denz Recreational » outdoor accessories

additional tips how to save backpack weight

Denz — Sun, 29 May 2011 00:51:12 +0000

Added way to save weight with your backpacking food is to bring only meals which don’t have to be cooked. This will be a problem for those that can’t get comfortable without a hot dinner, but some of us enjoy the break from cooking and washing pots. There is no reason you can’t have a healthy diet without cooking, and most backpacking is done in the warmer months, so why not try a no-cooking trip?

You will save the weight of the stove, as well as the fuel. There is a compromise that gets you one hot meal, without carrying the equipment. Just put a few frozen hotdogs in a sealed plastic bag and wrap them in the clothing in your pack to insulate them. In this way it should take them a full day to thaw out, so on day two you can cook them over a fire.

If you really want to go light on your backpacking food, there are two other tricks to use. The first is called carbo-loading. You essentially avoid carbohydrates for a week or so, and then eat a lot of them in the two days prior to your trip, causing your body to store them. With this routine, your body can store up to 1,800 calories of carbs in your blood, liver and muscles, in the form of glycogen. That means you can pack less food (okay, it only gets you half-days’ worth).

The other less extreme and perhaps more enjoyable technique is to learn enough about wild edible plants to supplement your diet. I have eaten hundreds of calories of wild raspberries in a twenty-minute break while hiking mountains. If you know the seasons of the various plant foods where you’ll be going, you can essentially replace some pack weight with your knowledge. Even if you don’t want to plan on eating wild edibles, knowing them well means you can more safely carry the minimum amount of backpacking food you think you’ll need.

Choosing your Backpack to suit your Need

Denz — Tue, 17 May 2011 07:35:39 +0000

If hiking is your style, then go for a backpack that can store all your hiking treks. Make sure that the backpack can protect your gear in adverse environment conditions. Most hiking backpacks come with a top closing flap that prevents water from dripping inside while hiking in rainy conditions. An ideal backpack will feature an extendable top portion, so that you can increase the amount of gear and equipment to carry along. A backpack should have more than one compartment so that you can keep items separately. Lastly, make sure that the backpack has straps to carry along a sleeping bag.

If you travel a lot, then go for a travel backpack so that you can carry all the items in one smooth packing device. Choose a backpack that has a detachable pack that you can carry along for smaller trips, so that you don’t have to carry the entire pack with you. When you store your items in a backpack you may feel you are storing them in a suitcase. But what stands out is the functionality of a backpack.

Day backpack is ideal for smaller trips with all the benefits of a larger backpack. The straps should be adjustable so that you can make changes depending on the items you want to carry along. It’s not necessary to have different compartments for your gear, but if you do have the option then it’s a boon.

You will pay varying prices on any backpack that you buy. Of course, the larger the backpack, the higher the price will be. You’ll be able to choose from many brand names, some that are well known and have high prices. It doesn’t matter where you buy your backpack so long as the manufacturer offers you a guarantee on both the materials and the way the pack is built. If there is no guarantee or warranty with the backpack, shop around until you find a pack that includes this service

what you should know about Tents

Denz — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 14:00:22 +0000

Tents that are advertised as one person are rarely big enough for one person. Two person tents are usually comfortable for just one person, a three person tent is comfortable for two people and so on. If you do not pick something large enough, you will find yourself cramped, claustrophobic and uncomfortable.

Pick something that will give you a little room to move and some space for some of your gear as well. Each person needs about 3 by 7 feet to stretch out. You will need extra room to dress etc. Remember, if the weather is not good, you will be stuck in whatever you have picked. You don’t want to be sitting cramped and hunched over feeling miserable.

In deciding on what you need, decide whether you will be summer or winter camping, and whether you will be backpacking. Tents are not waterproof. They are made of breathable rip stop nylon. It allows your sweat and breath to evaporate. This means you need a rainfly. They are waterproof. It fits over the roof of the tent and is meant to carry away rainwater from the tent sides. Make sure the fly is large enough to substantially cover the tent walls. Applying a sealant to the tent seams is a good idea. Apply sealer as needed throughout the tents life.

Most tents have a fine mesh screen over the door and window designed to keep out insects. All netting is not alike. Standard netting is made of nylon. Dacron is a finer mesh to discourage even the smallest bugs. They are usually zippered at the entrance with a flap that zippers over the door and window for privacy. Because of the nature of the fabric used in making tents, being porous, very few tents are designed to keep you warm. They are designed to protect you from the weather and from insects. They will protect you from the wind and rain, snow and sun.

To care for your tent, nylon is virtually maintenance free. The only thing that needs to be done is sealant occasionally. Of course never store your tent when it is wet, or even slightly damp. Always set it up when you are finished your trip and dry it out completely. Also sponge off any dirt or mud inside using a very mild liquid detergent or a baking soda and water solution. Be sure to make any repairs if you have had the misfortune to burn or damage your tent in some way. You can buy repair kits that come in various colors and are easy to use. Store your tent in a cool, dry place in its storage bag.

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Sleeping Pads for Ultralight Backpackers

Denz — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:58:58 +0000

You can make four-ounce sleeping pads – then sometimes carry two of them. Start with the plain blue closed-cell foam pads available from any backpacking supplier. These are made larger than necessary, usually 24 by 72 inches. You can just cut them down to a four-ounce size.

It’s important that it reaches from your shoulders to your hips, so cut it to that length. Cut the width a little at a time, testing for comfort as you go. You want the pad as small as you can make it, while still big enough to insulate your torso from the ground. Your head can be on a pillow of spare clothes, and your legs on your empty pack to insulate them.

Sleeping Pads For Ultralight Fanatics

If you want it really light, cut pieces out of the pad. Half-inch holes in the pad don’t seem to make it less comfortable. Cut out a hundred little pieces of foam and you get to save an ounce and join the ranks of the fanatical ultralight backpackers.

To be comfortable with a thin pad, or none at all, try sleeping where the ground is soft. You can also pile up leaves or dry grass to sleep on. Please do this only where it won’t harm the environment, and scatter the leaves in the morning so they won’t kill the vegetation they’re on. With fifteen minutes of work each night collecting materials, you can leave the sleeping pad home and be more comfortable. A thick pile of dried grass – now that’s a nice camping mattress.

Additional facts on Type of Backpack

Denz — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:23:38 +0000

Backpack is one foe the most important outdoor and camping equipment. The outdoor camping trip could not happen without backpack and good quality backpack provides smooth and pleasant trip. Backpacks are design to fit to each personality of both men and women. The purpose of carry backpack is simply enabling us to carry all necessary for travel without leaving them at one place. And when you decide to buy your backpack, you should know what you intend to use it for. It is quite obvious that backpacks now are becoming the major equipment that traveler and camper must have. However, the factor to determine the type of backpack you would need is to consider from the objective. Types of backpack can be divided into four major categories which are, military backpacks, assault packs, full packs, day packs.

Therefore, the following detail will take you thought the basic guide of these types of backpack. You will get to know each of them about what they look like and short description of their usage. We are going to start to know assault pack. Assault pack typically known as mountain pack, which is suitable for camping and mountain climbing activities or any other recreation trip. The pack of assault type is probably biggest among pack of any other type of backpack as they are designed for carrying more stuff for long or mountain vacation. Also the packs come in two main types! They are internal frame and external frame. The purpose of these frames is to distribute weight evenly through the pack. The internal frame may have less capability of hold heavy stuff than the pack that has external frame.

The first type of backpack is day pack. Day pack means to some kind of pack that we use to contain stuff that will be used during the day. Therefore, it doesn’t need to be big and they are usually has low capacity. Day pack may not suitable for long trip that requires bigger and tougher backpack. However, you may use day pack with your long trip by us them as a personal bag to carry traveling stuff such as wallet, purse, air tickets, and all travel document. This is because when you travel, especially if you travel overseas, you should keep this kind of stuff handy.

The third type is military backpack. Military backpack is quite flexible and utilized because they are designed to be used in very hard and tough condition. However, you may find that military backpack may not have as large size as other type of travel backpack. Military backpack is also suitable for short trip and if you are willing to travel to remote rural area, military backpack maybe the one that you are looking for. The fabric used for military backpack is extremely hard and you cloud make sure that it will never easily tear.

From the detail described above then you can see that there’s practical value in learning more not only about backpack topic but for all other ones. Can you think of ways to apply what’s been covered in this article and as your knowledge about this topic may continues to grow, you will begin to see how it fits into the overall scheme of things.

regrets on turn down paintball invitation

Denz — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:45:10 +0000

Until now I still fascination towards paintball. I regret the time when I was invited to join a tournament with a friend and turned it down. Well, at that time I don’t have sufficient money to finance this kind of game. So, even if I like it a lot I have no choice, but to let it go. Now that I have the capacity to support, I no longer have any means to contact him even on social network sites.

I am just reminded about the past after I came across planet eclipse ego of Zephyr Paintball. This store carries a complete line of paintball guns, paintball goggles, playing and casual apparel, jerseys, paintballs, paintball field gear and accessories for the sport at the lowest possible price. They also offer free shipping on paintball guns, paintball goggles, hoppers and paintball starter packages.

Well, that’s just it. I have to let go of this thought. I may have the access to play it, but I feel it won’t be that exciting without a friend with me.

real paintball fanatic

Denz — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:27:18 +0000

One of my friends is a real paintball fanatic. He has been playing ever since we are in college and continued his passion until now. Not long ago, I heard from our common friend that he is out looking for Paintball jerseys. He should not go anywhere else because if he is using internet at home he would instantly find ZephyrPaintball.com.

This store offers a wide range of paintball products. They carry a complete line of paintball guns, paintball goggles, playing and casual apparel, jerseys, paintballs, paintball field gear and accessories for the sport. They also represent a number of paintball brands. Most of their products are at an affordable price and free shipping on paintball guns, paintball goggles, hoppers and paintball starter packages.

I hope he will find what he is after so he can continue playing again.

Backpacking Tips and Tricks!

Denz — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:02:10 +0000

Following are a few things that I have found helpful in our backpacking adventures. I give credit to the many hikers and resources I consulted in learning what I know now.

When packing your food, divide each day’s food into separate Zip Lock bags. This will ration your food for you ensuring your don’t run out, and makes sure you are eating enough as well. You will not have all of your food strewn out over the ground looking for that package of trailmix you so desperately want from the bottom of your pack.
Hikers are one of the demographics that keep Zip Lock in business. Take extras. Double bag your food (who likes eating soggy bagels?). Double bag your garbage. Put your camp socks in a bag. Keep your fire-starting material in a zip lock. etc etc etc After a long day, dryness is synonymous with happiness.
Take two changes of clothes. One for hiking one for camp. You don’t get all that dirty at the campsite, and you don’t sweat all that much. One pair of camp clothing is fine even for eight-nine days. One pair of hiking clothes is fine as well. Everyone stinks and sweats when they hike. If you have a really bright, dry, windy day, you may be able to quit early, and wash your hiking clothes for the next day. Don’t do this unless you know for sure they will be dry for the next day, though…
Leave your cotton at home. Cotton has been dubbed as ‘killer cotton’ on hiking trails. That means no cotton shirts, sweatshirts, pants, socks, or even underwear. Cotton is fine to keep you cool around home on a hot day, but there you have dry things to change into. On a hike, you can start to shiver even if the temperature is 20 degrees Celsius. Cotton will not keep you warm if it is wet. Stick to other fabrics like polyester (it’s no longer as scratchy as your dad’s suit used to be), wool, fleece, and quick dry materials. The number one killer in the wilderness is not starvation. It’s hypothermia. People have died in the middle of summer because they couldn’t warm up.
Take a toque (knit hat), and gloves. I take these even in July and August. You won’t regret you did. Nights have a funny way of getting cold.

interesting gear

Denz — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:08:27 +0000

I have been hopping the net and I came across this site that happens to be selling Paintball and Airsoft Gear. Wow! Even before I am interested in trying this game but, I don’t have enough time and gadgets. Actually, I tried to fit the gears when one of my friends invited me. But, the game did not materialize.

Out of curiosity, I dig into the sites products. They exclusively sell and focus on Paintball and Airsoft Gears. They carry a complete line of paintball guns like invert mini, paintball goggles, hats, hoodies, jerseys, paintballs, paintball field gear and accessories for the sport. They also carry different paintball brand names. Hmmm very interesting right! Have to check some more!

Wimbledon’s fashion style!

Denz — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:43:34 +0000

Wimbledon tournament is in full swing, both on and off its grassy courts, where a lot of the media attention is directed away from the game as such and towards more fashionable concerns – like the star players’ choice of attire.

For her first match, Sharapova wore a pair of shorts (worn low on the hip with a wide-tailored waistband, pin stripe-effect and gold-stitched buttons) and a sleeveless top with a tuxedo-style front. On top of her playing gear she wore the upper half of an equally fashionable tailored, tuxedo-inspired warm-up suit – namely, a single-breasted jacket with gold stitching on the collar lapel and front edge, a more classic response to Serena Williams’ trench coat. Her outfit may have been inspired by a man’s suit, but she wore it with a lot of style and grace, and accessorized it with a pair of $5,000 Tiffany’s diamond and platinum earrings. Wow!