When you equip your self with a good pair of hiking footwear, you are able to enjoy your outdoor trek far better without worrying about blisters and this assumes greater importance during winter which brings with it other issues. Cold conditions can easily turn any surface into a deadly and dangerous icy path, or terrain, which is why you need to take a few things into consideration when choosing the best winter hiking boots.

Here is what you need to know to find the best set of winter hiking boots.

A Good Winter Hiking Boots

Keep off very flat surfaces and make certain that the winter hiking footwear chosen has a strong footing. This is important, as it is easy to slip if they do not, and obviously you do not want to risk injury just because your boots were inadequate.

Any suspicion that your hiking shoes may not maintain its traction due to the accumulation of ice or snow within it needs to be addressed through spike chains that you can fix onto your shoes and this will help your shoes sustain their traction.

Warmth - Obviously in the winter, your feet can get cold easily, especially if you are trekking in deeper snow, so you want to ensure that you get some very warm boots, so that they can handle the lowest temperatures which you will be walking in. It is advisable to also purchase thick socks as in the woolen variety so that your feet are kept warm and since they are usually longer in size, you can wear them to the point the shoes end thereby making sure that no cold air is able to pass into your shoes.

Make sure that you purchase winter hiking footwear that is waterproof so that you do not face the specter of having to walk around with water in your footwear formed due to the ice melting on the outside of your footwear. That is why you should always get waterproof boots for winter hiking, so that you do not risk this.

You can try Gore-Tex liners, if you often have sweaty feet, because they are water proof, but they also allow sweat and excess moisture to escape from your boots, and they are often found to be in the best quality footwear.

Visit the following for other infor: Waterproof Hiking Boots

Completely “roughing it” in the outdoors might become something of a thing of the past, if you choose to use solar camping gear during a trip.

It is a proven fact that sunlight contains around 1,000 watts of power per square meter. If you can harness that energy, your life can be made a lot easier - without the need of bringing extra weight to fuel your electrical or electronic devices. During camping trips, you normally want to bring only the essential items. Too much additional weight can be quite a burden to you.

The free energy of the sun can be used in several items. You might use one or two solar-powered devices, or your campsite can be surrounded with solar camping gear.

These items are often lightweight, and portable enough to be carried. These include radios, camp lanterns, flashlights, and AM/FM radios. The gadgets have their own photovoltaic cells, which gather energy from the sun.

For devices which don’t have their own solar cells, you can use a separate solar charger to power the device.

What is a Photovoltaic Cell?

A photovoltaic cell is made up of a nonconductor, with one side coated with metal atoms that produce electrons when they are exposed to the sun. The other side of the PV cell is coated with negative electron atoms. If you connect a wires, from each side of the cell, to a device, current will flow when the positive side is exposed to sunlight.

The downside of using a photovoltaic cell is that it can be less efficient than other types of power. A small solar panel can can only power equipment which doesn’t require a lot of power. What’s more, when you’re outdoors, you can’t always expect the weather to cooperate with you.

Chances are, you’ll experience bad days when the sun barely peeks out of the clouds. At times like these you’re solar-powered gadgets will not work. This is the reason why majority of these solar-powered camping gear feature additional energy sources, such as batteries, hand crank dynamos, or the option to charge them from a wall socket when available. There are even solar chargers that can recharge your AA batteries, so that you can later use them to run your small electronics.

Some people enjoy camping in RVs. Solar power can be used to charge the RV’s batteries. Photovoltaic cells can be discreetly placed on the dashboard.

There are people who like to take hot baths, even in the wild. A solar shower can be used for this task.

Or, by using a solar cooker, you can have hot meals without risking a forest fire.

As you can see, solar camping gear can make your outdoor life a bit easier and help you to enjoy nature even more – without doing additional damage to the environment you are camping in.

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Anna Williams is a webmaster and a blogger who lives in a forest area of the Pacific Northwest, and helps others undestand the benefits of solar power, and how it can be utilized to save money and live a cleaner life.

Visit her website to learn more about Portable Solar Chargers and Solar Camping Gear.

Source Article: Basic Solar Camping Gear

If you own an RV, or thinking of buying one, one investment you might consider is a set of RV Solar Panels. They can greatly extend the amount of time you are able to spend camping with the full benefits of electricity.

When solar panels installed are installed in your RV, you rely less upon generators or batteries to power the lights and other electrical devices in your recreational vehicle. Some RVs can then stand on their own, without connecting up to external power sources.

How Solar Power Works in an RV

RV Solar Panels are photovoltaic panels that convert solar energy into direct current. These panels are connected to an inverter, which turns the direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC). AC is the type of electricity you normally get from a home wall socket. You can use this electricity to power the equipment and appliances inside your RV - making it possible for you to spend several days away from RV camps. And there is no need to use a noisy generator to power up your RV.

Types of RV Solar Panel Kits

There are various types of RV solar panel kits available on the market today. Their outputs range from 50 to 440 watts. Their overall capacity will depend on a several factors, such as how much power you’ll need, and for how long you will need it. If you will only be out on the weekends, you won’t needs as much power as you might need if you live in your recreational vehicle for long periods of time.

You can make a rough estimate of what your total power consumption will be, by reviewing the equipment you will use in your RV, how many watts each item uses, and the duration of use of each item. The more power you use, the more RV solar panels you will need to purchase. An electrician might be able to help you with a power computation.

The type of RV solar panel kit that is right for you will also depend on the weather in your region. The solar panels will need sunlight in order to provide electricity. A system with an inverter and a built-in charger makes it possible to store energy in batteries, and then use that energy as a power source on days when no sunlight is available. Systems that aren’t set up this way can run out of power in bad weather.

RV Solar Kits

RV solar panels are usually available in DIY (do-it-yourself) kits. These kits typically include the following:

• Fuses
• Charge controller
• The actual solar panels
• Mounting structures
• Intermodal cables
• Output wires

If your energy requirement increases after you have installed solar panels for your RV, you can usually simply add additional panels. If you aren’t comfortable with installing the system yourself, you can ask the retailer of the RV solar panels to refer you to an installer. There are several installation centers across the United States.

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Anna Williams helps people understand how they can utilize solar power and clean energy to lead better lives. Visit her website, to find out more about Portable Solar Power and RV Solar Panels.

Or, if you’re looking for RV solar panels or other solar powered equipment, you can find a wide variety at her Solar Power Store.

Camping beginners are likely to be enticed by propane stoves with the promise of convenience and instant heat. Propane stoves have their flaws and sometimes it’s better to go for the alternative, liquid fuel stoves.

Heating Efficiency

Pressure decreases as the cartridge of a camping propane stove empties making them less efficient when there is little fuel left. Temperature, wind and altitude has has an effect on efficiency. You may not be able to start a propane stove in sub-zero temperatures and high altitudes.

Reliability

A hiking stove must be able to take rough handling and still work perfectly|Conditions inside you backpack and you body movement subject the stove to constant abuse. A simple stove has less chance of being broken than a more complicated stove. Puncture fit coupling was once popular with propane stoves but they’re not very easy to install and you might end up losing a lot of fuel.

Improvements in design makes the propane stove much more realiable. Some propane stoves can even be used in very cold weather. Design is the determining factor for reliability rather than the type of fuel used.

Weight

Propane stoves (used for backpacking) are lighter than liquid fuel camping stoves but the fuel is much more heavier. If you want to save weight on an extended backpacking trip, use a bigger cartridge if they’re available. The more cartridges, the more metal containers you need to carry and this translate to more weight.

Litter

Other than the weight problem there’s also the litter problem when you use propane stoves. You can’t reuse cartridge stoves and they need to be disposed when empty. If you’re hiking, you need to carry the empty cartridges with you until you an appropriate place to dispose them. An empty cartridge should never be thrown in the wild.

Convenience

You can get heat almost instantly with a propane stove. It’s just so easy to use. It’s simple to use and it’s the main reason why people don’t want to convert to liquid fuel stoves.

Safety

When lighting up a propane stove, you would know that the flame is small because you turned the knob just a little bit. When starting up a liquid fuel stove, things can get a little bit unpredictable. So it’s safer to use the propane stove inside a tent. This should however be done with caution and with good ventilation only. It would be suicide to use a camp stove inside a tent without good air movement. You also risk getting your tent and other gear burst into flames. Due to the unpredictability nature of starting up liquid fuel stoves, never use them inside a tent.

When parts of the propane stove like the rubber tip is damaged, there’s a small chance of an explosion. It probably won’t be an explosion like a bomb but more of like a huge flare-up. A stove that is simple reduces the chance of it being broken.

Fuel Availability

The advantage of using liquid fuel stoves is that you use just about any available liquid fuel like gasoline or white gas. Propane cartridges may be hard to find in some places.

Cost

In general, backpacking propane stoves are cheaper than liquid fuel stoves but if you use propane stoves you’ll find that you spend a lot more money on fuel. You might end up paying 5 to 10 times more on fuel.

The bivvy sack is as simple as outdoor shelters get. If you can handle being in a confined space it’s a good substitute for a camping tent. They’re very light, easy to set up and can be pitched anywhere there’s enough room to lay down. With a bivy sack, you can arrive at camp, crawl in, and go to sleep.

Stormproof Bivvy

If water cannot get inside a bivvy sack, it is considered stormproof. You can use a stormproof bivvy sack alone even in bad weather. The fabrics, seams and opening determines whether a bivvy sack is stormproof or not.

The fabric used in stormproof in general are either Gore-Tex or eVent fabrics which are waterproof as well as breathable. To prevent condensation, fabrics in stormproof bivvies need to allow vapor from perspiration to escape to prevent condensation.

The floor of these stormproof bivvies are made of waterproof fabrics as well but not necessarily breathable. The floor is usually made up of silicone-coated or polyurethane-coated nylon which is a waterproof-nonbreathable material. The main function is to keep water from seeping through from the ground. The floor also has to be resistant to abrasions and punctures on rough ground.

To be sure that water cannot leak in, a stormproof bivvy needs to have sealed seams and waterproof closures as well.

Water-Resistant Bivouac Sack

When a bivvy sack is not made of waterproof fabrics, does not have sealed seams or does not have a stormproof closure, it is considered as water-resistant as opposed to waterproof. Depending on the weather, water-resistant bivvies can be better than stormproof ones.

Waterproof fabrics, seam sealings and waterproof closures add weight to a bivvy sack. That’s why water-resistant sacks are much lighter.

One less obvious advantage is that water-resistant bivvies are less prone to condensation. The type of fabric used removes vapors very quickly before it has the chance to condensate.

Combined with a tarp, this type of bivvy works very well. This may mean you have to carry some extra weight but only a small amount of tarp is required and you may not have to worry about condensation so much.

Despite advancements in breathable fabric technology, there’s still not one that’s good enough to completely eliminate condensation altogether. Condensation occurs when a warm body in a confined space is mixed with cold temperatures outside. Condensation is likely to occur inside the bivvy sack where there is a lack of ventilation or the lack of body heat. The risk is increased when the weather is humid but if there is good ventilation it is less likely to occur.