Outdoors in Play

Only Outdoors: the latest headlines first, then BRO’s own Outdoors stories and video. All of Play →

Pull the tick straight out and watch the spot for a month

Fine-tipped tweezers, steady pressure, no matches and no petroleum jelly. Then know exactly which rash and which symptoms send you to a doctor.

GuideCity BroMarcus ValeSep 23, 20265 min

Build a rotation of outdoor escapes an hour from your door

An hour out of the city is really about 35 miles, and only if you leave before 7:30. Here's how to make the drive worth it every weekend.

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

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GuideFoodWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Start the fire an hour before you want to eat

Flames blacken food and coals cook it, and most people light the wood about forty minutes too late to get any.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

Country Bro6 min read

Your Pond Problem Probably Isn't the Fish

Weeds, muddy water and stunted bluegill all trace back to the same few things, and most of them you can fix in a weekend.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideDadsCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

Swim First, Then The Rod, Then The Canoe

Five skills decide whether your kid is safe on the water. Everything else — bluegill, barbs, paddle strokes — comes after.

GuideFoodWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Most fish is ruined before the knife ever comes out

Bleed it, chill it hard, and cut with the rib cage instead of through it. The rest of dinner takes twelve minutes.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

Check your ears, your neck and your left forearm first

Five minutes a month in your own bathroom catches most of what matters, and nobody has to see a doctor to do it.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

GuideGearWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Kids' Outdoor Clothes That Make It to the Third Kid

Snow pants don't die from cold. They die at the knee, the cuff elastic and the zipper pull, and you can buy against all three.

GuideFoodWes DunbarSep 23, 20265 min

Charcoal, gas or pellet and which one you'll actually use

The honest trade-offs nobody puts on the box, plus the failures that kill each type and how to avoid them.

Ask BRO

What should I wear to this?

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GuideStyleTobias ReedSep 23, 20266 min

Sun hats that work and don't look like fishing gear

Measure your head, buy three inches of brim, hold the straw up to a light. Most of what makes a sun hat good has nothing to do with the label.

Dude.com — 16 AI advisers who listen, talk and are here with you

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GuideGearWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

The axe you need and the hatchet you probably don't

Most guys buy the small one first and swing it the fewest times. Here's how to pick the right length, and what a cheap head really costs you.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Build an overnight shelter before the light goes

Stop walking three hours before dark, build a bed before you build a roof, and you'll be uncomfortable instead of hypothermic.

GuideWoodworkingWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

The shed plan is right about everything except the ground

A good set of shed plans gives you a cut list and a roof pitch. It won't tell you how to make the floor flat, square and still there in ten years.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

GuideGearWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

What actually fails on a camp stove

Spend on the pot, the lid and the fuel plan. The $20 burner is right more often than the gear shop wants to admit.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Skills5 min

Purify Backcountry Water Without Guessing What's In It

Woodworking6 min

Build a picnic table with your kids in one weekend

Ask BRO

Pressure-test my business idea

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GuideGearWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Buy a six-person tent for your family of four

Capacity ratings lie, fiberglass poles snap, and the stakes in the bag are garbage. What to spend on, what to skip, and when the $140 dome is the right call.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

Skills6 min read

How to get a fire going when every stick is soaked

Wet wood isn't wet all the way through. Here's the order of operations that turns a soggy woodpile into a fire that stays lit.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

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