Category Archives: Kifaru Forum Blog Posts

About Patrick Smith’s Blog

Posted on June 19th, 2019 by Nathan Coates

Patrick Smith has designed virtually all the base platforms we sell, and has been a pioneer in the outdoors industry since before most of our employees were born.  As a backcountry guide, he found the need to  fill the voids … Continue reading →

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Posted in: Kifaru Blog, Kifaru Forum Blog Posts, Patrick Smith's Blog

Winter Hunting

Posted on January 26th, 2019 by Patrick Smith

Before we look at my journey in developing heated shelters for man carry let’s pause for a discussion on hunting in winter.  I’ve practiced the skill and art of living off the land in the backcountry my entire career, filling … Continue reading →

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Tagged with: tipi

Posted in: Kifaru Blog, Kifaru Forum Blog Posts

Snow Shelters

Posted on January 23rd, 2019 by Patrick Smith

Snow caves are neither fast nor easy to build. They are by no means the preferred snow-based shelter solution for daily travel, or even for stranded, emergency shelter. The builder must have a shovel-—preferably a large one-—and be equipped with … Continue reading →

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Tagged with: shelter, Shelters, Snow Shelters, tipi

Posted in: Kifaru Blog, Kifaru Forum Blog Posts

Shelters, A History

Posted on January 7th, 2019 by Patrick Smith

Shelter. We humans need it. Not blessed with fur, fat or any of the other animal protective designs we are on our own; it’s up to that big brain of ours to figure out how to deal with the elements. … Continue reading →

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Tagged with: shelter, Shelters, tipi

Posted in: Kifaru Blog, Kifaru Forum Blog Posts

Testing Shelters

Posted on January 2nd, 2019 by Patrick Smith

It was twenty below inside my new Stephenson tent. I had been using the cutting edge Model 2R since summer. This, instead of my long practice of lean-to shelters with a fire out front. Military shelter half, tarp, that sort … Continue reading →

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Tagged with: shelter, Shelters, tipi

Posted in: Kifaru Blog, Kifaru Forum Blog Posts

Shelter From the Storm

Posted on January 1st, 2019 by Patrick Smith

Greetings and Happy New Year to my colleagues and readers here on the Blog  My freezers are packed with moose and deer and elk—the results of a long and plentiful autumn of hunting and wandering my beloved backcountry in my … Continue reading →

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Tagged with: shelter, Shelters, tipi

Posted in: Kifaru Blog, Kifaru Forum Blog Posts

Patrick’s Possibles Pouch

Posted on July 29th, 2018 by Patrick Smith

I’m finally getting around to revising my twenty year old essay on what constitutes a rambling man’s Possibles Pouch,,,,what it is, and what goes into it,  The concept is to store close at hand everything needed to operate efficiently, and … Continue reading →

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Tagged with: Possibles Pouch

Posted in: Kifaru Blog, Kifaru Forum Blog Posts

Most Significant Improvements To Backpacking In The Last Sixty Years

Posted on June 24th, 2018 by Patrick Smith

I looked at my Favorite Designs List, above, and had to admit that Lists are fun! So let’s make some more!  In over sixty years of backcountry rambling I’ve used an ever-evolving array of equipment. The gear available in the … Continue reading →

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Tagged with: backpacking, hunting, packs

Posted in: Kifaru Blog, Kifaru Forum Blog Posts

Designs From The Field

Posted on April 29th, 2017 by Patrick Smith

Our Road Trip has taken a turn into the past. It’s a wandering road, revealing nuggets of events that inform the present. We’ve had a glimpse at the Roots of a life-long passion for wild places, a passion that became … Continue reading →

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Posted in: Kifaru Blog, Kifaru Forum Blog Posts

Avalanche!

Posted on March 2nd, 2017 by Patrick Smith

May, 1981. Colorado High Country. Paul Ramer and I are course-finding for the proposed Colorado Haut (High) Route for backcountry skiers along the Continental Divide; we are skiing a section west of Berthoud Pass.  (Some readers will recall Ramer backcountry … Continue reading →

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Posted in: Kifaru Blog, Kifaru Forum Blog Posts