If the tape on the bottom end of the male side of a zipper is disintegrating, stiffen or repair it with clear nail polish.
Joe Bond, Commack, NY
Sticky Fingers
You just seam-sealed your tent, but now your fingers are glued together. To remove, the sticky seam sealer, rub acetone-based nail-polish remover on your hands with a rough cloth, then wash with soap and water.
Susan Newquist
Getting The Shaft
If you break a tent pole, you can replace it with an aluminum arrow shaft. Many are made of Easton aluminum of a similar grade to good tent poles and come in hollow 36-inch lengths that can be cut to size. An archery shop will probably have one to match the pole you broke. Use thin cord or fishing line to restring the elastic cord.
Monte Dodge, Olympia, WA
Screened To Kill
Does the entire spring hatch of black flies, snowmelt mosquitoes, and other bloodsucking terrorists migrate across your tent's bug screen each spring, just waiting for you to crack the zipper? Then spray the netting with permethrin, available from various manufacturers at outdoors stores. Not only is permethrin a repellent, but it actually kills the bugs that crawl on it. Since it's safe for human contact after it dries, use it to treat clothing, socks, and shoes, too, especially where ticks with Lyme disease are a problem.
J. Harlin
Camp Sandals
You don't need those expensive, heavy, gladiator-worthy sports sandals just to kick around camp. Pick up a pair of flip-flops from a discount store. They weigh less than half a pound and cost less than $10.
Laurie Braaten
Sherpa Rest
You waste a lot of energy hoisting a heavy pack after every trailside rest break. Instead, try the "sherpa rest," used by generations of Himalayan and Andean porters. When your shoulders are ready for a break, look for a log or fiat-top boulder slightly higher than your waist. Back up to the rest ledge, and set the bottom of your pack atop it. Then loosen your hipbelt and lean back for a quick standing rest. For a longer seated rest, seek out flat-top boulders about thigh high, or lean back against slanting slopes on the uphill side of the trail. To resume, just tighten your hipbelt and go.
Steve Howe
Source Citation
"Quick tips. (Know how: skills, tips, techniques)." Backpacker May 2002: 94+. Gale Power Search. Web. 26 Jan. 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA86388522&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A86388522
If the tape on the bottom end of the male side of a zipper is disintegrating, stiffen or repair it with clear nail polish.
Joe Bond, Commack, NY
Sticky Fingers
You just seam-sealed your tent, but now your fingers are glued together. To remove, the sticky seam sealer, rub acetone-based nail-polish remover on your hands with a rough cloth, then wash with soap and water.
Susan Newquist
Getting The Shaft
If you break a tent pole, you can replace it with an aluminum arrow shaft. Many are made of Easton aluminum of a similar grade to good tent poles and come in hollow 36-inch lengths that can be cut to size. An archery shop will probably have one to match the pole you broke. Use thin cord or fishing line to restring the elastic cord.
Monte Dodge, Olympia, WA
Screened To Kill
Does the entire spring hatch of black flies, snowmelt mosquitoes, and other bloodsucking terrorists migrate across your tent's bug screen each spring, just waiting for you to crack the zipper? Then spray the netting with permethrin, available from various manufacturers at outdoors stores. Not only is permethrin a repellent, but it actually kills the bugs that crawl on it. Since it's safe for human contact after it dries, use it to treat clothing, socks, and shoes, too, especially where ticks with Lyme disease are a problem.
J. Harlin
Camp Sandals
You don't need those expensive, heavy, gladiator-worthy sports sandals just to kick around camp. Pick up a pair of flip-flops from a discount store. They weigh less than half a pound and cost less than $10.
Laurie Braaten
Sherpa Rest
You waste a lot of energy hoisting a heavy pack after every trailside rest break. Instead, try the "sherpa rest," used by generations of Himalayan and Andean porters. When your shoulders are ready for a break, look for a log or fiat-top boulder slightly higher than your waist. Back up to the rest ledge, and set the bottom of your pack atop it. Then loosen your hipbelt and lean back for a quick standing rest. For a longer seated rest, seek out flat-top boulders about thigh high, or lean back against slanting slopes on the uphill side of the trail. To resume, just tighten your hipbelt and go.
Steve Howe
Source Citation
"Quick tips. (Know how: skills, tips, techniques)." Backpacker May 2002: 94+. Gale Power Search. Web. 26 Jan. 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA86388522&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A86388522
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