Monthly Archives: March 2023

Trip

Choosing the Right Sleeping Bag For Your Backpack Trip

When choosing equipment for a camping trip, or even just a basic backpacking excursion, the primary factor is size and overall weight. The lighter the piece of equipment, the easier it will be to transport and manage during the course of the trip. When it comes to a quality sleeping bag, weight is not the only thing to consider when making an educated decision. Below are a few tips for selecting the correct sleeping gear.

1. Temperature Rating.
The factory temperature rating is the minimum temperature at which the manufacturer suggests an individual can comfortably, and safely, sleeps in the bag. However, there are a few issues to keep in mind when examining a temperature rating.

One, they are by no means an absolute or objective scale across brands of sleeping gear. Only recently have companies begun to examine a more objective rating scale, and it has still not been adopted as a universal scale. Second, any scale is going to be based on a general rating of individual experience and expectations. In general, a sleeping gear temperature rating should look to exceed expected conditions in order to safeguard against potential harm and injury as a result of exposure.

2. Weight.
The overall weight of a sleeping gear is often measured against the comfort and enjoyability of a larger, roomier sleeping gear. The weight of any individual item must be measured against the overall total weight of the items being brought on the trip.

3. Insulation.
Sleeping bag insulation, or fill, comes in two primary varieties; down and synthetic. Each comes with its own array of positives and negatives.

Down is not actually feathers, but the fluffy undercoating a birds plumage. The tiny clusters of natural fibers act like tiny pockets of insulation, trapping warm air between the fibers and users body. Ounce for ounce, no man-made fiber can be as warm as down. In addition, if treated properly, down will last a lifetime; retaining shape and loft over time. Down also wicks moisture and allows it to evaporate better then synthetic materials. Finally, down is extremely lightweight and compressible.

Synthetic material, while deficient in some areas, also offers several benefits when compared to natural materials. First, synthetic materials will dry more quickly then down over time, especially in humid climates. Second, synthetic materials not only require less specialized cleaning then down, but they are also more resilient in other areas. Synthetic materials are also hypoallergenic, which can be a major concern with down sleeping bags. Synthetic materials are also much cheaper, which, depending on desired use, can be a major factor when choosing a sleeping bag.

Travel

Preparing for Takeoff: How Frequent Travel Has Changed Our Travel Preparation Routine

The reality is now settling in. We are leaving on a big trip in less than two weeks. We are all falling into our normal positions in this play that we act out every time we go somewhere; me in the role of the planner and the detail taker carer of-er and my husband as the frantic, panicky psycho. It is interesting to see, though, how frequent travel has changed our travel preparation habits.

Of course, we do all of the normal leaving home sorts of things-putting mail on hold, cleaning out the fridge, making sure that the dishes and laundry are all done so they don’t smell while we are gone (though this routine has become much more automatic from frequent repetition.)

These essential items on the to do list have become more a part of our daily routine and less something that is out of the ordinary, thus they don’t require so much extra focus and attention. Travel has become a part of our lifestyle, the same way that going to the gym or switching ones diet becomes easier as it becomes a part of the routine.

We have streamlined the routine quite a bit in the process. We have bins of travel sized toiletries sorted by type. We keep a well stocked travel first aid kit and other travel related necessities handy in our closet. I have been traveling so much recently that many times, my bag doesn’t even get fully unpacked between trips (the contents get customized for a different location, but there are some items that often just stay packed.) I even have a section of my dresser for travel friendly clothing.

In the past, before we were traveling as much as we do now, a two week trip would have been a major ordeal to prepare for. It would have been something that I would have prepared for for months, obsessing over to do lists and packing lists, making sure that all of the details were in place.

I still do a pretty insane amount of travel research for our trips, as I have never been the “figure it out when you get there type”, but I find that the more trips we take, the less I am fretting about having every little details planned out.

I am not a super, uber budget traveler who stays in hostels all the time and shuns all touristy things for off the beaten path gems, though I do pack for extended trips only in a small backpack, so I fit that part of the stereotype. I am a travel addict. I am also a normal person just like you who goes to work and lives in a house with a husband and a cat, and these are my adventures…

Tips

Best Healthy Diet Tips You Should Be Adopting

There are quite a few healthy diet tips that will help you to live a healthier lifestyle and eat a healthy diet. If you are trying to eat healthily and stay healthy, you should take these healthy diet tips as good advice that should be incorporated into your daily lifestyle. You can incorporate these gradually and you’ll be used to it no time!

First is that you must always fill your food cupboards and refrigerators with healthy food. After all, if you don’t have healthy food ingredients to cook, and all you have stocked up on is processed foods, how can you cook healthy meals?

Another of my healthy diet tips is that you should keep every of your meals balanced. Plan your meals ahead of time. This will help you manage your eating habits much easier, and will help you avoid preparing unhealthy meals in the name of “I don’t know what to cook today”, or “I’ve run out of ideas”.

Healthy diet advice is easy to come by everywhere, but any good advice must stress how to get nutrients out of whatever foods you are eating too. This is very important as there is no point eating all the right foods, but losing all the nutrients you need from them! How you cook and process your foods is important and crucial to their nutrient-retention. The average home loses a high percentage of the nutrition in their meals, just by the way they prepare and cook it alone!

When incorporating healthy diet tips into your day-to-day lifestyle, it is essential to understand how nutrients are lost in food cooking, and preparation. That way you can avoid the worst culprits and retain all-important nutrition in your meals.

In fact, even without changing the foods you eat yet, but simply getting maximum nutrition out of the foods alone will give you more energy, help your body to function much better, help your bowel movements to be more regular, help you to concentrate better, keep you healthier, and even help you lose weight!

Yes, just like that. And then add slightly tweaking your diet and right food choices to it, you have a complete winner! Not crash diets that don’t work. Not diets that work for a few weeks, and then take you back to square one when you crave the foods you liked to eat. This is because using the right cooking methods and food preparation methods will enable you to cook largely without added fats and oils (now, that’s key!), cook foods in their natural juices without water, and cook on lower heat settings.

Fish oils are an excellent addition to your diet and contain essential fats that are excellent for the brain, concentration and general co-ordination. When you cook fish, take care not to cook out all the nutrients. Don’t fry on high heat especially, so that you don’t damage the omega-3 content that you need. Excess saturated fat is believed to increase the risk of heart disease by raising LDL cholesterol (“bad”) levels. They therefore should be restricted in your diet.

Always strive to reduce bad cholesterol in your diet. They increase the risk of heart disease and obesity. If your cholesterol levels are already higher than normal, you need to take even extra measures to bring it back to normal through diet. It won’t happen overnight, since your cholesterol level was not built up overnight. It will normalise with time though as long you are watching your diet and reducing on foods that are high in cholesterol, saturated fats and trans fats.

Drink plenty of water on a daily basis. Adding a bit of exercise too will work your heart and help to lower your cholesterol and diseases risk. Diet is key though – you should take these healthy cooking and healthy diet tips and habits, as exercise will not work by itself.