Backpacking Clothes - Making Your Own

Okay, do you really want to make all your own backpacking clothes? More power to you, and good luck. After the first hundred tedious hours of sewing I started buying gear again. However, there are SOME backpacking clothes you can make cheaply and quickly. A few examples follow.

Making Your Own Ski Mask

Find any old thermal underwear top or bottom, preferably made of polypropylene. Cut off a sleeve or leg, pull it over your head, and mark where your eyes and mouth are with a pen or marker. Cut the holes and cut off the extra. You just made a balaclava.

My homemade balaclava weighs less than an ounce. Sew the top shut if you want, or just pin it shut with a safety pin. Making your own backpacking clothes doesn't get much simpler than this.

Hand Warmers

Put your hands inside a pair of light socks and mark where your fingertips are. Cut five holes in the end of each, and you now have 1-ounce hand warmers that leave your fingers free. Use them under other gloves or mittens in colder weather. When you need to remove your mittens to tie your shoes, you won't totally expose your hands.

A Two-Dollar Insulated Vest

You can buy 1/2" poly batting at any fabric store (I bought mine at Walmart). Unroll it and cut a piece out, roughly two by four feet. Put a hole in it for your head. You'll wear it like a tunic, but under your jacket. It will be among the lightest backpacking clothes you'll own. Mine weighs four ounces.

I took my vest, along with my homemade balaclava, over glaciers, to the top of 20,600-foot Chimborazo, in Ecuador. I also wore it to the top of Mount Shasta in California, and on many other trips. I made it as a disposable vest, but it's held together for years now.

Feel free to contact me with ideas for any simple backpacking clothes or equipment that can be made at home. However, if it can't be explained in a paragraph, it's probably too complex and time consuming for me. I prefer to backpack, not sew.

Steve Gillman is a long-time backpacker, and advocate of lightweight backpacking. His advice and stories can be found at http://www.TheUltralightBackpackingSite.com

Barbecue Smoking - The Secret To Add That Flavour

Smoke is the ancient and time-honored way to add flavor to anything that is being cooked. In ancient times, smoke was used to preserve meat for long periods of time. It is an age-old process of cooking meats over a low smoke fire.

Smoking is one of the cooking processes of barbecue. Smoking a piece of meat will require temperatures ranging from 200 to 225 degrees F. Because of the temperature being so low, smoking would take long periods of time. For heavy cuts of meats like beef or pork the cooking time will be 45 minutes to one hour.

The true ingredient of smoking is the smoke. To smoke something, all that is needed is a container to hold the smoke, a source of the smoke, and something to smoke. A smoker can be anything from a hole in the ground to a $2000 smoker.

The wood for smoking meat must be selected carefully. Different woods leave different flavors. Generally, any wood that is hard and free of resin (or sap) is good for making smoke. Woods of fruit and nut trees are good for smoking and enhance the flavor of meats.

Smoke contains nitrates which start a chemical reaction in meats that enhances the flavor and breaks down connective tissues like collagen and tenderizes tougher cuts for easier eating. Collagen breaks down into sugars and gelatin gives the barbecue its natural sweet flavor.

The most popular items smoked are ribs, brisket and pork shoulder. But, this is not the limit. Anything can be smoked from nuts to cheese to steaks. However, the process of smoking is done mainly for cuts of meat that traditionally do not come out well in any other cooking method. A good example of this is brisket, which is very tough and is not very easy to eat if baked in an oven.

When cooking meat the meat should be placed inside the smoker so that it is surrounded by smoke. The meat should always be surrounded by a thick stream of smoke to enhance the flavor. The smoke should be moving, and always see that the meat gets the maximum exposure to smoke.

The main advantage of barbecue smoking is that it increases the shelf life of food, particularly meat. It evolves as the process of preserving as well as enhancing even the worst cuts of meat into a wonderful meal.

A good temperature control will make the meat tender and tasty. As already mentioned smoking meat is best done in temperatures that range from 200 to 220 degrees. Keeping the temperature low will give enough time for the smoke to sink in and naturally tenderize the meat. Slow cooking will give time for the natural fibers in the meat to break down and become tender.

The main difference between smokers and regular barbecues is the cooking time. Gas or charcoal barbecues cook food with high intensity heat, while a smoker barbecue cooks the food slowly. It may take several hours to cook a joint of meat with an electric barbecue smoker.

The last thing to remember is that smoking is an art rather than a science. Practice and patience are the secret. So until then keep 'em smokin'.

Former International Hotel General Manager and culinary expert, Peter Finch, hosts a site dedicated to one of his favorite forms of cookery - barbecue. If you are looking for information on barbecue food or advice on barbecue recipes or barbecue grills, visit us now. BestBarbecues.co.uk is a goldmine for information on everything related to barbecues.

Naked Scuba Diving

For many people the feeling of diving in nature with nothing on is ver relaxing and for that reason, you will actually find a number of naked scuba diving clubs consisting of people who enjoy being free while in the water. Diving in the nude is very exhilarating, allowing the water to caress the body naturally. The number of people who enjoy naked scuba diving would probably surprise you.

In addition to the great feeling that you get while diving nude, there are also the safety considerations. For instance, some subtropical and tropical waters have problems with sea lice that become caught under clothing. The problem is that sea lice sting and it hurts. However, sea lice do not cling to exposed skin, which means people can scuba dive naked and not have to worry about these annoying creatures. Keep in mind that it is recommended body hair be trimmed or shaved.

Additionally, naked scuba diving also helps the diver to become better aware of the underwater environment, which actually teaches better diving skills. For instance, underwater, there are rocks, cliffs, coral, and other items that when brushed up against with a wetsuit can do damage to expensive gear or even create a safety hazard. By feeling the environment on the body, you become more aware of your diving and the environment, which means being more careful.

Just as there are many benefits of naked scuba diving, there are some risks too. In this case, male divers should avoid the process of feeding fish. The reason is that some fish cannot tell food from a male's appendage, thus causing a bite. In addition, men should protect themselves when in large schools of fish. While this might sound funny, it can be a problem and bites do occur. Therefore, just be aware of the environment when diving without a wetsuit or bathing suit so you take the right protective measures.

Interestingly, many divers are now trying naked diving and finding they love it. The following are some sites that accept nude diving should you decide to try it for yourself:

St. Martin - Orient Beach French

Mexico
Cozumel - San Francisco Beach
Yucatan, Mayan Corridor - Playa Del Carman
St. Barts

Honduras
Half Moon Bay
West End Bay

Antigua
Hawksbill

Bahamas
Nassau (Breezes)
Cat Island (Cutlass Bay)

Bonaire
Sorobon Beach Resort

Dominican Republic
Hispaniola (Eden Bay Resort)

Florida
Key Largo (Jules Undersea Lodge)

Jamaica
Runaway Beach (Breezes)
Braco (Grand Lido)
Negril (Grand Lido)

Naked Scuba Diving , Scuba Diving Equipment and More at http://www.getscubadiving.com