Sleeping bag basics

You know the basics – a sleeping bag is made for you to sleep in. But there’s actually a lot more to it than that. It’s all about insulation and keeping you warm on those chilly nights. In order to keep you warm, sleeping bags trap and hold your body heat that is constantly produced. This forms an insulated dead air space. How does that happen? Well, the dead air space is a result of the type of insulating fibers used in the bag and the amount of loft they provide. Loft is the amount of air space between the insulating fibers. Think of loft as the fluffiness of the insulation. So the greater the loft, the warmer the bag will be.

In order for your sleeping bag to work most effectively, the dead air space needs to be warmed by the radiated heat from your body. But this can’t happen if you’re bundled up in extra layers of clothes. When you’re camping in really cold weather, it’s only natural to want to pile on the extra layers when you go to sleep because you think they’ll help you stay warm. Wrong. This actually keeps the sleeping bag from providing warmth. How so? Your extra clothing traps warmed air around your body like the sleeping bag is supposed to do, but the clothing is much less effective. And since the warmed air isn’t being trapped by the sleeping bag, cold air can seep in, making you feel even colder. So though it doesn’t sound right, the less you wear while using a sleeping bag, the more effective the bag will be at keeping you warm.

Framing Materials Of Your Mountain Bike

The cost of a mountain bike frame is proportionate to its material, as well as the treatment that material has received. Currently, there are five types of material used in mountain bikes - high tensile steel, chromoly steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber. Oversized diameters, heat treating, and butting are tubing material treatments that will increase the cost of a frame as well.

High tensile steel This is a very durable alloy that's found in lower priced mountain bikes. It offers a high carbon content which makes it less stiff than chromoly steel, so more materials are needed to make it stiff enough for bicycle frames, which will in turn make it that much heavier.
Relatively inexpensive to produce, you'll find this material in trail bikes, city bikes, and even entry level mountain bikes. There are some bikes that come with a chromoly seat tube, while the rest is high tensile steel.

Chromoly steel Short for steel alloy, chromoly is best described by its major additives - chromium and molybdenum. This is probably the most refined framing material, giving over 100 years of dependable service.

Depending on the type of heat treating and butting, you can find this material in bikes as low as 400 dollars all the way up to 1,500 and beyond. The chromoly steel material offers very good durability and a compliant ride characteristic.

Aluminum For the past 15 years, aluminum has been refined in pretty much the same way as chromoly. There have been various alloys developed, as well as heat treatment, oversizing, and butting. With dual suspension bikes, aluminum is the preferred material as it's the stiffest and most cost effective.

Aluminum is stiffer than chromoly, and therefore it will crack before chromoly. Of course, this depends on how you ride and how much abuse you give the frame. The advantages of aluminum is that the frame is very light and very stiff through oversizing or butting.

Titanium Even thought it's somewhat exotic, the prices for this material have come down over the last few years. Frames made of titanium remain expensive because it takes longer to weld the tubes to the frame.

Titanium is considered an alloy, normally mixed with small amounts of vanadium and aluminum to give it better weldability and ride characteristics. More compliant than chromoly, it offers better fatigue and corrosion properties.

The material you choose for your bike, all depends on where you ride and what style you use. Almost all materials will last you for years, as long as you take care of your bike and treat the frame with some respect.

About the Author
Having spent months of research on different subjects, for independant companies, Andrew Manifield has decided to publish his articles on many subjects at his own website, visit to learn more. http://www.qualified-publishing.co.uk/mountain-biking

How Mountain Bike Gears Work

The gears in mountain bikes just keep getting more and more intricate. The bikes of today have as many as 27 gear ratios. A mountain bike will use a combination of three different sized sprockets in front and nine in the back to produce gear ratios.

The idea behind all these gears is to allow the rider to crank the pedals at a constant pace no matter what kind of slope the bike is on. You can understand this better by picturing a bike with just a single gear. Each time you rotate the pedals one turn, the rear wheel would rotate one turn as well (1:1 gear ratio).

If the rear wheel is 26 inches in diameter, then with 1:1 gearing, one full twist on the pedals would result in the wheel covering 81.6 inches of ground. If you are pedaling at a speed of 50 RPM, this means that the bike can cover over 340 feet of ground per minute. This is only 3.8 MPH, which is the equivalence of walking speed. This is ideal for climbing a steep hill, although bad for ground or going downhill.

To go faster you'll need a different ratio. To ride downhill at 25 MPH with a 50 RPM cadence at the pedals, you'll need a 5.6:1 gear ratio. A bike with a lot of gears will give you a large number of increments between a 1:1 gear ratio and a 6.5:1 gear ratio so that you can always pedal at 50 RPM, no matter how fast you are actually going.

On a normal 27 speed mountain bike, six of the gear ratios are so close to each other that you can't notice any difference between them.

With actual use, bike riders tend to choose a front sprocket suitable for the slope they are riding on and stick with it, although the front sprocket can be difficult to shift under heavy load. It's much easier to shit between the gears on the rear.

If you are cranking up a hill, it's best to choose the smallest sprocket on the front then shift between the nine gears available on the rear. The more speeds you have on the back sprocket, the bigger advantage you'll have.

All in all, gears are very important to mountain bikes as they dictate your overall speed. Without gears you wouldn't be able to build speed nor would you be able to pound pedals. The gears will move the pedals and help you build up speed.

There are all types of gears available in mountain bikes, all of which will help you build up a lot of momentum if you use them the right way.

About the Author
Having spent months of research on different subjects, for independant companies, Andrew Manifield has decided to publish his articles on many subjects at his own website, visit to learn more. http://www.qualified-publishing.co.uk/mountain-biking

Breadsticks Over Coals

by Scott Carey

An easy and fun way to cook bread over coals or a fire is making breadsticks with bread on a stick. They may be cooked while other food is cooking so that they are ready at the same time.

The basic method uses dough rolled into a long thin rope that is wrapped around a stick. The stick is held over coals and rotated until brown on all sides. It requires a little patience to get the inside done at the same time as the outside.

To start, take some type of bread dough and roll it between your hands, forming a long piece (like making a snake or rope out of clay). Don't leave it too thick, which will make it harder to cook all the way through.

Next, select a stick to cook with. This should be heavy enough to support the dough. Take the dough and wind it around the stick in a spiral, pressing the ends to the dough so that it does not fall off.

Place the stick over the coals. It is much easier to cook breadsticks using coals than fire, since they give off a better heat. It may be helpful to prop the stick up over the coals with a couple of rocks, or pile a couple of rocks on either side and lay the stick across the coals so you don't have to hold it the entire time. Occasionally rotate the stick so that the bread gets brown on all sides. Patience is helpful here, to ensure that the bread is cooked through.

You can use a thicker, longer stick laid horizontally above the coals to make several at one time. This will save time if you need to cook for several.

A variety of dough can be used--try various kinds to see which one you like best. The easiest is tube biscuits, which come in a number of types and prices. Take one or more biscuits and roll it between your hands to form the rope of dough to be wrapped on the stick. Other possibilities include Bisquick (don't make the dough too wet), bread dough (if frozen, let it thaw and rise a little), and scone dough (sometimes available at the bakery or deli in your local supermarket).

After cooking, serve with butter, jams, jellies, or honey. This is sure to be a family or group favorite!

About the Author
Scott Carey has many hobbies and interests, including outdoor cooking. Find more outdoor cooking tips and recipes at OutdoorCookingMagic. Look for information on some of his other interests at InfoTesoro.

Being Safe in the Outdoors

by John E. Spragg

So why do we like to hike and camp? Most of us would say that there is nothing like the closeness of nature at her finest. Hiking brings you closer to the natural world and puts you in touch with things you may have lost or forgotten: things that civilization takes from us. You'll discover and cultivate a harmony with and a respect for the wilderness that no nature show on public television can generate. No matter if you are a seasoned pro or just getting started at hiking, lets not overestimate our abilities or try to fool mother nature, because either one could and often does ruin your outing. A few things I have learned over the years to be safe and to enjoy the great outdoors is to get some reference material on hiking and camping and to stay fit. I still have my Boy Scott manual that I refer back to from time to time. Here are a few more tips that I've learned over my 40 years of enjoying the outdoors:

If you get cold at night put on a wool stocking cap and socks on your feet. Most heat loss in a sleeping bag is via your head. Plan your trip and take along a compos or now a days a GPS. Take along extra garbage and Ziploc bags. They have a thousand uses in camp. A paper bag can have other uses too like you can boil water over a fire if you have to. Water boils at 212 degrees while paper burns at around 452 Degrees. It is a good idea to start out by taking short trips then work your way up to longer ones. It is better to have a shallow fire pit instead if ringing the camp fire with rocks because some rocks explode when they are heated unevenly. A note on tents, zip the zipper closed before pitching it, that way you know it will close latter. If the zipper is hard to work rub some unscented soap on it to keep it moving. If the weather man misses the forecast and you find yourself out in an electrical storm get as low to the ground as possible or go to the middle of a stand of trees.

Enjoy the wildlife from afar by using binoculars and do not try to pet that cute bear cub, because momma bear is closer than you think and playing dead will not save you. The wildlife deserve there space to, respect them. A comfortable backpack is one forth your body weight properly adjusted to your back. A pair of leather gloves is good to protect your hands from hot pots and firewood. Dental floss is not only for your teeth but a good camp thread because it is strong and durable. It can be used to sew up holes in tents, sleeping bags, and clothing. In a pinch, a fishing line as well. Dry your tent and sleeping bag before storing. Putting them away wet is a good way to rot the fabric and make them smell. A blackened pan heats up faster then a silver pan. But if a blackened pan bothers you rub some liquid detergent on the outside to aid in the clean up.

One thing I always pack is my first aid kit; because accidents do happen, even the preventable ones. I like to take along one of those shake or crank LED flashlights, because you will always have a light they do not need batteries and the LED are good for 50,000 hours. Always let someone know where you are going and when you will be back. So be safe and enjoy the great outdoors. For quality hiking equipment, I recommend TheHikerHut.com.

About the Author
I am fifty one years old and have hiked around most of the USA and parts of Europe, but I prefer seeing more of the United States. I enjoy being out in Nature and seeing Mother Nature at her finest. I have had a few close calls and decided that being prepared and more knowledgeable would cut down on the unexpected and make hiking safer and more rewarding for all

Moonlight Hiking

by Steve Gillman

I started moonlight hiking when I was a teenager prowling the streets and fields of Michigan. I later found that if I timed my backpacking trips to coincide with a full moon, I could hike every night. The two primary motivations for doing this are the adventure and mystery of night hiking, as well as the practical advantages that it has.

Moonlight Hiking - A Unique Experience

It's a great experience to hike away the hours of the night under a full moon. My first time doing this on a longer backpacking trip was on a five-day hike in the Sierra Nevadas. Every night I slept next to a lake, waking up when the cold bothered me. Then I easily hiked through the rest of the night by moonlight.

This meant getting up between two and four in the morning and hiking the rest of the night. I was moving during the coldest part of the night, so I was able to get away with a lighter sleeping bag on this trip. In fact, since there wasn't a cloud in the sky during those five days, I just slept in the open, without a tent or tarp every night. Most afternoons I took a leisurely nap in the sun to catch up on sleep.

Hiking at night meant no other people on the trail. Crowded trails were not actually a problem where I was, but I would like to go moonlight hiking to avoid the crowds the next time I am in Yosemite National Park, or in the Smoky Mountains. Sometimes it is nice to have the trails and whole mountain valleys to yourself.

You can hike a lot of miles at night, without any problems of over-heating. When the sky is clear and the moon is full, or within three days of its fullest, the moonlight is more than bright enough for hiking in fairly open terrain. In thicker woods you may need a flashlight for assistance.

If you do try this, plan your trip with the full moon coming right in the middle of the time span (if you can). This is how you get the maximum use of the moonlight before, during and after the full moon. Also note the time that the moon rises. About an hour after moonrise you'll have enough light to hike, unless it is overly cloudy (something else to check on).

When moonlight hiking on isolated beaches in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan I could clearly see animal tracks in the wet sand along the water's edge. They included fresh bear tracks. Though black bears in this area are not usually dangerous, it keeps your senses tuned in when you know there are eyes in the woods watching you and none of them are human.

The lakes reflect the moon, owls swoop by almost without sound, and animals move in the bushes as you pass. The many shadows hide things, but you walk on by them, leaving these little mysteries unsolved. The trees and rocks take on a different, starker appearance than during the day. Moonlight hiking is a beautiful and unique experience.

About the Author
Steve Gillman is a long-time advocate of lightweight backpacking. His tips, photos, gear recommendations and a free book can be found at http://www.the-ultralight-site.com/

Five Tips for Starting Charcoal Briquets

by Scott Carey

One of the most common ways to cook outdoors is using charcoal briquets. They are widely available and produce a cooking environment that is exceptional for grilling. The following are five tips to easily start charcoal briquets.

1. Use instant light charcoal. These briquets have been presoaked with lighter fluid that allows them to be easily lit and started. The disadvantage is that because of the lighter fluid, they often will give an odor to the food you are cooking. In addition, they typically do not last as long as normal briquets.

2. Use normal briquets, but with lighter fluid. Normal briquets will burn longer then the instant type, but just like the instant type, the use of lighter fluid can give an odor to your food. Thoroughly soak the pile of briquets with lighter fluid before lighting and never add lighter fluid after lighting.

3. Use a charcoal chimney. These may be purchased commercially, or made at home with a #10 tin can. They typically have two compartments. The bottom compartment is used to place a starter of some type and the top compartment is used to hold the briquets. While newspaper is commonly used in the bottom compartment, anything that burns easily may be used, including home made fire starters. Holes in the sides of the chimney allow easy lighting and an ample air supply to allow the briquets to start burning. This method may be used in combination with lighter fluid to accelerate the starting of briquets.

4. Use a method of greatly increasing air flow. Once the briquets have been lit and have started to burn, they take time to develop that white-hot outer covering, which indicates they are ready for grilling. Accelerating the air flow will greatly accelerate that process. Ways to accelerate the air flow include using a blow dryer, a fan, a large lid that is waved back and forth near the briquets (like the lid of a large plastic storage box). After the briquets have been lit, directly the air flow toward the pile of briquets. Start gently at first--you don't want to put the fire out. As the heat increases, increase the air flow. This is a great way to get the briquets going faster.

5. Use a small propane torch. This method is for those of you who are like Tim "the Toolman" Taylor. These torches are used for doing plumbing work with copper pipes and solder. They are found in most hardware stores near the plumbing supplies. They are fairly inexpensive and portable and are a quick and fairly easy way to start your briquets. Direct the torch flame toward the middle of your briquet pile to start and then move outwards from there. You'll have your briquets going in no time at all. Lighter fluid is not necessary with this method, so it has the advantage of being quick without the extra odor of lighter fluid.

About the Author
Scott Carey has many hobbies and interests, including outdoor cooking. Find more outdoor cooking tips and recipes at OutdoorCookingMagic. Look for information on some of his other interests at InfoTesoro.

How to Build a Great Camp Fire

by Brian Johansson

If you are in an area that is traditionally damp or it has recently rained in your area it may be a good idea to take some form of tinder with you on your camping trip. Most camping and outdoors stores sell small single use fire starting kits. These are generally good for any situation where you are going to have trouble finding enough dry brush to start a fire. Once you have your tinder you should find enough small twigs and tiny branches to surround the tinder. These should be small and as dry as possible. You will want to then find wood in ascending size to go above the twigs. Finally you are going to want to find logs, this is going to be the fuel for your fire for the bulk of the night so you should stock up most heavily on this type of wood. If you have ever chopped firewood it might not be a bad idea to pack an axe with your camping gear. Often times one large log can be split into firewood and will be enough to last the whole night and part of the next day. Be sure to build your wood pile a safe distance from the fire site.

In the very center of your fire pit you want to place your tinder material. Don't pack it to tightly or it won't burn fully. You want to place the dried brush in a small pile making sure to leave enough room for oxygen to pass through it and fuel the fire. Around the tinder you small twigs and sticks are going to be the first pieces of wood to catch fire. In a square build a small log cabin with its four walls surrounding the tinder. Lay two sticks on the right and left of the tinder.

About the Author
Brian makes it easy to have a great outdoors experience! Get more tips and information at http://www.go-hiking.info/