Short clips
Trailers to full length videos and stand-alone quick tips; everything we make that is under 60 seconds
Cooking Flame. Nylon Enclosure. Recipe for Disaster?
When we get into challenging climbing in mountain environments space, weather, and other constraints might necessitate that we get our calories in while in the relatively secure confines of our camping tent. How can we do that given all the risks that come from cooking with a camp stove when enclosed? Well, there's a learning curve we should take seriously.
This Camping Stove Hack Changes Everything
Most commercial hanging kits for camping, backpacking, and climbing stoves are minimalist and light. They can be because they typically fit integrated stoves - where the stove and pot couple securely. This improves safety by containing the flame and creating stability. The full video provides a build for a hanging kit for a non-integrated stove that will bring us a similar safety profile.
Inverted Canister Stoves - Ignite It Safely
Canister stoves that allow us to invert the canister, move the fuel as a liquid to the stoves’ vaporizing tubes. That improves cold weather performance. But those stoves can flare if we don't watch out for flooding the stove with fuel. Here's a simple procedure to avoid that problem.
Winter camping stove performance that beats the rest
Integrated stoves for camping, backpacking, and climbing transfer heat very effectively, reducing fuel demands. But the integrated stove and pot are often heavy. There are people who prefer lighter backpacking stoves, but to make alpine-ready hanging kits, they often need a heavier and more robust design to transfer heat and keep open flames away from gear. So, I ran a test on some store-bought integrated stoves with hanging kits, and some DIY hanging kits with backpacking stoves. The full video goes deep into the results.
Preview to: Winter Stove Test Results Will Surprise You!
I hear that canister stoves don't work in the cold a lot. But I've also used canister stoves in the cold a lot, and so have many other climbing teams who head to the coldest corners of the globe. However, it could be that there are times that canister stoves make more sense and times liquid-fuel stoves are a better option. The full video goes deep into this test of eight different stoves to shed some light on how the knocks on canister stoves are overstated as well as circumstances where liquid-fuel stoves might make a better choice.
Is This The Best Backpack For Big Adventures?
After one year of use and one big expedition in Asia, I've learned enough about the Samaya Ultra 60 pack. The full video goes deeper into what I've found to be the pros and cons along with a few modifications I've made to my pack.
Don't Make This MISTAKE on Your Next Mountain Climb
Just like there is a difference between climate and weather, there is a difference between today’s weather and weather patterns. When we climb in a new area, understanding that difference, can help us strategize our ascents. Various local communities can be a fountain of information in this regard.
Survive Destructive Winds with This One Simple Camping Hack
Getting our tent packed up and stowed away can be very difficult in windy conditions. By being tactical about when we pull up our last two tent stakes, we can greatly simplify our task.
How To Outsmart Dangerous Storm Clouds!
One of the most dangerous hazards in the mountains is lightning. Here's how we can use some facts about lightning, and some very simple math, to help assess our risk when we see the clouds roll in and start hearing thunder.
Preview to: I Tested the Flextail Zero Pump and was Surprised!
Flextail makes the Zero Pump and claims it to be the lightest self-contained pump for both inflating and vacuum deflating your backcountry sleeping mattress. I purchased my own and tested it out over multiple seasons. The full video provides a complete review of the pump and my take on circumstances when carrying this into the wild makes sense for me.
Preview to: Can Your Climbing Trip Plan Save Your Life?
A trip plan can keep you and your climbing partners on the same page but also can help your loved ones deal with any emergencies that might arise. So, what can we put in our trip plans to ensure we meet these needs? The full video goes into more detail.
Choosing the Right Tent at a Glance
While I look at a lot of different metrics when choosing to buy a tent (peak height, length, water pressure test results, etc.), once I have made the purchase, there are a few I want to be able to find at a glance so that I can choose from amongst my various tents as I select one for a particular trip. Here's what I mark on my tent stuff sacks to make this easier.
How Fast Should We Ascend if We Want to Acclimatize? Preview to a Deep Dive
Whether going from sea level to moderate altitude or from moderate altitude to high altitude, our bodies need time - and water - to adjust and adapt to the reduced oxygen we will take in. The full video gives an overview of the physiology, the potential illnesses, and the preventative tactics that all come into play when we experience significant altitude changes.
A Route Plan is MORE than Just a Map. It's Mental Flexibility
When we head out into the backcountry for a climb, hike, or backpacking trip, having a sense of the surrounding topography can prove essential. Beyond having devices and apps, taking the time to plot out routes and familiarize ourselves with area maps creates the mental images we need to make decisions on the fly when things get complicated.
Preview to: the Right Cook Pot Can Save You HOURS Across a Climbing Expedition
In the older days of gas stoves, conventional wisdom was that a larger pot would make turning snow into boiling water more efficient when on a climbing expedition. But new equipment may have changed the calculus. The full video gets into an experiment I ran to see if smaller or larger pots would be more efficient given different stove types.
How Much Time Before the Sun SETS on Your Backcountry Adventure?
When we are out climbing, hiking, or backpacking in the backcountry, there can come times when we want to estimate how much time we have before the sun dips behind the horizon. Here's a quick way to make that estimate without any equipment.
Preview to: 6 Tips to Stay WARM in a Cold, Snowy Camp
Our boys, Connor and Kade, have been gathering up a pretty good amount of cold, winter, snowy camp experience. So, they wanted to each share three tips - so six tips total - that they find to be the biggest difference makers when it comes to staying warm in camp. The full video goes into all six.
Make Overnight Camping Trips MORE Comfortable With This Pillow Setup
A video can introduce concepts and even provide tutorials, but it cannot cover all of the variable situations and context of outdoor environments. Learn about something here, but then seek qualified instruction to master it.
Preview to: Using a Remote Canister Stove in the WORST conditions with a DIY Hanging Kit
Remote canister stoves often improve stove performance in cold weather when compared to standard canister stoves. But remote canister stoves can be hard to use in the harshest environments when there is no means to safely hang the stove. Well, the full video provides a step-by-step tutorial to build a DIY(ish) solution for that problem.
Preview to: This DIY Hack Improves Your Canister Fuel Performance In COLD Weather
There are lots of ways to maintain a warmer temperature for your canister fuel, thus improving the performance of your camp stove when out climbing, backpacking, or camping in the snow. One way is using a bath for the canister, into which you can pour warm water. The full video shows how I made one and some options on how to use one.