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Outdoor enthusiasts love to guess about all sorts of things. We guess how many stars are in the Milky Way, we guess how fast a deer runs or we might even guess about how long it will be until that big, dark cloud dumps rain us. But there are times when guessing in the backcountry just doesn't get the job done. Specialty gear is available to help us determine how far we've hiked - and in what direction - and other tools are available to help take the guesswork out of purifying water. But there is a another useful tool overlooked by many avid backcountry visitors - the rangefinder.
Rangefinders are used in a number of commercial applications - surveying, mapping, mining, etc. - however for our purposes we will be discussing the portable laser rangefinder used by outdoor sportsmen and sportswomen.
Laser rangefinders calculate the distance to an object by bouncing a laser beam off of the object and measuring the lapsed time until the beam returns. Since the calculation is based upon the return of the beam, it stands to reason that a more reflective object can be measured at a greater distance than a less reflective object. Readily available models are accurate to within one yard and have the ability to measure distances to reflective targets up to 1500 yards away - that's nearly a mile - and they're accurate under nearly any condition.
The past few years have seen a number of technology advances across all rangefinder price ranges. Many models are lightweight, are easily operated with one hand, can measure through rain or snow, can see through nearby clutter, function well in low light, contain integrated optical magnification and are 100% waterproof. Additionally there have been vast improvements lately to lens coatings, battery life and information display.
If distances are important to your activity, you need a rangefinder. BackCountry features - rocks, trees, lakes, mountains, ravines, cliffs - have a tendency to distort one's depth perception. It is easy to misjudge even short distances. The most widely used application of rangefinders is in measuring shot distances by hunters. Whether you are hunting waterfowl or elk, distance to your game is the most critical factor in placing an effective shot. Bow hunters would never hunt without their rangefinder, the difference between 45 yards and 50 yards for a bow hunter is the difference between success and failure. Rangefinders are also used by golfers for determining club selection, by hikers to determine the best route to travel and by campers, boaters and wildlife observers for a wide variety of distance measuring purposes.
The next time you plan to spend time in our wondrous backcountry consider taking a rangefinder along with you. If you've never looked through a rangefinder, you don't know what you're missing. With a quality rangefinder, guessing distances just became old news. Use this information and you'll Get It Right The First Time. Get Outdoors!
| ©2005 Chuck Fitzgerald. All rights reserved. |
Unless you live right near Disneyland then when you organize your holiday, you know that it means you are going to have to take into account how to get there. There are two issues that you need to deal with. The first is what transportation method you’ll use and the second is how you will keep your young children amused on the way. There is no denying that traveling with children is a whole new test of your parental ingenuity.
Do the scout/girl guides thing and be prepared with backups and lots of distractions. Who knows maybe by following these tried
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Been shopping for a new camping tent? Wonder what 3-season or 4-season means? Confused about what a family tent or convertible tent classification means? Let’s try to cut through all the marketing lingo and get down to what you should really look for when you see camping tent ratings or classifications.
When you get right down to it, you should think of a camping tent as either 3-season or 4-season. So what’s in a name?
Generally speaking your average 3-season tent is built to hold up well in light to moderate weather conditions. They are built to be comfortable in
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Here are a few hints when choosing the tent just right for you or your family.
Tents that are advertised as one person are rarely big enough for one person.
Two person tents are usually comfortable for just one person, a three person tent is comfortable for two people and so on.
If you do not pick something large enough, you will find yourself cramped , claustrophobic and uncomfortable.
Pick something that will give you a little room to move and some space for some of your gear as well.
Each person needs about 3 by 7 feet to stretch out. You will
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I had a neighbor that was looking to buy his small family a new camping tent to take on camping trips. He said he was just going to go and buy this 3-person, 3-season tent that he saw at the local mega outdoor store. I told him that he had the season right on the tent, but the person size is probably not correct. Why is that?
When you buy a camping tent you should generally buy the next size up if you are going to purchase a tent for general camping. The interior of a 3-person tent would not
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Luggage has many schools of thought. Here are but some of them:
Cutting down to the bare essentials so that you need only one cabin bag which you can carry on the aircraft. My daughter has this down to a fine art and recently toured India for two weeks with one small, leather Gladstone bag that I bought in China many years ago.
This refers not to the character of the traveler but
to the suitcase used. Almost all flight crews use hard cases. Watch an
airline crew collect their baggage from the carousel after an
international journey and you will see that it is all
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