Tie out testing, Grommet in 4 layers silnylon vs unreinforced 1″ webbing
Filed under Do It Yourself, Fabric, Oware Backpacking Gear
Tie out Testing, Silnylon (72 lbs) and 1mm dacron cord (knotted strength, 50lbs),
Filed under Do It Yourself, Oware Backpacking Gear
Control those tarp cords
A simple coiling method to keep cord untangled until you need them. I learned this at Outward Bound. Firm Cord works best. I like to use 2mm cord on the most used tie outs and carry a bit of 1mm cord for long reaches to distant anchors.

Starting at the bitter end, coil around hand leaving a foot or two between the hand and tarp attachment point.
Wilderness As Therapy from High Country News
”
A growing number of veterans and researchers are racing to understand nature’s power to heal.”
Filed under Good Links
Customer reaction
“Amazing quality, Dave! This was my first ever pitch of a pyramid tarp and it took me only a couple of minutes. Looking forward to using this for multi day backcountry skiing, backpacking, river running, mountain biking, etc. Thank you, Scott”
The Packrat Papers by the Signpost
From 1972, collection of backpacking advice.
A photo from the book of “The Lake Wenatchee Trail Helper”
Stinson Beach, Mt Tam, Point Reyes California
Great Hikes and nice beaches one hour north of San Francisco.

Stinson Beach
Filed under Oware Backpacking Gear
Thoughts on Tarp Setups
Some of nylon’s stretch can be mitigated by how the fabric pieces are cut out. Curves etc. in seams and hems can help maintain shape. I far as I know, nylon is still the fabric of choice for shock absorption (parachutes, ropes) and does a good job for shelters suddenly loaded by wind or snow.
It does sag a bit at times from temperature drops or moisture. In something like a pyramid tarp, having a method for adjusting the pole upward to take up slack from within the shelter is nice. If your tarp pole is not adjustable, this could be as simple as having a stone handy to place underneath the pole. If you use outside shear poles, reaching under the hem and pulling the two pole bottoms inward can do the same.
Be sure in any case or fabric type you stake out the hem in the right shape. On a symmetrical 4 sided mid, a diamond shape instead of a perfect square will produce saggy walls with any fabric. Floored shelters are easier to get the stake out pattern correct. On a floorless shelter you could tie tiny cords corner to corner to insure proper and repeatable layouts.
Classic book -The Arctic year by Peter Freuchen
Before snow machines, the internet and global warming. One chapter for each month of the year,from Peter Freuchen Danish explorer, author, journalist and anthropologist. A remarkable man, he wrote several books.
“A famous Arctic explorer and an eminent Danish ornithologist have collaborated to produce a most unusual month-by-month account of how life goes on in the Far North. By tracing the exquisitely adjusted, intergrated relationships that hold climate and currents and living creatures, permafrost and plants, in balance, the authors have documented the great design of arctic ecology and shown how profoundly it is tied to the rest of the world.”
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6353917-the-arctic-year
“In 1910, Knud Rasmussen and Peter Freuchen established the Thule Trading Station at Cape York (Uummannaq), Greenland, as a trading base. The name Thule was chosen because it was the most northerly trading post in the world, literally the “Ultima Thule“.[6] Thule Trading Station became the home base for a series of seven expeditions, known as the Thule Expeditions, between 1912 and 1933.
The First Thule Expedition (1912, Rasmussen and Freuchen) aimed to test Robert Peary‘s claim that a channel divided Peary Land from Greenland. They proved this was not the case in a remarkable 1,000 km (620 mi) journey across the inland ice that almost killed them.[7] Clements Markham, president of the Royal Geographical Society, called the journey the “finest ever performed by dogs.”[8] Freuchen wrote personal accounts of this journey (and others) in ‘Vagrant Viking’ (1953) and ‘I Sailed with Rasmussen’ (1958). He states in ‘Vagrant Viking’ that only one other dogsled trip across Greenland was ever successful.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Freuchen
Filed under Good Links, Tips for the Backcountry
Thick Foam Pads Back in Stock, Stuffsacks for them too!
Plastazote Foam
Winter Thickness of 1/2″ (1.3mm)
Dark Grey
Closed Cell Foam Waterproof to a Hydrostatic Head of 3500 mm.
Will not go flat if punctured.
One of the lightest options for your PCT thru hike.
Add it to your summer pad for a winter trip.
R value of 2.
Without dimples or ridges that collect snow in your snow shelter or rain under your tarp and soak your sleeping bag.
Stuffsack (with strap loop for outside carry on your pack or on top of your bike panniers) available on some sizes. Drawstring has keeper mitten hook for outside carry of pad on pack. Stuffsack weight 1 oz.
Use the double wide in hammocks, for two people, or trim and layer for one person to extra width or cushioning.
Three sizes from two person width to torso size.
Torso size 20x40x1/2″ –weight 5 ounces
One person size 20x60x1/2″ –weight 7.5 ounces
Two person size 40x60x1/2″ –weight 15 ounces
Available in the USA only due to shipping costs on bulky items.
Free Shipping in the USA.
http://shop.bivysack.com/Foam-1-2-Thick-130mm-Sleeping-Pads-1FoamWinter.htm





































