31 ways to make outdoor life easier

Our field editors are a savvy lot. Not only are they expert anglers and hunters, they also know a lot about outdoor life in general. Having spent so much time on the water and in the field, after all, it’s not surprising they’ve accumulated a wealth of outdoor wisdom. With that in mind, we tapped them for their top tips on living smarter in the field. Here are our favourites, along with a few ideas of our own.

1. Stop a boat from sinking
A toilet wax ring can be forced into any shape to stop a major leak. Push the wax into the hole or crack, wedging it into place with any stiff material, such as a piece of wood, that can be braced or screwed down. Store the wax ring in an old towel in the shade, given heat makes it gooey. —Alan Davy

2. Patch a minor canoe leak
Light the end of a nylon rope on fire and let the drips of molten nylon fall around the edges of the hole or crack in your canoe. Allow the nylon to cool, then repeat on both sides of the hull—each pass will reduce the size of the opening until it’s bridged over. Reinforce the patch with duct tape. —Alan Davy

3. Pack dental floss
Aside from dental hygiene, dental floss has a thousand other uses. It’s ideal for re-dressing frayed bowstrings, winding guides back on fishing rods and fixing torn tarps. For a wind indicator, attach a piece to the end of your rifle barrel. A compact, 50-metre container of floss even comes complete with its own cutter. —George Gruenefeld

4. Organize your food
For camping trips, pack your foodstuffs into plastic olive barrels recycled from restaurants or bulk food stores. They’re light, tough and watertight—you can even sit on them. With their wide mouths, they make picking ingredients for meals a lot easier than rooting through one large food barrel. —Tom Adamchick

5. Use reusable bags
To save space for backcountry trips, repackage store-bought food in resealable plastic bags, which come in multiple sizes. Food storage aside, they can also be used as air pillows, hot water bottles, ice packs and camera protectors—the list goes on. —Bob Sexton

6. Stay on track
To find your way in and out of the woods in the dark, staple 3/4-inch squares of reflective tape to both sides of stumps or trees along your route. The tape is visible at 50 yards with an ordinary flashlight. You can also mark the route to your duck blind through confusing reed channels. —Alan Davy

Never show up at your destination with a dead flashlight again.

7. Save your batteries
Ever arrived at a backwoods destination at nightfall only to find your flashlight accidentally switched on and the batteries dead? Avoid this with any battery-operated gear by putting the batteries in backwards when travelling. —Bob Sexton

8. Filter water easier
For clean camp water, forget about having to pump, boil or apply chemicals. Instead, let a gravity-powered water-filter bag do the hard work. Simply fill it, hang it and enjoy safe, fresh-filtered water within minutes. Get one at any camping goods store. —Tom Adamchick

9. Make a canine first aid kit
Your hunting dog runs many health risks afield, so always carry supplies to stop bleeding and protect wounds, splint limbs, rinse eyes and ears, manage pain, treat allergies and diarrhea, and remove embedded objects. Store-bought kits are available, but you can get most of the supplies from your vet or over the counter. —Ken Bailey

10. Make no-fail fire starter
Melt candle stubs in an old coffee can, mix in as much sawdust as the wax will absorb, then spoon the mixture into paper egg cartons, packing it tight. Once cooled, break the carton into individual segments—ignite just one to start a campfire, or to light up a fireplace or wood stove. —George Gruenefeld

11. Change quickly
Whenever I got completely soaked in the past, I’d have to search through my gear trying to piece together a dry outfit. Now, I pack entire clothing changes—socks, underwear, pants, shirt, fleece and windbreaker—in individual waterproof bags. If I get wet, I simply pull out a bag and change. —Mark Anderson

12. Stay warm on cold nights
Place three or four fist-sized rocks around your campfire an hour before bedtime. When you turn in, wrap them in a towel and stow them in the foot of your sleeping bag. Avoid river rocks, because the moisture may cause them to explode when heated. —Ken Bailey

13. Pack smarter
Avoid a top-heavy backpack. Instead, place heavy items in the middle of the pack and nearer to your back. This will greatly increase your balance and make carrying big loads much more pleasant. —T.J. Schwanky

14. Fix your fuel hose
Twice I’ve been faced with a dried and cracked fuel hose on my outboard motor. To salvage the day each time, I cut a fresh pine branch and used the pitch to seal the cracks, then wrapped duct tape overtop. This trick works well on loose hose connections, too. —Brad Fenson

15. Cook bannock in the wild
Mix 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda and a half teaspoon of salt; store in a resealable bag. To make bannock once you’re in the field, simply add two tablespoons of margarine and slowly add enough water to make thick, spreadable dough. Preheat the pan, melt one tablespoon of margarine and pat the dough into the pan. Shake the pan to keep the bannock from sticking, and flip when brown. —Wayne Phillips