Any DIY recipes for wind-detector?

[JGH]

I think the title says it all.

[buglmin]

Why not just buy a few bottles of Smoke in the Bottle and dont worry bout making your own? At just a few bucks a bottle, they last a long time, and they do the job. They show even the slightest wind current, and you can see them for several several yards as you watch the wind.

[mtnmutt]

I use smoke in the bottle, but some people have used unscented talc powder. I never saw unscented talc powder at regular stores. Whole Foods or other Natural Grocery stores may carry it or get it online.

[pointysticks]

i tried a few things. talc. diamataceous earth, and carpenters chauk. the stuff they load into string lines.

it all sucked!! clumpy..actually stained my clothing with white..i just tossed it all and got two of the hunter's specialty bottles. done and done.

the carpenter stuff left my hand blue. hahahah.

[JGH]

I figured.

I was just using Rockchucker's idea of making firestarters from straws and vaseline/cotton balls, and thinking of other DIY projects that I could do. But it sounds like the consensus is that it's not saving a lot of trouble to "roll my own".

BTW ... Rockchucker's firestarters are the bomb ... well, not "bomb" but they work great. I timed one at 5 minutes of burn time -- plenty of time to get the Kifaru stove going or make an emergency fire in the rain. Check out the Gear Tips thread.

[Glacier Country]

Most of the time I use a cotton ball and a safety pin.I put them on Jackets ,packs grunt tubes etc...They are Silent and lighter than the smoke in a bottle, you can see the small piece of cotton float on the air current for 20 yards and they make very good fire starter in a pinch.Add some petroleum jelly and they are great fire starter.I surprise someone every year when they see how well it works.

[JGH]

That's a great idea ... I over-purchased cotton balls for firestarter, anyway!

[ElkNut1]

Good ole baking soda here, I've used it for near 30 years now, works just fine & easy to use in a old nasal plastic container that is less than an ounce, it lasts for weeks on one filling! It's always in my right hand pants pocket for quick and easy access.

ElkNut1

[RockChucker30]

I normally just buy the bottles, but I do think that you could use talc or unscented baby powder. Swede mentions in his book that he uses corn starch IIRC.

I normally just buy a bunch of the hunters specialities stuff at Wally World when they put it on clearance at the end of the season. It's amazing how expensive that junk is.

[otcWill]

Good ole baking soda here, I've used it for near 30 years now, works just fine & easy to use in a old nasal plastic container that is less than an ounce, it lasts for weeks on one filling! It's always in my right hand pants pocket for quick and easy access.

ElkNut1

Yep, that's what I use. Absorbs scent as well so is a good thing to have in the bivy sack!

[garyMichel]

I used billiards talc - silver cup shakable hand talc.

[>>>---WW---->]

For those close encounters, just a plain old piece of white sewing thread about 9 inches long tied to the bowstring just below the idler wheel works great. It is always there in front of you for constant wind monotering.

[WapitiTalk1]

I guess I should pay attention to this thread as I've never carried a powder puffer thingy (although most of my hunting partners have).. Have always just felt the breeze on my face/back of neck. When breeze/thermals are very light, the old lick my finger and stick in in the air works fine. I grab and throw a lot of elk milk duds at my hunting partners in the elkwoods so the licking my finger thing may not be the most sanitary way to check the prevailing winds. I have seen guys put a feather on their bowstring similar to what WW mentioned with the white sewing thread and that seems to work fine also. Perhaps this year I'll get a powder puffer and try it out.

[tdiesel]

Not positive but I'm pretty sure the smoke in a bottle is just corn starch it's supper lite and floats well. That's what I use anyway

[Z Barebow]

Milkweed.

I grab some pods in the late summer and let them dry out/pop. Put the stuff in a 35 mm container (w/o seeds) Best indicator going. You can watch it for 50-75 yards and get an idea of where swirls are happening. Hardest part now is finding 35 mm film containers!

I have several bottles of Smoke in the Bottle, but never use it anymore.

[Bowhunter]

I use a Hunters Specialty bottle and refill it with corn starch. Cheap and it works. I also use milk weed silk. I have watched them float a couple hundred yards. They are so light they actually sit there and get lift from thermals in sunny spots.

[JGH]

I just ordered some of these (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B51 ... UTF8&psc=1) ... empty squeeze bottles for $2.25 ... and I'll fill with corn starch ...

(The thing is, I lose stuff like this, so I'd like to have 2 or 3 bottles ... but the commercial stuff is too expensive to make that happen.)

I'm also going to use the cotton ball idea ... I think that'll be like the milk pod seeds mentioned, and should be visible further away.

[Bow4Elk]

If you have a woodstove or fireplace at home just save the fine ash in the bottom when cleaning it. Works great and doesn't cost a thing once you have a bottle to put it in.

[N5J]

I ran out of wind checker last year only thing I had in camp was odorless boot powder. Popped the top off the boot powder and filled my wind checker container...worked very well...kept my feet dry AND let me know wind direction!


N5J

James

[mtnmutt]

Different size little squeeze bottles are also sold at REI. I repackage all my stuff into smaller bottles and REI has an option for everything I repackage to smaller bottles.
http://www.rei.com/category/40006333

The Boston Round is more squeezable than the more rigid ones. $1.75 per bottle.
http://www.rei.com/product/605499/bosto ... le-4-fl-oz

It seems similar to what JGH listed from amazon.

[Lefty]

,....I normally just buy a bunch of the hunters specialities stuff at Wally World when they put it on clearance at the end of the season. It's amazing how expensive that junk is.

Same here +1
I do and have used corn starch and backing soda, a couple back-ups in the truck.. they just dont work as well for me