tiny holes in the temples of my raybans, where i tie a really thin bungee cord. Its removable so only gets attached when in the hills. Also use a barrel knot, smaller and neater that figure 8.
I use gaiters, and I have taken the underfoot straps off, and I keep them fully zipped up. If it rains, I quickly sit on my sit mat, slip off my trail shoes and rest my feet on my second sit mat, then pull my gaiters on like a pair of socks, then put my trail shoes on. My gaiters are secured just under my knees. I also carry two pre-measured short lengths of elasticated cord, both covered with a short section of electrical cable with the inner wires pulled out, (stops the elasticated cord from being scuffed by harsh ground) and a small plastic hook attached to each end. If needed, I can quickly hook them onto the bottoms of the gaiters, for a tighter fit. In reality, I rarely use them, but I have them in my rucksack, just in case.
nice tips here, heres mine: add to your kit a second fully charged old phone, use for gps with pre-downloaded maps, music, films and use it as a camera so you save unused your main phone just for wasap and emergency calls regards from malaga
a good watch or GPS device would be a better option especially if considering weight. A phone is easily half a pound, a watch or GPS device can be less than 2 oz. If you already have an old phone laying around and don't mind the weight then go for it!
Refulling a canister with a flipfuel device without a scale should only be an exception in my opinion. Overfilled canisters and increasing temperatures are not best friends ;-)
Rub a tiny amount of olive oil in the pot with a napkin AFTER using it and it will stay none stick for ever. And dont use metal on metal as it will lose its none stickiness
It literally says on the bags it can be zipped together. Not exactly a secret 😂. It works better with envelope bags. But everything does they are just better. More versatile.
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domain using code OSCARHIKES
Most backpackers, hikers are amateur (& often professional) photographers. I use a photographer's ephemeris app that gives the orientation and times for sun rise / set & moon rise / set. When I get to camp (& sometimes on trail), I use my compass to locate these directions in the event that the rise or set times may give unique photos. Many campsites offer good photo opportunities and you can then plan your shot in advance.
This needs to be a regular series!!
I got a chuckle out of the tip to use a map and compass instead of a digital app for navigation. For those of us who are older, this was what we all learned because paper maps were all that existed. Learning to navigate by looking at your surroundings and using a map is still a skill everyone should know for safety. Electronic devices can break, run out of charge, etc.
It`s funny how after you say i`ll deff keep using these sunglasses... the exact next shot is you not using them :D
Yeah I filmed the sunglasses shot the last one 😂
For No. 1 your sleeping bags must have zippers on opposing sides. Not every manufacturer even offers that.
with my gf it works anyway if we turn one of the bags inside out :)
The old down jacket turned into booties is a great idea! Would be a great way to recycle and get more use out of gear you might not be using
If the rest of jacket isn't i a bad shape you could do a vast or jacket with shorter sleeves
In brutal cold winter conditions, put boiling water in a sturdy water bottle prior to going to bed, double bag it, and sleep with it in your sleeping bag. Bonus points if you squeeze it with your thighs as major arteries run along there and it will help keeping you warm. This is a total life saver in winter camping.
With respect to Tip 4:
Better yet, get a cycling gilet that has a windproof front and a mesh back.
Glad you shared my glasses hack. Using shock cord and dental floss is good option. 🌿
For reading paper maps, if you don’t often have time to learn you can try realistic video games like arma or DayZ. If you just hop in solo and drop yourself on the map randomly you can use a map and a compass to try to figure out where you are.
I understand some people might bash me for this, but I’ve learned to read paper maps really well with this method. It’s really accessible, especially if you’re into video games, so you can get a lot more hours in at the end of a busy day. It also helps with getting familiar with having a sense of direction.
If you use aluminium star type tent pegs, they can hurt the palms of your hands as you try to push them into the ground. Problem solved, go to a hardware store and buy a plastic 'T' plumbing joint, about 2cm wide. Place the horizontal top of the 'T' in the palm of your hand and slip the vertical tube over the top of the peg and push your peg into the ground. Easy to use, effective and painless.
I use a plastic bottle cap
Empty shotgun shells work too
We bring a small bit of shamwow cloth to soak up excess morning dew or rain on our fly. It speed starts the air drying process and makes packing up quicker.
This is way better than a sponge! Thank you. :-)
also know as a Swedish dish cloth, and yes they will absorb much more water than something like a Packtowl. Plus, you can get them in cool colors like Pink!
Tip 5. Use a fisherman/friendship bracelet knot and you won't need the buckle
Agree
I've repurposed my old down jacket (which has several patches on it now) and am now using it as a quilt for my jack russell terrier. I stuffed the end of each sleeve into the pockets and zipped the pockets (nearly) closed. It should be super cozy for her and is light and squishable to carry for me. Thats it. My only hack...
The mating of the bags only works if one has the opposite zipper. Now a days companies make their bags with less insulation on the back as it is considered wasted there.
I think there is no need to coat the oil with your hand, pour some and move the cup, that way your hand stays clean.
Uff tip 5 rules
Now the debate... Butter VS Oil
oil is way easier. It's more shelf stable(or pack stable) so it won't melt or freeze on ya, or become a breeding ground(as quickly) for nasties to ruin your trip. I haven't done the math on the calories/weight of both which would be an interesting comparison.
LARD!
I was very surprised on a winter hiking trip to find my olive oil bein almost solidified at about -5⁰C. But it was useable after warming it in my pocket and didn't taste weird or something.
The jacket idea is smart
Hack: boil water and pour into a snappable bowl (Fozzils for example) it unsnaps and flattens to easily lick clean while also saving a big headache and energy on scraping burnt scraps off ur pot. Only a mere 1.4oz penalty for the mess savings
I decided to give your glasses idea a go. I sorted it all out, the glasses and the elasticated cord, and it worked, but also didn't work. What I hadn't planned for was the glasses balance, as I tried to secure them, they kept tilting and I lost focus. If I then tightened them to compensate for the tilt, the lens came so close to my eyes I couldn't blink. Not to worry, back to the drawing board for me.
just attach the cord to the arms
I decided to have a second go with another pair of glasses. It all worked out fine, their balance is fine, the lens's now sit vertically in front of my eyes and the bridge sits correctly on my nose. I can now throw them in the top of my rucksack and use them if I need to.
I lost a tiny screw, the arm fell off, and I lost that too.
You have a comment saying you have it working now, but in case you have this issue again you can always get as cheap set of "riding glasses"normally sold as cycling gear and pull the foam spacer from the frame and set it between your face and glasses, it will look and feel janky but keep the lenses away from your eyes. Bonus points of you find a pair that has the same design as your normal glasses and get the benefit of keeping dust out of your eyes.
Myself, honestly I just deal with readjusting my glasses constantly.
Some good tips. But in Canada and some mountains do nit fill your pot w water in winter, it will freeze for sure. Do use a thermal bottle to keep water hot and do boil up water the night before, add to a good bottle (Nalgene) and slide it into your cold sleeping bag to warm things up.
I sometimes use a bivvy and own a Alpkit Hunka. Its really good but just a tube. I'm old and not as supple as I used to be so my wife's friend (who's a wizard on a sewing machine) sewed a 4' zip down one side for me. It is now so much useful to use, so easy to get in and out of.
i use a mini spray bottle with oil so it coats the pan without haveing to use your fingers
in Norwegian winters we often fire our multifuel stove inside the tent just to heat it up, tent becomes a hot tent at the cost of a little cheap fuel, be careful of fires though!
you can trim all off all the labels from your clothes and shorten all your straps to save some free weight
you can make camp slippers out of some ccf and gaffa tape
Please be careful with the stove heating up the tent, it can cause carbon monoxide poisoning if left on too long without any ventilation
Tip #5 can also be pretty helpful for someone like myself who wear glasses while riding a motorcycle with helmet on😊 so thank you for that tip suggestion 👍🏻
Amazing video. I’ve written down a few of these tips.
I suffer from acid reflux, (I have an electric bed at home) so I want extra pillow height to help me when in my tent. These days I use two blow-up rectangular pillows, both with the valves at one end, stacked on top of each other. I push them into my rucksack liner with my Rab down jacket on top, and I pull my buff over them to make them into a comfortable pillow. It works well for me.
Wear ur down jacket backwards? Over top of ur backpack straps? Wow, now why didn't I think of that? Still, I don't want any perspiration in my down jacket, or risk it getting wet, but a zippered fleece? I'm "down" with that😅 be bold, start cold.
On second thought, I use Decathlon's MT-100 down jacket, that can stuff into it's left pocket, and I carry a waterproof rolltop bag to compress & protect it, stuffed into it's pocket when wearing the jacket. So I could do this...
If you own two ZenBivys, Zenbivies not sure how to pluralize that but they don't have zippers. Instead they have these little loops that my wife and I couple up with a rubberized cord organizer that we bought. It's a spaghetti thin, flexible coated wire that we cut into segments and use to attach the meeting sides of the Zen while keeping the outside still rigged to the sheet. Admittedly, it's the sweetest friggin thing ever.
ok tip #4 is a bit whack, lol. Just do some jumping jacks, start jogging or something to warm up, or wear the jacket like normal since even the most packable puffies are not small enough to easily fit in any side pockets. So, if you need to annoy another person to stuff your jacket in the front pocket of your pack, you might as well just wear the damn jacket normal and put it away yourself like a big boy 😋
Great tips and video though!
when hiking in winter at dinner i boil some more water and put it in a nalgene or similar put a sock or two oround that (socks will dry faster if wet) and stuff that in the footbox of my sleeping bag so its get prewarmed and a bit heated through the night plus in the morning you have water that isnt frozen.
Greetings from Estonia! Your channel is the first one with interesting and useful hiking tips.
No way you didn't know about adding oil when cooking to keep food from sticking
for the glases hack, I use stainless wire for first 50mm then rubber band, this helps with srabllity.
for the clothes in sleeping bag use a drybag or condensation might become a problem , I live in Northern Sweden close to Arctic circle and -40 is not unknown, so any condensation is a bad thing.
map and compass are great and well worth the extra weight, a week ago my wife found that out the hard way, phone just froze with a white screen and refused to even shut of, so she suddenly understood why I insist on physical map/compass
More than 50% of thru hikers suffer from diarrhea on the AT, mostly due to contact with common bacterias. When hiking, assume your hands are DIRTY. Please, do NOT spread oil in your pot with your bare hands
Especially when there's used bouillon foil around!
The other 50% enjoy the diarrhea 😂
Sorry, I could resist.
Hardly the biggest worry given the food & oil is about to be cooked… if you’re prepping food anyway I doubt spreading the oil around the cooking pot really adds any risk.
In any case wash your hands
@@RedneckChemist1 And still spread the oil with your fingers?
You will heat up the pot, it does not matter. Just wash your hands before you touch your face or cutlery…
I've drilled tiny holes in the temples of my raybans, where i tie a really thin bungee cord. Its removable so only gets attached when in the hills. Also use a barrel knot, smaller and neater that figure 8.
A bunch of innovative stuff, thanks! I'll try to remember them for my next trip
great video, as always
I use gaiters, and I have taken the underfoot straps off, and I keep them fully zipped up. If it rains, I quickly sit on my sit mat, slip off my trail shoes and rest my feet on my second sit mat, then pull my gaiters on like a pair of socks, then put my trail shoes on. My gaiters are secured just under my knees. I also carry two pre-measured short lengths of elasticated cord, both covered with a short section of electrical cable with the inner wires pulled out, (stops the elasticated cord from being scuffed by harsh ground) and a small plastic hook attached to each end. If needed, I can quickly hook them onto the bottoms of the gaiters, for a tighter fit. In reality, I rarely use them, but I have them in my rucksack, just in case.
nice tips here, heres mine:
add to your kit a second fully charged old phone, use for gps with pre-downloaded maps, music, films and use it as a camera so you save unused your main phone just for wasap and emergency calls
regards from malaga
a good watch or GPS device would be a better option especially if considering weight. A phone is easily half a pound, a watch or GPS device can be less than 2 oz. If you already have an old phone laying around and don't mind the weight then go for it!
Refulling a canister with a flipfuel device without a scale should only be an exception in my opinion. Overfilled canisters and increasing temperatures are not best friends ;-)
@mykolask: "Zip up 2 bags for double sleeping bag! 😎"
Me, meeting girl while hiking: "Hey, do you know this tip?"
Rub a tiny amount of olive oil in the pot with a napkin AFTER using it and it will stay none stick for ever. And dont use metal on metal as it will lose its none stickiness
It literally says on the bags it can be zipped together. Not exactly a secret 😂.
It works better with envelope bags. But everything does they are just better. More versatile.
Sadly many still don't know this.
Not all companies advertise this, but yeah, everyone I know who camps, hikes, or bikepacks already knew this but can't remember where they learned it.