What are some /out/ skills I can practice in my backyard?
It's been a good 14 or more years since I've last been camping and even then it was with the boyscouts at a big campground.
I can actually get a fire going using the fire steel and scrap wood/brush from around the yard, but just anything else I can and should practice would be nice.
Image related, all of my /out/ stuff. I realize
>Bear Grylls Knife
but it's what my dad bought me as a Christmas Present, so it comes from a good place and I'm going to use it.
How about friction fire?
Practice camp cooking. It's actually one of the more neglected skills that makes /out/ experiences all the more comfy
Honestly the backyard is where you should practice all your skills and test new gear. If a piece of gear fails, no big you're home and have access to shit to fix it, there is no better place to get familiar with your gear. Look at ol' Shug, he hangs hammocks in his backyard to test new ways to hang all the time. So, yeah do it as often as you can, it will only make you more comfortable with your skills and gear.
Pictured: a treeless method
>>785066
Solid advice.
Any type of camping related stuff can be practiced in a typical backyard
Pitching tents
cooking
fires
water collecting
whatnot
>>785066
So much this. I've been /out/ all my life and I've just recently (like within the past couple weeks) put some thought/effort into learning how to cook decent camp food, not just trail mix and ramen and hot dogs.
Practice all the time, long before you actually go out. Practice over a fire if you can, if not then just set your backpacking stove on the counter or even use the house stove, just use the pan you'd normally take /out/.
Also, get a decent /out/ pan. When your pan is way smaller than you're used to, and has a flimsy folding handle and everything fucking sticks like a motherfucker then you're gonna have a bad time.
Oh and actually eat the food you plan to take before you take it! The end of a long day of hiking when it's all your brought is not the time to find out something tastes like ass and doesn't cook how you expected it to.
Starting fires is another good one, it's always harder than you imagine in your head. Don't build big ragers either, practice making small, even cooking fires.
Get familiar with your gear ahead of time, you'll be a lot more comfortable in camp, it'll be like you brought a little piece of home with you.
>>785046
Work on knots and rigging. Even if you never set foot on glaciers knowing crevasse rescue techniques is worthwhile.
>>785046
So far people posts have been reasonable but don't let any of the upcoming shit get to you anon. That knife is more than enough and your backyard is as good as the woods to practice different scenarios. Test your gear at least a couple times before going out. Got a tent? Well what do you do if one pole breaks. Learn to repair your gear, practice sewing, practice with cordage, practice with fire, etc. You can even practice navigation and orientation in your backyard. Larp the fuck out of it. Sky is the limit anon.
The Try-stick is always a fun project and a really good way to practice knifework
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS_IP18_nQ8
>>785092
>small, even cooking fires
That's something to learn.
If you can practice defec/out/ing...
If not, lots of neat suggestions already up.
Unraveling tangled cordage is also lots of fun.
Go out in the yard after it rains (or while raining) and build a fire when everything is wet.
Don't limit your practice of whatever to nice sunny days - go for less than ideal conditions.
>>789027
>shiting in you own yard
What if he doesn't have any water frontage?
>>789033
This
Practice tying various knots with that 550 cord. Different knots are used for various different things. (A trucker's hitch is a very good one to know for cinching things down, followed by half hitches to secure the loose line.)
Practice making traps for small game. All you need is a small tree for your spring, some cord, and a stick to use as the trigger.
Learn to identify venomous snakes in your area.
Make primitive tools out of sticks and rocks. Learn to make a hammer, a hatchet, spears, etc. It'll give you more experience whittling (if you use a knife) or shaping stones/wood with other stones. You may not have a knife when you need it most.
>>789085
>Learn to identify venomous snakes in your area.
or you can just avoid the fuck out of every snake
newfag here. Don't think I've ever seen 15 civil posts in a row on this site. This is defs my fav board on here now.
I don't think I can add much to what's already been said. Maybe practice packing and re-packing your gear? Like pitch your tent, make your food then rehearse getting it all packed up nicely again. It's a time consuming and not very fun thing to have to do while /out/ so getting good at it would be cool.
>>789085
>Make primitive tools out of sticks and rocks. Learn to make a hammer, a hatchet, spears, etc. It'll give you more experience whittling (if you use a knife) or shaping stones/wood with other stones. You may not have a knife when you need it most.
Flint Knapping is certainly something you can do in your back yard.
>>785046
practice fire making skills. Use matches, lighters, fire bows, lenses, everything you can think of. try new ideas and don't be afraid to experiment since there is no danger or urgency in your backyard. The other day I made a fire bow setup from four pairs of disposable chopsticks.
>>790158
>fire bow setup from four pairs of disposable chopsticks
Do tell. I have many chopsticks.
>>790163
Two pair for the bow itself. one pair for the bowl. break one stick off the last pair for the spindle and use the other piece for the socket.
>>785046
I would recommend finding directions for building a small stove from a soda can. Then pick up some denatured alcohol to burn in it. A small light reusable stove is a good idea.
>>789508
snakes are food when you hungry.
they are the dumbest slowest beasts you can catch and eat.
>>791031
an other bonus with sneks is they stay alive for a very long time without anything. they are very good emergency food if you put a sneak into a bag or a basket he will stay there for weeks easily his metabolism slows down and you can eat it whenever you really need it.
noo need to kill them and have the meat rot on you or fuck around trying to preserve them.
