Dec 19 2016

Shoes For Trail Running

Choosing Your Shoes For Trail Running

Trail running is a very enjoyable activity that both beginner and advanced runners can easily participate in. It really doesn’t need a whole lot of preparation to do. All you need is the willingness to run the trails and of course, the right gear. 

When I say gear, what I really mean is trail running shoes. Doing trail running involves using the right pair of trail running shoes. For both beginners and advanced runners, using the right pair of shoes can mean the difference between a good and fun run and injury. 

Doing a quick research can solve that for you. So, here’s a quick guide on what trail running shoes to go for.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2016/12/19/shoes-for-trail-running/

Nov 12 2016

How to Hike Safely During Hunting Season

trail-signs

(Via: lukasbast.at)

10 Ways to Be Safe When Hiking During Hunting Season

Hunting and hiking have gained massive popularity as great outdoor activities. However, a challenge arises in that one poses a danger to the other. It is highly likely for a hiker in the woods to be mistaken for a hunter’s target. Another bone of contention is that both activities are most enjoyable at almost the same time. This article is therefore geared to bring some education to hikers. The goal in mind is to see to it that hikers and hunters can coexist.

#1- Wear bright colors

elk

Be Aware of Hunting Areas

When out hiking in the woods, it is perhaps a good idea to be as noticeable as possible. Avoid wearing dull colors; earth toned green and animal colored clothing. You want to be as conspicuous as possible to avoid being mistaken for game. Therefore, it is advised that hikers dress in neon orange as it stands out. An orange vest, hat or hunting backpack cover will ensure that you catch a hunter’s glimpse from afar.

#2- Know the hunting seasons

In every hunting state, you will find the relevant details with the state agency. Be it the dates for hunting deer, bear, waterfowl or other game. Seasons are also different for bow hunting and firearms. For instance, wild turkey shooting season comes in the spring. Hikers should also be on the alert during the white-tailed deer season in autumn.

#3- Announce your presence

dog-on-trail

Protect Your Dog

Hiking is not one of those activities you want to carry out quietly. Wearing a bell, whistling, singing, engaging in conversation or making noise, will let the hunters know when you are somewhere nearby. Animals like the bear will also steer far from you when they hear the sound. In mountain basins, sound travels fast and since hunters are keenly listening for any sounds, they will be warned. You should also raise your voice when you hear shooting.

#4- Protect your dog

In case you love bringing Fido for hikes, bear in mind that a hunter may easily confuse him for a coyote. Hence, it is prudent to prevent him from wandering off by keeping him on a close leash. Dressing your adorable furry baby in orange is also a good precaution. 

#5- Be on the lookout for signage

Signs are valuable media when you are out hiking. Some states prohibit hunting near hiking trails. In some states where such rules may not exist, such trails are usually closed to non-hunters during the season.

#6- Stay on the trail

deer

Wear Bright Colors

When on a hike, you want to stick to the defined path. This is not the time to go geo-coaching. Hunters will be looking for targets in more wooded areas. 

#7- Know the times when animals are most active

It is not advisable to go hiking at dawn and dusk. First, this is the time when animals like the deer are most active making it a prime hunting time. What makes it more dangerous is the fact that the hunter’s vision is a little impaired making it difficult for him to make out figures and colors in the dark. If you are out at this time, ensure that you have with you a flashlight or a headlamp.

#8- Be informed of where hunting is allowed

A quick phone call to the state agency can give you some basic information about the places where hunting is and isn’t allowed. With this information, you can decide on where to hike accordingly. Hunting is not allowed in most parks, especially national park units. Additionally, some states prohibit hunting on Sundays. This is also another safe option for hiking.

#9- Head for higher ground

hunting-dog

Hike With a Buddy

One significant advantage of high ground is that is not a favorable hunting ground. Why? At high altitudes, you will rarely find animals. You can’t also overlook the fact that the view from up there is spectacular. 

#10- Do not hike alone

Although coming in at the last point, you may even consider it as the most important. Walk as a group, or make sure you take a partner with you when going out. Accidents happen at times and in such cases, someone can offer you help or go for assistance.

In some states, hunters are required to undergo some education before issuance of their licenses in a bid to reduce hunting related accidents. These 10 safety tips are meant to ensure that you as a hiker are also in the safety zone to avoid taking chances.

Author Bio: Kevin Steffey is an avid hunter and freelance writer. He loves spending time in the field with his rifle more than almost anything else, and occupies his off-time discussing deer and their habits online. He is a founder at www.deerhuntingfield.com

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2016/11/12/how-to-hike-safely-during-hunting-season/

Oct 28 2016

Make Trail Maps With GPX Files on Trailsnet

Make GPX Trail Maps Easily on Trailsnet

img_0004

Add a Trail

Back in 2012, I promised we would make one major overhaul to Trailsnet each year, and 2016 is no different. In 2015 we went international by allowing users to post and find trails worldwide. In 2014 we got a brand new look to the website. In 2013 Trailsnet debuted the brand new photo gallery option. And in 2012 Trailsnet offered the first version of our Add-a-Trail feature so the general public could input their favorite trails to Trailsnet.com. But I think the new GPX mapping option that Trailsnet just unveiled is the biggest and most useful offering so far. It will make adding trails (with maps) so much easier. Now instead of having to copy and paste HTML code into the mapping portion of the Add-a-Trail feature, you can just enter your GPX or KML file and a new trail map is automatically generated. In just the last couple days, since the new option to make trail maps from GPX files, new trail submissions have gone up dramatically. It looks like the public is loving it.

How to Add a Trail Map to Your Trail Description

img_0006

Fill Out Trail Information

Adding a trail on Trailsnet.com is easy. Just click on the Add-a-Trail button in the top horizontal menu bar and you’ll immediately be taken to the Add-a-Trail form. If you’ve never added a trail before, you will first need to register, but don’t worry. It’s free, easy and safe. You will occasionally get blog post notifications, but you can opt out of that if you’d like. Once you’ve registered, you can begin adding trails.  In addition to describing your favorite trail, you have the options of adding photos, adding links and adding a trail map. It’s this last feature that just got drastically improved. Adding a map is now quick and easy. If you record your trail rides on a GPS (such as Garmin) or using an app on your smart phone, you can have the GPX and/or KML files sent to you via an email. Once you get this file, just save or drag it onto your computer. It may automatically go to your downloads file. When you are in the Add-a-Trail form on Trailsnet, just scroll down to where it says Trail map (GPX/KML). Click on the ADD

Click on ADD FILE Button

Click on ADD FILE Button

FILE button. Then just drag your GPX file into the Select File box on the screen or click on the Select Files button and select the GPX file from your computer. Once you do this and complete the Add-a-Trail form, Trailsnet will automatically create a trail map that will appear on the new trail page. It may sound convoluted, but give it a try. It’s really quite simple and intuitive.

Select GPX File

Select GPX File

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2016/10/28/make-trail-maps-gpx-files-trailsnet/

Oct 25 2016

Orange Screw Outdoor Product Review

Orange Screw Ground Anchor

ground anchor

Orange Screw

How many campers does it take to screw in a ground anchor? It’s not just a corny joke, and it’s not just for camping. Very few outdoor products are as versatile as the Orange Screw ground anchor. Not only can you use it for securing your tent to the ground but you can also use it for many other purposes throughout your outdoor adventure; and then, you can use it once you get home too!!

What is the Orange Screw Ground Anchor

Orange Screw

Ground Anchor

In case you’ve gotten this far in the post and still have no idea what I’m talking about, let me explain. So for starters, if you still haven’t figured out what a ground anchor is, think about tent stakes. They are very rudimentary ground anchors used for one specific purpose. The Orange Screw can function as a tent stake… and so much more. It can be used to hold things down, secure them in place or even to tether animals such as dogs, horses or rowdy sloths. (If you decide to name your next rock band The Rowdy Sloths, please remember where you got the idea.) To help you visualize (in case the attached photos aren’t enough), the Orange Screw is (spoiler alert) orange, corkscrew-shaped, about a foot tall (comes in two sizes) and has an open eye at the top. Even the open eye has many uses.

How Can You Use the Orange Screw?

ground anchor

Bike Tether

Here are just some of the ways you can use the Orange Screw ground anchor:

  • secure your tent to the ground
  • tether an otherwise stray animal
  • lock your bicycles in place
  • secure tarps and other materials from blowing away
  • secure lawn/camping chairs
  • secure awnings at home or in campgrounds
  • secure a trampoline (I wish I would have had this six years ago before my daughter’s trampoline starred in Gone With the Wind.)
    orange-screw-5

    Secure Bike to Ground

  • secure outdoor holiday decorations & those kitschy blow-up things that sprout in people’s yards around Halloween and Christmas time

Easy to Use Ground Anchor

If you’re a seasoned camper, you’ve had this experience. You set up your tent and needed to stake it down so that it didn’t blow away in the wind or get carried away by thieving chipmunks. So you pull out the standard aluminum stakes, attach them to your tent tethers (as in Tom ties tent tethers tautly.), then find a flat rock to pound the aluminum stakes into the solid granite slab known as the earth. Then nearby campers are treated to following sounds of nature:

ground anchor

Tent Anchor

  1. Whap!! The sound of rock hitting aluminum.
  2. Shkroich!!  The sound of aluminum hitting solid bedrock.
  3. Schkoing. The sound of aluminum bending.
  4. Splat. The sound of finger smashing between tent stake and rock.
  5. AyeCarribaPendooty!! The sound of you attempting to curse in a language you are .0015% fluent in so as not to soil the ears of your children who by now are hiding behind a tree due to both fear and embarrassment.
  6. Hee-chitter-haw-chatter-ho. The sound of thieving chipmunks laughing at you.

If only you had the Orange Screw ground anchor, you would have instead heard the satisfied sigh of a happy camper as he/she:

ground tether

Outdoor Furniture Tether

  1. Held the Orange Screw pointy end to the ground.
  2. Twisted in a clockwise direction.
  3. Inserted the clear plastic sleeve into the round eye at the top of the Orange Screw.
  4. Continued twisting until the screw was securely in the ground or you hit oil Jed-Clampett-style.
  5. Secured tether lines to Orange Screw in one of three handy openings at the top.
  6. Went for a bike ride.

What I Like About the Orange Screw

outdoor tether

Orange Screw Ground Anchor

As you can tell, I like lists. So here’s my final list of the things I like about the Orange Screw:

  • catchy name
  • made of recycled plastic
  • made in the good old U.S. of A.
  • easy to use
  • versatile
  • sturdy
  • lightweight
  • easy to pack and store
  • perfect color for securing outdoor Halloween decorations
Orange Screw ground anchor outdoor product review

Secure Holiday Decorations

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2016/10/25/orange-screw-outdoor-product-review/

Sep 30 2016

Fenix CL30R Camping Lantern

Fenix CL30R Camping Lantern Review

camp light review

Fenix Camp Lantern

The Fenix CL30R Camping Lantern is one tough cookie… and, unlike other tough cookies, it’s also waterproof to IPX-7 standards. But the fun just begins there. Fenix camping lanterns are definitely made with the great outdoors in mind. With 650 lumens of lighting power, they provide ample illumination for your tent, camper or around the campground. And one of the most awesome camp lantern features is a USP charging port that allow you not only to recharge the lantern but also to charge your other electronic devices. So in addition to providing light around your campsite, this powerful camping lantern also allows you to keep your smart phone or tablet charged.

Convenient Camping Light

The Fenix CL30R makes a great camping light for many different reasons:

review of camping lights

Great Outdoor Lighting

  • Size – At 5.4″ tall & 3.7″ in diameter, the Fenix CL30R Camping Lantern is small enough to easily fit into your camping gear without taking up too much room.
  • Power – With up to 650 lumens of light output, you won’t lack for illumination around your campsite.
  • Versatility – This may be my favorite feature of the Fenix CL30R Lantern. First, it can stand on its own on a picnic table or other (fairly) flat surface. But it also has a handle for hanging the lantern in your tent, camper or from a convenient hook or limb around your campsite.
  • Useful – The designers from Fenix Lighting pulled out all the stops when they planned the CL30R Camping Lantern. It has six different lighting modes to suit all of your
    review of camping lights

    Versatile Camp Lantern

    camping needs and to save power when necessary. The light modes include eco, low, medium, high, turbo and strobe/blinking. Depending on conditions, the eco mode provides 10 lumens of lighting power and can last up to 300 hours.

  • Durable- This Fenix camping light is both waterproof and cold-resistant, so it stands up to most inclement camping conditions.

Fenix Camping Lantern Passed the Trailsnet Camp Lighting Test

The Fenix CL30R Camping Lantern easily passed the Trailsnet Camp Light Testing Process. It provided ample lighting while also allowing for long battery life. The camp light illumination

camp light review

Passed the Lighting Test

was evenly distributed and sufficient for utilitarian campsite purposes and also for reading trail maps in even the darkest conditions. It was definitely rugged enough to stand up to high-altitude camping conditions while also being easy to stow and store. During the testing process, I had one question about the batteries, so I called the Fenix Lighting customer service team. My question was answered with professionalism and courtesy, thus passing the customer service test with flying colors. Fenix Lighting also carries a full line of other outdoor lights including flashlights, headlamps and bike lights. I look forward to testing their bicycle lights sometime soon.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one Fenix CL30R Camping Lantern for free from Fenix Lighting in consideration for a gear review.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2016/09/30/fenix-cl30r-camping-lantern/

Sep 28 2016

Trailsnet Light Testing Process

Testing for Outdoor Activity Lights

Trailsnet rigorously tests all backpacking, hiking, bicycling and camping lights that we review. We have a thorough process to determine light quality and functionality. Of course we look at factors such as size, weight, portability and durability. But we also look at how much light each product produces and the usefulness of that light. In other words, does it produce enough light and can that light be used for everyday (night) activities on the trail and around the campsite.

White Room Test for Camping Light

camp light review

White Room Test

As far as we know, this is a Trailsnet exclusive. We have a special “white room” to consistently check each light we review. Since conditions are different at each different site and at various times of the day and year, we wanted a way to compare lights in a stable and controlled environment; so we came up with the Trailsnet white room. It’s a place where we can test each light with absolutely no outside light to skew the results. And since we place all lights in the exact same spot in a room that is completely covered in white vapor barrier material, each testing situation is precisely the same so we can compare apples to apples.

review of camping lights

Campsite Light Test

Simulated Campsite Lantern Test

Our simulated campsite is the exact opposite of our White Room Light Test. It is outside, in a camp-like setting so we can test the functionality of lights at various times of day and in various real-life conditions. This is also were we test for durability and how waterproof each light is. It is not unusual for critters to wander by while we’re testing, so we try to include them in the photos just for the fun of it.

Strobe Test for Camping Lights

camp light review

Panoramic Strobe Light Test

Most camp lanterns now come with strobe functions as part of the light offerings. We’ve come up with a way to test the functionality and illumination of strobe lights. We utilize the white room and the pano setting on our camera to perform a controlled pan of the area while the strobe light is pulsing. By measuring the distance between light bars, checking for top/bottom evenness and brightness of the light at various distances from the center, we can determine the usefulness of each lantern when set to strobe function.

review of camping lights

Into the Swamp of Doom

Trail to Nowhere Test for Bicycle Light

It’s a bicyclists worst nightmare. To get caught out on the trail, at night, and then run into a treacherous trail hazard without time to stop. In an ideal world, all trails would be perfectly maintained and all of our rides would end before the sun sets. But as most avid bicyclists can attest, it isn’t a perfect world. So we found that worst case scenario. We discovered a section of trail that literally ends in the middle of nowhere and drops you right into the swamp of doom if you aren’t prepared to stop. This would truly be a nightmare scenario. So we are able to determine how close to the end of the trail we are before being able to see either the end of the concrete or the aforementioned “swamp of doom.” It truly is a real-life test for a real-life situation. Only the best bike lights need apply.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2016/09/28/trailsnet-light-testing-process/