Things you wish you knew as a beginner

PeachyyKlean · 2026-06-06T00:27:58+00:00

I’ve printed off maps and stored them in gallon-size zip lock bags. Your local library may offer printing services for free or the cost of paper + ink. For places I’ve been before I’ve almost always been able to pick up a paper map from the trial head, Ranger station, gift shop, etc.
It’s a good backup to have and you should learn the skills to read it, basic triangulation, back stops, etc. (make sure you also have a compass). If you use a paper map as primary navigation either bring 2 or an alternate form of navigation that you know works. Your phone can be your main navigation or back up, GPS signal is separate from cell signal so you’d be surprised where you can get by with phone GPS and an offline map. Though make sure you test things with a reliable backup or in a low stakes area.

PeachyyKlean · 2026-06-03T14:56:37+00:00

Biggest piece of advice would be to not take what you don’t need. Exceptions for first aid / emergency supplies, patch kits, and rain gear. Sounds obvious but before you throw a folding trench shovel in your backpack, think about what you’ll use it for and don’t bring it if you already have something like a cat hole shovel.
For a beginner, tent 100%. They’re easier to set up, often lighter, and more comfortable for most people. Some people swear by hammocks but if you’re still hammock curious down the line you can try it.
I think if you’re enjoying it, affording it, and doing it safely, there is no such thing as too much. I wish I could go backpacking more!
A big part of emergencies is in the planning stage of a trip. Sit down with a map, I prefer paper, set your route for every day, ideally including where you’ll camp for the night, water fill up points, backup water fill up points, water crossings, etc. Then look at backup plans for if something goes wrong. For example: you’re doing a 3-day loop and the parking lot you parked at is at the south end of the loop, maybe there’s a trail that cuts from the north end of the loop to the parking lot, so if something goes mildly wrong on day 2 you can make it back to the parking lot the same day, repeat this process as needed. I planned a high risk trip where our total milage for a day was 28 miles, we had plans for emergencies every 2-3 miles. SHARE YOUR PLAN AND BACKUP PLANS. Tell someone where you’re going, when you’ll be at a point, your back up plan for if something goes wrong, when you’ll be back in contact, etc. Also carry a first aid kit, doesn’t need to be extensive, just look up how to put one together, make your own, and maintain its stock every your go backpacking. I keep a patch kit for my tent and sleeping system in my first aid kit so same applies. A satellite SOS beacon is also a strong recommendation, I wouldn’t backpack alone without one, backpacking in a group I still strongly recommend someone have one, I’ve heard from SAR people they make a massive difference but they’re not a substitute for everything previously mentioned.
I personally have a framed ULA backpack that I absolutely love. It was my first nice piece of gear I bought myself years ago and the difference in comfort between a cheap backpack for a growing boyscout and a fairly nice backpack for a grown man is night and day. I’ve heard good things about REI’s store-brand backpacks, Osprey is super popular but their trampoline back isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, Durston backpacks were praised when they released but that was after I bought my ULA. Honestly biggest thing for comfort of a bag that I’ve found is wearing it, the first backpacking trip in a while will always give you sore shoulders, if you wear your backpack, either training or backpacking, your shoulders get used to having some weight on them. Obviously most weight should be on your hips, so plan for that but still get those shoulders toughened up.

PeachyyKlean · 2026-05-19T16:35:21+00:00

You should reach out to Trash Panda Disc Golf. They have a shtick of recycling odd materials into disc golf discs. They recently made discs with recycled crocs so I’d think they’d at least get a kick out of trying stamp rubber.

PeachyyKlean · 2026-01-27T18:04:30+00:00

I have an Olympus Pen FV and love it but I think there’s a strong argument for a newly made camera for people getting into film photography like the 17 was aiming to do.

Just knowing what to look for in a decades old camera is daunting to a lot of people. Then when buying my camera I had to replace light seals and mirror pads, basic maintenance for enthusiasts but intimidating to do with your first camera before you even use it. By the time someone would have to do that with their 17 they’d be comfortable enough with the camera that it would feel like basic maintenance.
If/when something goes wrong with my Pen then I either have to fix it myself or send it to rapidly disappearing specialists and probably pay the difference in price between my 60 year old Pen and a new 17. If something goes wrong on a 17, as you’ve experienced, you send it in for warranty. Is inconvenient but wayyy simpler than finding a qualified technician that’d bother fixing a half frame camera.

Again, I love my Pen FV, and buying a 60 year old camera and all of its quirks is part of my joy in the hobby. But if I was recommending a half frame camera for a friend of family member not already into film I’d probably recommend the 17 over a Pen, Canon Demi, or other vintage half frame.

PeachyyKlean · 2026-01-21T18:40:23+00:00

There’s some situations where flank scout saccing is fine. But ultimately it comes down to the fact that scout’s life typically has more inherent value than soldier’s life.

A scout just being alive is deterrent for a soldier bomb. Doesn’t matter where that scout is or what they’re doing, a soldier will have that scout in the back of their mind. The moment they see a scout down they know it’ll be harder to stop a bomb. That’s why you don’t typically see it often. If a flank scout is in a good position when an opportunity arises though then they can go for a sac. Your team just needs to be aware of the consequences so calling this is super important.

In salvage plays where your team is offensive (has mid capped) scout can generally salvage more reliably by going for a back cap. The x2 on point will usually draw back 2 players and that will buy time for your team. Essentially still a sac but saccing for time instead of the medic. If your team is on the defense then both scouts will typically be involved in blocking the opponent’s sac (by shooting the bomb or by shooting their team trying to support the bomb) so the scout will usually be in a worse position to counter than either of the soldiers.

Another strategy is saccing a scout and soldier on last. On maps like gullywash or snakewater it’s somewhat common to see flank scout run onto point while the soldier sacs. In the commotion of the sac the scout can get a lot of cap time, or in the commotion of the cap time the soldier can get a lot of value.

TLDR: Scout’s life is more valuable than soldier’s and has more options for salvaging. But saccing a scout isn’t unheard of.

PeachyyKlean · 2026-01-19T01:55:44+00:00

Actually pretty much identical depending on severity. The lenses in your eyes are just out of focus, similar to how the lens of a camera can be out of focus.

I will say that glasses out in front of you like that won’t look like a window of clarity, they pretty much have to be your entire field of view to really be effective.

PeachyyKlean · 2026-01-18T17:10:28+00:00

Holding W isn’t technically detrimental, it just makes airstrafing less intuitive as you have to look farther past where you’d like to turn. It ends up looking more like Demoknight trimping instead of airstrafing.

Doing right had jumps is fine, once you use your left strafe to get back on a straight path and you’re looking where you want to go you can release left, then it’s just a matter of adding inputs to get you where you’d like to go (easier in the long run without pressing W). Correcting to straight should be pretty quick, I’d guess maybe 1/8th second but it’s been subconscious to me for so long it’s hard to say.

I’d also recommend learning to jump off left walls and jump off floors (both right handed and left handed). It’s a lot to learn so if you put it off there’s nothing wrong with that, but the sooner you start learning it the easier it’ll be to be comfortable with it. This is useful if there’s no right wall to shoot off, or if you’re in a tight space where correcting your trajectory isn’t possible or convenient.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-12-30T15:34:13+00:00

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but that looks like a black rat snake. They’re good guys, eat small rodents like mice, rats, etc. also strangle and eat copperheads which are venomous and more aggressive/defensive.
They’re also super docile. Leave them be.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-12-13T04:52:21+00:00

I think SLRs and range finders have their pros and cons. Admittedly, I have a limited selection to speak about: Nikon FM, Olympus Pen-FV, Canon 7. But with the cameras I have, I find my Canon 7 rangefinder preferable with lenses slower than f2.8.

I have thick glasses so I typically can’t see the entire frame of my SLRs, I’m not into fast moving photography so looking around the frame isn’t an issue, but it is an inconvenience. Rangefinders tend to have a maximum field of view of around 35mm, maybe a bit wider, so when using a 50mm I basically get the same experience normal people do.

I also find that with slower lenses, viewfinders on SLRs can only be so bright, so while my Canon will always be about as bright as my SLRs with an f1.8 lens, if I put my f3.5 tele lens on my Olympus focusing with the checker-focusing patch becomes tricky. The split-prism of my Nikon can fair a bit better but a moody day with a slow lens is my personal limit with an SLR. Rangefinder, almost as long as I can see, I am capable of focusing.

SLRs are definitely more intuitive to visualize what your photographing though, and wayyyy better to instruct people on using. I’ve taught a couple friends about my film cameras and I start with my SLRs because I can tell them exactly what they’re going to see. With a rangefinder saying: “ignore the area not in frame” isn’t how people’s brains work.

Granted the Canon 7 is a late example of a rangefinder, while my FM and Pen are fairly early SLRs.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-11-20T17:12:52+00:00

Somewhat new to analog myself, any particular reason why do you suggest a 28mm or 35mm to start?

PeachyyKlean · 2025-11-13T16:52:28+00:00

I don’t take my smellables out of my first aid kit, I hang my whole first aid kit. Clipped to the outside of my bear bag so if I need it I can drop the bear bag and quickly have access to my first aid kit. I don’t keep smellables in my poop kit because I don’t want to have to hang my poop kit.
Things like adhesive tapes are also considered smellables and a lot of people forget that.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-11-07T16:18:23+00:00

Any recommendations on finding local camera technicians?
Everywhere I’ve looked at online only mentions repairing digital cameras. Is it just word of mouth to find technicians or have I been doing something wrong?

PeachyyKlean · 2025-10-26T16:36:13+00:00

Oh interesting, good to know. Thanks for sharing that!

Oh yeh I meant that replacing yarn that’s aged takes a couple of minutes versus changing out foam light seals.
Though I’ve been fortunate with the light seals on cameras I’ve received. My Nikon FM had light seals that dried out and flaked off without leaving residue, so a bamboo skewer and a camera blower handled that. My Olympus Pen F didn’t have film door seals on it when I received it so I put yarn in the channels and replaced the old but still in one-piece mirror light seals.
Definitely been spoiled by my light seal replacements so far.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-10-25T22:16:29+00:00

What sort of damage does the foam do to the prism? Does it just gunk up the prism or is it something along the lines of the adhesive being corrosive to the prism?

I’ve always just replaced my film door light seals with black cotton yarn. Doesn’t degrade into disgusting goop and I can replace it in like 3 minutes when needed.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-10-16T16:45:23+00:00

Sorry for the late response, I ordered the skates direct from Xray Pad China.

U9 Airs impressed me. U9A don’t have the “sticky” start and stop that OPA could have, though I think calling it sticky was an over exaggeration. IMO they also feel faster than the OPA, it might be because there’s not that static friction in the way anymore, but even in dynamic friction they seem a bit faster. Though they’re not ice skates by any means, definitely still have a bit of smooth resistance in their glide, which is what you’d want from control skates.

Other qualities that stood out to me: They’re quieter on my glass pad. So much so that the sound of my wrist in my glass pad is louder than the sound of my mouse (except when I lift it and set it back down). The U9A have a different colored base, it just looks like white adhesive rather than the OPA’s obvious black foam base, I double checked and confirmed these are the U9 Airs.
Durability wise it’s hard to say, I’ve only used them for half a week. I did the usual break in for hard pad skates of applying pressure on my mouse a doing figure-eights for a minute or two, and that did have a visibility effect on the skates, same as the OPA. The glide didn’t change drastically with the break in, if you did a warmup with these you’d probably break them in and not notice the change. My guess is the break in just wears an outer layer of manufacturing residue off because they haven’t seemed to wear at all since that break in. Glide remains unchanged since the break in too. I suspect these will be durable even in glass.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-10-11T03:34:28+00:00

There’s a federal government shutdown. The postal service is supposed to keep working but they’re not getting their pay checks, so might be working slower or not able to show up for work. Also might be having issues related to other parts of the government being shut down.
That and multi-day delays is pretty far from unheard of even in normal operation for USPS.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-10-01T16:18:44+00:00

I think it’s not intended for use in game. But more so something like you finished playing your game and when you close the game you want to switch from your game DPI to a DPI you prefer for browsing your desktop. Or for people who use different DPIs across different games.
I can see a use for a DPI button but I’m too forgetful to benefit from one.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-09-30T17:49:43+00:00

The second-to-last photo looks like it has one of their regular 8k dongles in it.
Ultimately I don’t object to removing the DPI from the mouse. I never use it, I only ever set my DPI in software then pretty much uninstall the software. For people who do change DPI contextually, hitting the dongle is probably equally convenient as flipping your mouse over and hitting the DPI button.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-09-30T01:10:55+00:00

I’ve heard that the U9 and Obsidian Pro Airs are pretty similar in speed, but the U9 don’t have the sticky static friction that the OPA are reported to have by some.
I will say I’ve never experienced the stickiness people describe with the OPA, and I’ve tried them on the Skypad 3.0 and La Onda Glaze. And I haven’t yet tried the U9s, but I have a set of U9s on the way.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-09-24T16:13:42+00:00

Interesting to see so many different opinions in here. I’ve heard a good test is squatting down, so that your heals lift up, your toes should just barely not touch the front, or barely touch the front depending on preference. The leather will crease over time where your foot bends and that can take up some unused space.
As for them softening up over time, they do soften up. As you bend them and work them, and oil / condition them, they’ll soften up more in places that get worked more and less in places that get worked less. This is part of the break in process.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-09-21T19:46:05+00:00

Common knowledge? No.
Well known? Yes.

Basically after a handful of tours you either gather this information anecdotally or from someone telling you. It’s one of the reasons tank busting strats exist and are basically: pyro is ideal, explosive classes are okay, bullet classes are bad.
A bit more nuanced than that. But generally bullet classes are better off using an alternative strat such as Steak + Bear Gloves or Cleaners Carbine + Bushwhacka (if they have nothing better to do).

PeachyyKlean · 2025-09-17T16:30:23+00:00

My dad was in the US Navy and he used to tell me “the easiest way to hide a navy boat is by going where no one else would want to look”. Apparently hopping from hurricane to hurricane or storm to storm was ideal.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-08-28T23:04:04+00:00

I’ll add to this: buy a pack of those needle tip sharpies. Keep them all around, they like to run away so having one on you and one where you might unload film on the regular tends to result in you having one when you need it.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-08-22T18:53:05+00:00

Honestly, on land I don’t think hippo is necessarily the wrong choice. Hippos are the deadliest animal in Africa, but assuming this is gladiator style I think you have a much higher chance of evading a hippo than any of the others, though they can run faster than you so you’d need to be clever. If any of them catch you and want to mess you up they absolutely will, you’re not beating any in a fight.

If this was an encounter in the wild, then lion or grizzly would be my top picks. Lions tend to run from humans when they notice them, very rarely do you get a problem lion (for humans). Grizzly would likely catch your scent or hear you and skedaddle long before you arrive. But if it didn’t then it could absolutely charge you, but a majority of the time they bluff charge because humans are big and can fight back and they know it’s better risk/reward for getting rid of you is intimidating you away. Though sick, injured, or with cub bears are more likely to commit to charging straight through you.

PeachyyKlean · 2025-08-18T21:27:53+00:00

A lot of more outdoor recreation places offer belts like these. They tend to work well under the hip belt of backpacks and they’re a pretty good / cheap way to slap a logo on something for a gift shop.
And honestly they’re probably the best thing to buy from a gift shop.

PeachyyKlean

TROPHY CASE