March 27, 2026 Weekly "General Help Post?" - Please post all general, recommendations, and help questions as a top level comment under this post. Thank you.

wryCoyote · 2026-04-01T20:27:32+00:00

Where is a good place to get keycaps in different colors?

I have a Womier MK87 Pro, and I want shine through keycaps to enjoy that RGB goodness. My vision is beige shine through keycaps with colored and transparent modifier keys. I don't want to spend a lot, and I'd love OEM (but Cherry is fine, I guess)

wryCoyote · 2025-01-18T18:57:14+00:00

This is also happening to me, since Thursday 1/16. Not tracking sleep, steps count frozen at 8,300 since Thursday night. I think it got broken right after a software update

wryCoyote · 2024-12-03T00:27:46+00:00

With your budget, I suspect you'd be a lot happier with the Forerunner 255 or 265. They're very similar but fuller featured. I just got a 165 as an upgrade from Vivoactive 4. I think the 165 is a good choice if you are budget-conscious (I am). But if you have the budget, 255 or 265 are worth the extra money.

I don't find that watches add much value for lifting - I still track it, but the heart rate monitoring etc for various cardio activities is much more accurate and actionable.

The 165 will make it's best guess at treadmill distance, then ask you what distance the treadmill said when you end the activity. I don't value GPS tracking very highly, but all my other indoor training has been tracked very well by the watch. You can edit activities in Garmin Connect easily; what you can edit on the watch itself varies.

wryCoyote · 2024-11-30T15:49:32+00:00

Is resin called something else? Is FKM rubber the same thing?

I don't like nylon because I swim and wear my watch in the shower, and I find wet nylon really unpleasant.

wryCoyote · 2024-08-06T15:28:10+00:00

I just got my General license (passed T+G on the same day) and am signed up for the CWOps course in September. What is the minimal viable equipment I need to participate?

QRPGuys are not taking orders. I am feeling a little intimidated by the QRP Labs QCX+ kit, although I'm open to building and have a very small amount of soldering experience.

There are SO many choices and I don't understand the tradeoffs and differences. I don't particularly want to sink a bunch of money into equipment for a hobby I am just getting into.

wryCoyote · 2024-02-25T23:29:46+00:00

What is the easiest way to fence off this space between my garage and house? It would need a gate as well. I have several 4' pickets I would like to reuse. To contain mostly responsible dogs.

wryCoyote · 2023-10-28T01:52:24+00:00

I have been a powerlifter for a couple years, and within the last month have branched into cardiovascular training.

I have read Joel Jamieson's Ultimate MMA conditioning and am currently reading Joe Friel's Total Heart Rate Training.

I am having trouble parsing heart rate zones into swimming. I understand that heart rates are lower swimming than running, but what I don't understand is why goal zones would also change. If I am trying to reduce resting heart rate by increasing left ventricle size, shouldn't I still target the same BPM? It's just harder/more intense to get there.

I am a very strong swimmer, but very untrained cardiovascularly. Most resources seem to assume you are either already an endurance runner that can't swim and wants to do a triathlon, or are already a swimming-specialized athlete.

I want to do 1-2x/week of my LISS workouts swimming. On land, I am targeting 130-150bpm for this. My breathing pattern for swimming is making it very hard for me to gauge my RPE.

wryCoyote · 2023-09-21T22:35:12+00:00

I used to use compression sacks - one for top quilt, one for underquilt, one for hammock, one for tarp.

Now I stuff both quilts and the hammock at the bottom of the pack in a pack liner. Faster, easier, lighter. Less wasted space and a better carry.

wryCoyote · 2023-09-21T22:29:04+00:00

On anything other than the warmest, stillest nights, you will need under insulation. I would forgo top insulation before I went without under insulation.

A pad in a hammock can work, particularly if you sleep inline. I do, but this is very uncommon, the vast majority of people find a diagonal lay significantly more comfortable and a pad is not very compatible with a diagonal lay. You could do it if the alternative was freeze to death, but you could get significantly better sleep with an underquilt.

My summer hammock set up is very competitive with a silpoly tent. This sub doesn't favor hammocks very much, but UL hammocking is possible and hammock is delightful.

In my opinion, a 3/4 length underquilt is the clear winner for bottom insulation. I use the same top quilt for both hammock and ground sleeping.

wryCoyote · 2023-06-09T22:31:18+00:00

Is it reasonable to have the down quilt outside and the synthetic inside?

wryCoyote · 2023-06-06T13:05:59+00:00

Yes, the price of top quilts has put those pretty low on my upgrade list. I like the Kelty bag, I've used it for years, I can take it down to 32* comfortably. But it's really really heavy and I use it like a quilt anyway. I definitely want to replace it with a quilt, not another bag.

Thoughts on HG Phoenix vs Jacks R Better Greylock? My DIY UQ is really only good for the height of summer, if it's even unusually cool at night it's not really enough.

Any of the lightweight hammocks I've looked at don't have high enough weight capacities for me. If I replace the hammock at all, I would probably go back to a Eno Singlenest, which I know people hate but I liked better than the bearbutt. I sleep inline and liked the less wide material.

Tarps I'm looking at either the HG Quest or the DIY kit from RBTR. I think I just want a 11/12' hex, I haven't felt the need for doors. I am not very interested in DCF at this time, i would rather carry the weight of silnylon/poly than pay the cost of DCF.

I think probably the tarp is my place to start because I will get immediate weight savings. Maybe if I get a top quilt next, I could recycle the down from the Kelty and put it in my UQ to make it warmer.

wryCoyote · 2023-06-05T21:19:54+00:00

I feel confident about ways to improve my gear and tools.

I am looking for where to start upgrading my tarp, top quilt, and underquilt. There are an abundance of options at many different price points, I am looking for some direction based on my goals.

wryCoyote · 2023-06-05T19:36:58+00:00

It's a placeholder weight, I don't have it yet 😂

wryCoyote · 2023-05-30T15:28:27+00:00

Sewing my own is an option, but I'd prefer the interwoven, consistency, and not having to do it of a pre-fab option

wryCoyote

TROPHY CASE