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Home » Archive for  Quick Tips (Page 3)

Category: Quick Tips

Some quick tips and ideas to make outdoor pursuits a little more efficient.

Quick Tip: Pull tab guyline tensioner

Posted onMarch 22, 2016April 25, 2025AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

Make a guyline tensioner out of pull tab from a can. Light, cheap and easy to use. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Getting Started, Quick TipsTagsbackpacking, budget gear, camping, DIY, guylines, quick tip, shelters, tarp

from Google Image Search

Quick Tip: Test strip containers for storage

Posted onFebruary 24, 2016November 6, 2024AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

Empty glucose test strip containers for diabetes work well for misc. hiking, camping, backpacking and even geocaching storage. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Quick TipsTagscamping, containers, quick tip, storage

Quick Tip: Sun shield for winter camping

Posted onJanuary 27, 2016October 9, 2018AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

A simple trick for sleeping warmer at night. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Getting Started, Quick TipsTagsbudget gear, camping, quick tip, winter

Quick Tip: Green soda bottle for alcohol fuel

Posted onJanuary 21, 2016July 14, 2019AuthorPaul Mags9 Comments

A simple, effective and safe way to carry denatured alcohol. Read More …

CategoriesGetting Started, Quick TipsTagsalcohol stove, camp stoves, quick tip

Quick Tip: Blue foam for changing winter boots

Posted onJanuary 13, 2016November 10, 2021AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

Another great use for the humble scraps of blue foam Read More …

CategoriesGear, Quick TipsTagsblue foam, quick tip, winter

Quick Tip: Lithium batteries for cold weather

Posted onJanuary 5, 2016January 31, 2017AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

In the cold weather, bring some lithium batteries. Read More …

CategoriesGetting Started, Quick TipsTagscamping, quick tip, winter

Quick Tip: Don’t burn your snow pot!

Posted onDecember 11, 2015January 31, 2017AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Winter backpacking? Don’t burn the snow pot! Here’s how to melt snow the right way. Read More …

CategoriesGetting Started, Quick TipsTagscamping, cooking, quick tip, winter

Quick Tip: Ziplock bag wallet

Posted onJuly 28, 2015March 13, 2017AuthorPaul Mags4 Comments

A Ziplock bag for a wallet seems obvious. But then I saw a review for a $35 hiker wallet. Perhaps the idea is not obvious after all. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Quick TipsTagsbudget gear, gear, wallet

Quick Tip: Frisbee as a camp dinner plate

Posted onJuly 21, 2015November 25, 2023AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

The humble frisbee makes a great dinner plate for camping: light, durable, inexpensive and effective. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Quick TipsTagscamping, car camping, quick tip, trail work

Quick Tip : Water bottles as ice packs

Posted onJune 3, 2015July 16, 2024AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

Have a lot of water bottles accumulated? Use them as quick and dirty ice packs! Read More …

CategoriesGear, Getting Started, Quick TipsTagscamping, car camping, quick tip, water bottles, water containers

Quick Tip: Gutter spike nails as tent stakes

Posted onMay 28, 2015April 25, 2025AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

An inexpensive, light and durable alternative to traditional tent stakes. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Quick TipsTagsbudget gear, camping, car camping, quick tip, shelters, tent stakes

Quick Tip: Duct tape for easy splinter removal

Posted onFebruary 20, 2015June 19, 2017AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Duct tape can be a quick and dirty way of removing multiple splinters. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Getting Started, Quick TipsTagsduct tape, quick tip, splinters

Quick Tip: Extra hat and gloves post trip

Posted onDecember 30, 2014January 31, 2017AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

Another quick tip that seems obvious, but took me a while to realize.

CategoriesGear, Quick TipsTagsquick tip, winter

Gear pick of the year 2014 – Scraps of blue foam

Posted onDecember 11, 2014January 13, 2021AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

My gear pick of the year for 2014: Scraps left over from a blue foam pad! Read More …

CategoriesGear, Quick TipsTagsblue foam, budget gear, dirt bagging, gear, gear pick of the year, quick tip, winter

Quick tip: Xmas Tree Disposal bag = emergency shelter

Posted onNovember 24, 2014April 24, 2018AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

Another quick tip just in time for the coming season. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Quick TipsTagsbudget gear, Christmas Tree bag, quick tip, shelters, survival, winter

Quick Tip: BagTex – A poor person’s VBL

Posted onNovember 17, 2014December 3, 2020AuthorPaul Mags4 Comments

A quick winter tip for keeping the feet warm in single digit temps. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Quick TipsTagsbackpacking, budget gear, quick tip, VBL, winter

Quick Tip: Easy declination on a compass

Posted onSeptember 12, 2014April 15, 2018AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

Don’t have a compass that where declination can be adjusted? Here’s a quick and dirty way to pre-set it!

CategoriesGear, Getting Started, Quick TipsTagscompass, hiking, navigation, quick tip

Quick Tip: Tent stakes in hard ground

Posted onAugust 26, 2014April 25, 2025AuthorPaul Mags7 Comments

The easy way to get stakes in the hard ground often found at “improved” campsites. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Getting Started, Quick TipsTagsbackpacking, camping, car camping, quick tip, tent stakes, utah-tip

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A Quick Guide to Moab

The Squak – A readily available, $60, active-focused grid fleece hoodie from a Utah-based company. Read the review.

Women’s | Men’s | Children’s   

The Squak Camp Dress 

One of Joan’s favorites!

The Squak Alpha Fleece 

                                                                    

– 15% off coupon = PMAGS-SQUAK                                                                                                      

  • REI: Shop Deal of the Day at REI Garage!
  • REI: Outlet 50% off deals
  • REI: Official Coupons and Rebates page
  • REI: Used Gear Store

PMags Instagram

@ramblinghemlock and I spent one last day in Wisconsin. We visited Aztalan State Park, where ancestral mound builders established an outlier connected to Cahokia further downriver. A few hundred people lived here, shaping a piece of history I did not learn about until well into my 20s.
Another day meandering through Wisconsin woods and prairie. We hiked along rivers, visited a natural landmark once used by voyageurs, and saw pictographs, petroglyphs, and mounds left by the ancestors of the Ho-Chunk people.
A rain and cold day means "section hiking" the Ice Age Trail where @ramblinghemlock 's folks live here in town.
Some hiking in the upper Midwest while visiting @ramblinghemlock’s folks in Wisconsin. A different world from our desert home. More water, greener, and glacier vs desert rocks.
We spent a weekend camping, seeing post-Pueblo Revolt structures, and images in the "Land of Enchantment" with @hollywoulddream and @danielgarey
@ramblinghemlock and I changed our plans because our usual March haunts were already pushing 90°F. We headed higher to places we usually visit in May. The blooming paintbrush, greening plants, and the lack of snow on the 11,000+ foot peaks in the distance made me wonder what the coming fire season might bring.

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Disclosure: This website may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products to which I link. These sites include Amazon, REI, Moose Jaw, Gaia GPS, Six Moon Designs, Squak Mountain Co, and ULA Equipment. There is no additional fee for purchasing items through these links.

 

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      • Vermont’s Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail
      • Pacific Crest Trail
      • Colorado Trail
      • Continental Divide Trail
      • Ring The Peak Trail (Pike’s Peak)
      • Benton Mackaye Trail
      • Tahoe Rim Trail
      • Uinta Highline Trail
      • Collegiate Loop
      • A Walk Across Southern Utah
      • Great Divide Trail (Canada)
      • The Northern New Mexico Loop
      • Grand – Moab Route
      • SEUG Circuit
      • A Walk Across New England
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      • Utah
      • Colorado
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      • Stoves, cooking, and related
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    • Winter trip reports, gear overviews, tips, and techniques
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