- Joined
- Oct 16, 2005
- Messages
- 7,499
Decided my new year's resolution was to get off my lazy butt and get out in the woods more this year, so I packed up some gear and headed out to the woods behind where I live. I am testing several pieces of kit today, from clothing to a new knife, as well as some theories about winter fire-making.
Clothing:
Wore a new beanie hat I got yesterday that is made by Nike and is essentially the same as those made by UnderArmor. It is for runners to wear under another hat, designed to help wick moisture away. :thumbup:
I wore it under the hooded fleece sweatshirt with hood up and I was warm almost the whole time.
Mizuno runners pants under REI shell pants. Both great pieces of kit that kept me toasty AND dry.
Lands End super squall coat. My regular coat in the winter except for very cold days and it did well today. If it wasn't just a day hike I would wear something different though, but overall a nice coat for what I was doing today.
REI wool socks and my Timberland hikers. Feet were not cold at all. I would wear liners or another pair of socks on an overnighter.
Minnesota Mitts fleece mittens. I like fleece because it sheds water easily and dries quickly. My mistake was NOT wearing liners. Fingers got cold, but the plus with mittens is the ease of pulling thumb into the hand part to warm it with the other fingers.
I carried my new Stromeng Leuku today, along with a Becker necker, and an Enzo. Never needed the necker or Enzo at all. The big boy did all the work! An excellent chopper with the mittens on, with the flair at the end helping for control and slippage. Fleece mittens are not the best for gripping things and the butt end kept the knife in my hand while I banged away at deadfall.
I began a shelter today and will continue to work on it over the winter, with the idea of sleeping in it eventually. Tons of downed trees made it easy to clomp around and either break branches or chop them. Shelter building is fun! I haven't done something like this since I was a kid!
Some pics of it as it began to take shape:
From the side:
Built a little fire to test some theories I have about fire in winter. I broke off a pice of bark from a downed tree to keep fire off ground. I used some dryer lint and a BIC to start it. I have decided that although I have BICs in all my kits, they SUCK! I hate how hard they are to use and I am now in the market for a new lighter. When your hands are cold and you need to get the lighter going, it isn't easy to do, plus the flame is weak. Any ideas or suggestions regarding a different lighter are very welcome!
Dryer lint is not enough to get a good fire going with damp wood. It work well in the seasons other than winter, but a PCB would have been better (I didn't have any). I used a piece of fatwood that burned longer, and allowed the twigs I gathered to dry enough to catch also. :thumbup: to fatwood. Carry some, it works well.
Snowshoes would have helped me get to my destination. The snow wasn't deep, but there is a crust over is in some areas and turning an ankle is not fun in the winter. Safety tip number 1.
Safety tip number 2 is while chopping with a 9 inch knife, be very sure of where your other hand is. Super easy to cut off a finger or injure yourself.
Safety tip number 3: while carrying knife and branches through snow to pile onto the shelter, make sure knife is held down and away from body or replaced in sheath. Yes, it means the knife is taken in and out of sheath a lot, but safety is first and foremost. Falling on a blade is almost sure to end what started as a good day.
I chopped a lot with the knife and also held it in both hands and shaved areas of wood like a draw knife. This tool is a great addition to any kit.
Clothing:
Wore a new beanie hat I got yesterday that is made by Nike and is essentially the same as those made by UnderArmor. It is for runners to wear under another hat, designed to help wick moisture away. :thumbup:
I wore it under the hooded fleece sweatshirt with hood up and I was warm almost the whole time.
Mizuno runners pants under REI shell pants. Both great pieces of kit that kept me toasty AND dry.
Lands End super squall coat. My regular coat in the winter except for very cold days and it did well today. If it wasn't just a day hike I would wear something different though, but overall a nice coat for what I was doing today.
REI wool socks and my Timberland hikers. Feet were not cold at all. I would wear liners or another pair of socks on an overnighter.
Minnesota Mitts fleece mittens. I like fleece because it sheds water easily and dries quickly. My mistake was NOT wearing liners. Fingers got cold, but the plus with mittens is the ease of pulling thumb into the hand part to warm it with the other fingers.
I carried my new Stromeng Leuku today, along with a Becker necker, and an Enzo. Never needed the necker or Enzo at all. The big boy did all the work! An excellent chopper with the mittens on, with the flair at the end helping for control and slippage. Fleece mittens are not the best for gripping things and the butt end kept the knife in my hand while I banged away at deadfall.
I began a shelter today and will continue to work on it over the winter, with the idea of sleeping in it eventually. Tons of downed trees made it easy to clomp around and either break branches or chop them. Shelter building is fun! I haven't done something like this since I was a kid!
Some pics of it as it began to take shape:
From the side:
Built a little fire to test some theories I have about fire in winter. I broke off a pice of bark from a downed tree to keep fire off ground. I used some dryer lint and a BIC to start it. I have decided that although I have BICs in all my kits, they SUCK! I hate how hard they are to use and I am now in the market for a new lighter. When your hands are cold and you need to get the lighter going, it isn't easy to do, plus the flame is weak. Any ideas or suggestions regarding a different lighter are very welcome!
Dryer lint is not enough to get a good fire going with damp wood. It work well in the seasons other than winter, but a PCB would have been better (I didn't have any). I used a piece of fatwood that burned longer, and allowed the twigs I gathered to dry enough to catch also. :thumbup: to fatwood. Carry some, it works well.
Snowshoes would have helped me get to my destination. The snow wasn't deep, but there is a crust over is in some areas and turning an ankle is not fun in the winter. Safety tip number 1.
Safety tip number 2 is while chopping with a 9 inch knife, be very sure of where your other hand is. Super easy to cut off a finger or injure yourself.
Safety tip number 3: while carrying knife and branches through snow to pile onto the shelter, make sure knife is held down and away from body or replaced in sheath. Yes, it means the knife is taken in and out of sheath a lot, but safety is first and foremost. Falling on a blade is almost sure to end what started as a good day.
I chopped a lot with the knife and also held it in both hands and shaved areas of wood like a draw knife. This tool is a great addition to any kit.
