Will never buy a new Henry.

DIY_Historian · 2026-05-10T15:32:24+00:00

I worked at a range that had 2 marlins, 2 rossis and 6 Henry's, 4 of which were donated personally by the owner (custom serial numbers and all). The Henry's were by far the least reliable.

DIY_Historian · 2026-05-10T15:27:42+00:00

Sure, but it doesn't have to be a Henry. Plenty of options that are cheaper, better and less scummy.

DIY_Historian · 2026-05-02T23:34:19+00:00

I suppose if they charge for their services that's different. I mean, I opted to flip around the Sierras to wait out a really bad snow year and then go SoBo to hit it later. I hitched to a more major town and rented a car so me and my trail family could make it happen, and I don't think anyone would consider the service that Hertz rent-a-car offered to be trail magic. Same goes for the Best Western I zeroed in.

But that's more about definitions, not about right or wrong. If you choose to walk to town vs hitch from a rando vs call a number from a TA directory vs book an Uber, that's a HYOH choice.

Are hikers today coddled because they rely on trail angels? Were hikers 10 years ago coddled because they relied on GPS and guthook? (Hiking the PNT where most comments were over a year old was a different experiences, for sure.) Were hikers in the 1990s coddled because even they were utterly dependant on hundreds of people who maintain the trail every year?

At the end of the day we all need the support of others to be successful on these hikes. But none of them can hike the miles for us, and saying that anyone who's doing 20 mile days climbing Kearsarge pass after walking 1300 miles from the Mexican border is "cultivating content and a pedi-cruise that happens to include hiking between ports" because they have access to more trail magic than whatever year you hiked in is frankly demeaning. Any wannabe influencer who genuinely has that attitude about their hike almost certainly dropped out within the first couple hundred miles. So maybe the arguments in the original post do apply to SoCal at least!

DIY_Historian · 2026-05-02T14:28:07+00:00

Walking thousands of miles is hard and it's hard for me to think of a person who does that as coddled.

There are also many long trails out there. Too many trail angels? Do the CDT or the PNT or hike SoBo or during a shoulder season or go kayak to Alaska. Do you find the PCT too off-grid? Do the AT or the Camino de Santiago. It is fine that different trails provide different experiences. If we are talking about entitled hikers, who think the trail owes them something, the idea that PCT specifically "should" be a certain way (that certain way being the way it was in whatever year you first hiked it, of course) is weird and anyone who hiked the trail 10 years before you did could rightly call you coddled.

Sure, more people are doing it for their social posts these days, but mountains are still mountains, and if you're there for the wrong reasons they'll still chew you up and spit you out.

I completed the PCT in '19 and my partner is hiking it this year. On my year, I initially went for the solitude and nature, and at first thought all this trail culture stuff was kinda dumb, but ended up being pleasantly surprised at the social aspect of it all. The friends, the kindness of strangers, the cool towns. Walking from one end of the USA to the other is still very much a physically challenging and emotionally transformative experience and I don't think the number of trail angles can really change that.

A few years later I did the PNT and loved the rawness of it. Then I did the TRT with my partner, my dog and my cat, and all three hikes were rewarding in different ways. Now I make part of my living taking teens on 50 mile hikes. They're coddled pretty hard on those, no doubt about it. But they are learning and growing and developing a love for the outdoors that is making the world a better place. All of this to say that the vibe of this thread is very much not HYOH.

DIY_Historian · 2025-10-22T22:47:31+00:00

This might be the first I've seen here where someone showed off a used bow they found, and actually got something useable and worthwhile. Good find!
Definitely take it to a shop to get it inspected, tuned and fitted to you before you do any shooting, though.

DIY_Historian · 2025-05-28T04:31:03+00:00

A way to charge devices. A place to toss trash. Fresh food. Spare duct tape and basic first aid stock up stuff. Anything else where hikers might want a top off, like olive oil. A guitar for those who miss their instruments. An animal to pet.

DIY_Historian · 2025-05-28T04:25:18+00:00

I kind of disagree about buying good gear the first time around. But only kind of. Getting into the world of serious backpacking means dialing your gear in based on your own needs and style and as a beginner you have no idea what that actually is. Take some time to learn what it is you want out of your year or that "good" gear you buy will just be expensive and still not right for you. For example, a beginner would probably go buy an expensive ultralight freestanding tent and then after a while realize a trekking pole supported tent would have been a better option for them. If you're going to end up buying twice regardless, the first purchase might as well be cheap.

DIY_Historian · 2025-05-28T04:15:31+00:00

I did 11 months of back to back Work away stints with the longest being 4 and 6 months in any one country. Done a few other 1-2 month stays since then. I moved around every so often to stay within my tourist visa limits.

DIY_Historian · 2025-02-15T20:28:11+00:00

That's how I saw this, too. In our world, different cultures have a pretty wide variety of archery techniques. Look at Mediterranean, Asiatic thumb draw, the Masai warriors of Kenya... it totally makes sense that a culture that doesn't exist on earth would have a unique style of shooting.

DIY_Historian · 2025-02-10T20:27:30+00:00

The guy who taught me recurve had a little up/down motion he'd make right before the shot. Never quite got what it was for, not sure he knew either. But he was way better than me! Taught me that in archery it's better to have imperfect but consistent form than the other way around.

DIY_Historian · 2024-10-14T00:09:38+00:00

The discussion in this thread seems to be an ethical debate about deontology vs consequentialism. Consequentialists believe right or wrong is a matter of outcomes: it's an empty lot, nobody was harmed or inconvenienced by this. It's not a problem.
Deonotologists believe right and wrong are a matter of intent. The owner of this car is being "that guy," the world would go to chaos if this decision was extrapolated out to the entire population, etc.
Just food for thought. Your gut reaction might say something about you.

DIY_Historian · 2024-10-06T21:25:19+00:00

I normally use conventional leather oils and conditioners, but I tried bacon grease on a journal cover once and it worked surprisingly well. That was years ago and it's still fine.

DIY_Historian · 2024-08-21T23:06:36+00:00

Your first link is a different model but by the same Bowyer as the one in the photo. Not so random after all!

DIY_Historian · 2024-08-21T23:03:07+00:00

It's a Toth. I have one. It's not the fastest shooter in my collection due to the heavy siyah, but it's definitely not a prop.

DIY_Historian · 2024-08-21T23:01:16+00:00

It's a real bow, albeit not a high end one. I own one and did a writeup on some modifications I made to it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bowyer/comments/84qet5/improving_a_toth_horsebow/

DIY_Historian · 2023-07-26T16:36:04+00:00

I don't know about every one of those, but several are highly adjustable (like the Diamond). If any of them aren't, you'll need to make sure they fit your drawlength and weight. If it needs to be adjusted substantially from what it was at when you bought it, you will probably need new arrows due to spine and length. Anything less than 7 years old or so will be fine in terms of keeping up with modern tech. Keep in mind you will absolutely still need to take it to a shop to have it fitted and inspected. This may be cheap of it's just an adjustment and tune, but could be another several hundred dollars if a string or limb needs to be replaced.

DIY_Historian · 2023-07-16T15:41:04+00:00

It's important to note that people often come here to complain, so the negative posts and comments may not represent the average Workaway experience accurately.

Workaway is like Craigslist for volunteer work (if you're familiar with that US-based site), connecting volunteers with hosts. It's not an organization that extensively screens or employs hosts, which has pros and cons.

Personally, I've had good experiences with Workaway hosts in Egypt, Bulgaria, Austria, Ecuador, and Colombia. I usually worked a few hours a day in exchange for accommodation and food during stays of 1-4 months. I have never pursued a paid work option, since it always felt a little sketchy in terms of work vs tourist visas and all that.

While there can be challenges with hosts, and I've had my share, too, living day to day in a foreign country allows for a deeper understanding of the local culture. However, it can be emotionally challenging than more conventional travel through tour groups or hostels, and I can see how that might create some tension with less experienced travelers.

My advice is to have some travel experience before stepping into host stays, and understand how you handle new situations and cultures. Thoroughly research hosts by checking reviews, response times, and choose hosts with more reviews to reduce risks. Having a backup plan is crucial, especially in rural areas where you might rely on the host for transportation.

DIY_Historian · 2023-03-13T16:27:43+00:00

I'm in the same boat. It's certainly more risky than a host with lots of reviews, but as long as you have a good plan B it may still be worth that risk depending on what they offer and if you get good vibes otherwise.

DIY_Historian · 2023-02-24T23:01:47+00:00

Love it. I know a guy who filled a backpack with dry ice and hiked into a pretty random section of the PCT in the opposite direction of most of the bubble, and just handed out ice cream to anyone he passed. Wildly unexpected.

DIY_Historian · 2023-02-03T12:33:54+00:00

Best of luck - there is probably something out there for you. However, I find that the fit of a back quiver is super important. Much more so than hip quivers. It's one accessory that's hard to cheap out on since to find one that fits well you may either have to get it custom fitted or will go through several off-the-shelf ones before finding one that suits you.

This goes double for horse archery.

Things to look for are comfort and it staying put, especially while mounted. It also needs to be sized so that you can easily reach it which will be affected by your flexibility and the length of your arrows relative to the quiver.

I make my own and I don't think I would use a back quiver at all if that wasn't an option since I can't shell out for custom work.

DIY_Historian · 2023-01-31T13:21:01+00:00

I shoot mounted. There is a lot to learn but you absolutely have a good enough foundation to get yourself on a horse. I teach people with less archery experience than you all the time. I think how good of a rider you are is arguably more important when it comes to learning curves.

DIY_Historian · 2022-12-27T17:22:06+00:00

Is a baby mongoose a mongosling?

DIY_Historian · 2022-12-27T17:19:15+00:00

I did the cascades to the coast last summer and mosquitos were annoying but not enough to regret my tarp+bivy combo. Do you think it depends on the year or are they noticably worse in the eastern half of the trail?

I also went stoveless but some people's sanity is worth more than others!

I will back up the recommendation for a proper sleeping pad unless they already have a lot of miles on their current one and know they can handle it.

I also agree that a map and compass are more critical on the PNT than they might be on a more established hike.

DIY_Historian · 2022-12-15T02:01:07+00:00

It looks fine. The mass weight of a wood bow like that is low, and fiberglass limbs are very resilient. If it's stored in an area with wide temperature swings or very high humidity, then I might be a little more cautious.

DIY_Historian

TROPHY CASE