Category: Hunting
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The bearable weight of backpack features
A backpack should be a sturdy bag to hold your stuff, with a suitable suspension system, and just enough straps and/or exterior accoutrements to not impede efficiency. Efficiency in the backcountry has more to do with knowledge and experience than equipment, which makes the question simple: how little exterior stuff on your pack can you…
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Bud Moore’s Land Ethic
“Given the knowledge we had, we did the best we could.” -Bud Moore A unique generation is in the process of dying. People born in the lower 48 around a century ago could have, in a few cases, grown up firmly in the 19th century; without electricity or running water, without a reasonable chance of…
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RIT die for synthetic garments
I have issues with hats. This is mostly a performance thing. While the scientific robustness of the old claim that you loose an outsize amount of heat through your head is coming into question, the fact that temperature regulation via hats is fast and easy remains unassailable. As readers will know, I have a brain…
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The death of the outdoorsman
In short, I think everyone holds some version of the same conceptual category: “Fellow creatures about whom I care too much to eat.” –Tovar Cerulli On several occasions in the past I’ve speculated on when, in the history of American outdoor culture, the hook and bullet sides of being in the outdoors separated as thoroughly…
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The Black Diamond Alpine Start Hoody
Surely, the windshirt quest will never stop. Finding an ideal active layer for days which are neither warm nor arctic, neither calm nor storming fiercely, involves delicate balancing of contradictory attributes. The shirt must be significantly wind resistant, but quite breathable. It must be light, but tough, especially given that a windshirt will be used…
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Anorak conversions for blown main zippers
It is to be expected that a heavily used jacket with a #3 main zip, like the 2.1 year old Rab Xenon pictured here, will have zipper failure within the useful life of the garment. While manufacturers continue to use these zips on weekly-use pieces, for reasons of weight, cost, and pliability, repairs will be…
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Guidebooks and South Fork access issues
White River from Haystack, looking west towards the South Fork of the Flathead, Bob Marshall country. This morning I amended, with considerably reluctance, my Crown of the Continent packrafting guidebook. There are now three short paragraphs toward the beginning, right under the obligatory disclaimer, encouraging present and future boaters to be mindful of their visual…
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Dear Governor Bullock
I received a letter from the National Wildlife Federation recently, encouraging me to write a letter to our Governor, Steve Bullock. He can be reached at PO Box 200801 Helena, MT 59620. If you’re interested in wild bison, you might wish to send him a letter. Montana is nearing the final stages of developing a…
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Review the review: OGL on Headlamps
I may have given them some shit recently, but a few weeks ago Outdoor Gear Lab atoned for any past sins and then some, with an outstanding headlamp review. I can’t think of anything they left unexamined. Breadth (37 lamps) and depth (beam patterns, real world run times) are present. Basic theory (why have a…
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Pack materials rundown
I gave in to a somewhat unreasonable obsession with building packs a few years ago, embracing the learning process it provides and admitting that nothing will be perfect and that eventually, anything will go back under the knife to be rebuilt or just scrapped for parts. This lack of attachment helps, I like to think,…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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