ALTAI™ Pro Tip: Stomp Out Boredom at Home

altaidev on April 7, 2020

Here at ALTAI™, we are extremely passionate about the outdoors. Hiking, camping, fishing, and more are a big part of our lives. So, when many states began instituting shelter-in-place orders to help stop the spread of COVID-19, we knew we would have to get creative to stay happy and healthy! We have put together a list of several indoor activities you can do to stay active and keep your spirit of adventure alive and well during these troubling times. We are here to help get through this together! Here is our guide to social distancing for outdoor enthusiasts:

Condition for Hiking

Hiking is a favorite outdoor activity for Team ALTAI™. Collectively, we have been on hiking trips all around the Twin Cities and many other places around the country. If you are an avid hiker as well, there are many ways you can keep your body in shape and prepare for hikes in the future while staying indoors!

  1. Avoid “Hiker’s Knee” which is the knee pain associated with trekking downhill for long periods of time. This can be averted by exercising with ankle weights, squats, and lunges. Always be sure not to overexert yourself and you may want to consult with your doctor before starting any new exercise routines.
  2. If you plan on taking hiking trips in the future, consider breaking in new hiking boots by wearing them around the house! Properly breaking in new boots can make them more comfortable and help avoid foot pain.
  3. Poor man’s leg curls are another great exercise to help keep your body in shape for hikes. They focus on strengthening the hamstring muscles and improving flexibility.

Make Your Own Puzzle

This company offers an affordable way to design your own jigsaw puzzles. Upload your own images and then they will make the puzzle and ship it to you! You can use a photo from a past adventure, or any other image near and dear to your heart. Consider this as a gift option as well—you could make a family member or friend’s day by sending them this unique personalized gift.

Prepare Fishing Gear

If you enjoy fishing, consider preparing lures, lines, and rods while at home! Here are some great guides for fly fishing knots, general fishing knots, seven best fishing knots for any situation, and how to set up a new rod and reel. You can also check out this guide to some of the best fishing areas in America. For tips on catching and cooking fish, check out this article. It’s always a good time to plan a fishing trip for the future!

Map Your Adventures

Get a map of your state, the U.S.A., or a world map and use pins to track your past adventures! You can also use different colored pins to map trips you will take in the future. Just because traveling options are limited now, doesn’t mean you can’t put together the adventure or vacation plan of your dreams! The sky’s the limit.

Go Camping at Home

If you have young kids at home, a wonderful way to stay occupied is to build a blanket fort inside. There are many techniques to build a fort. Use sheets, blankets, or comforters, and drape over chairs and/or sofa. You can also use a broomstick to help prop up the fort. Make your fort comfortable with your favorite cushions and pillows. You may also want to improve the fort with flashlights or Christmas lights, and of course—snacks and games! You can also set up a tent in your own backyard and go camping at home. If you have a firepit, pick a nice evening and build a fire. It’s always fun and delicious to cook up hot dogs and s’mores—these classic snacks are a great way to have an adventure at home!

Paracord Projects

Paracord is the ultra-versatile rope used for parachute suspension lines. It has been used by NASA for repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope. It is also a must-have for outdoor enthusiasts, adventurers, and survivalists alike. There are many everyday use items that can be fashioned out of paracord and then disassembled in survival situations. Whether you make a lanyard, belt, bracelet, or keychain, paracord is an incredible product. It can be used in survival situations for everything from tying off a wound to trapping prey animals for food. Here is a comprehensive list of projects you can work on using paracord.

Call A Friend or Family Member

Perhaps the most important item on this list, it is vital that we take care of each other in these times. It is helpful to call and check in with friends and family who are in isolation to make sure they are doing okay. Just a short call or text can make a big difference in somebody’s day. We at ALTAI™ wish you and your loved ones the best—we can get through these times of social distancing together!

 

Products That Might Interest You:

 

Waterproof Outdoor Boots

6″ Zip-Up Hiking Boot

ALTAI™ Adventures: The Trials That Form Us – KT Wolf

altaidev on August 1, 2019

Before we can discover our true selves, we must first take a journey across uneven ground, up steep mountains, and over rocky hills. Only then, will we be able to realize who we are because of the trials that formed us and the choices we made along the way.

I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked, “how did you end up there?” when I tell people I spent my first two years of college in New York City. Their surprise is understandable given the fact that I have grown up in Montana. “I bet that was a bit of a culture shock,” they would say, and it was. But I was presented with the opportunity to experience something completely different, and I wasn’t about to let that opportunity pass me by.

I will be forever grateful for the experiences New York gave me. My eyes were opened to different cultures, languages, food, and music. I realized how different we all are in some ways and yet how similar we are in others. I was in a place unlike anywhere I have ever been before.

New York started out like a dream to me, but like dreams, I woke up. The bright lights, loud music, and large crowds in Times Square were no longer a sight I had to see and instead, became a place I wanted to avoid at all costs. Street performers that were once an amusement became nothing more than another way for me to lose a dollar. The subway ride was a constant battle of who wins the last seat available and who has to stand for thirty minutes. A friendly face was a rarity and in a city of eight million people, I felt alone.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that I only needed to make one decision and I could change my entire life. It sounds simple, but making decisions and taking control can be hard, terrifying even. New York opened my eyes, but they needed to be opened even more for me to see clearly what it was that I truly wanted.

Seventeen hours on a plane, nearly ten thousand miles later, I landed at the Port Elizabeth airport in South Africa, experiencing my first African safari at the age of twenty. I knew that every choice I made led me to this opportunity, and they could have just as easily led me somewhere else. My journey to find myself was not an easy one. I fell many times along the way, got tired and worn out, sometimes the view wasn’t great, but when I finally made it, I could stand up, look back at what I had accomplished, and smile. It was in South Africa that I reached my summit and figured out where I belonged. It was in South Africa that I found the strength in me to make the decision to pack my bags the moment I landed in New York and head out west, back to where I grew up. I didn’t know what school I would end up at, what town I would call home, or if I would know anyone when I got there, but what I did know, was that I was excited to find out.

Life is a journey made up of endless travels. When you finally summit a mountain, take a minute to sit down, grab a drink of water, and enjoy the view. Once you catch your breath, find a new mountain to climb. Don’t worry about how long the hike may take; you have a lifetime.

Written by KT Wolf

ALTAI™ Pro Tip: Choosing The Right Socks For Winter Adventures

altaidev on October 16, 2018

 

For some of us, winter is upon us. But like many of you, it won’t stop the adventures from happening! With that in mind, the kind of socks you choose can make or break an excursion; sweat, blisters, or cold temperatures can cause serious issues for long, on-foot explorations.

While we covered the materials and general types of socks to choose from, here are resources from outdoor experts on the best winter socks of 2018.

Switchback Travel: Best Hiking Socks of 2018

Best Hiking: The Best Winter Hiking Socks in 2018 []

The Adventure Junkies: BEST SOCKS FOR HIKING OF 2018

When choosing the right socks, keep in mind thickness and weight and how they will fit with your footwear. Wool socks can take up more room than other synthetic sock materials, so be sure to try on your socks with the intended footwear before heading out for a long journey.

Happy Trails from ALTAI™: On-The-Go Lacing Techniques for Happy Feet

altaidev on September 27, 2018

Specific lacing techniques can help alleviate discomfort, especially when putting in those miles on the trail. And while we build our boots super lightweight with no break-in period, here are some techniques that may help with situations while you’re on-the-go.

Lacing For Top-of-Foot Relief

Window lacing can help relieve pressure on the top of your foot, should the need arise on the trail. Simply undo your standard lacing down to where you feel discomfort on the top of your foot. Then bring each lace directly above (not across) to the next available eyelets. Continue normal lacing (or other preferred method) the rest of the way up the boot.

Lacing To Prevent Heel-Slip

Heel-slipping can make life miserable on your feet and is usually a result of too much excess space in the front interior of the boot. While we would highly recommend considering a different size for a better fit, this lacing technique will help in a pinch when you’re already deep into your long-haul adventure. (If your ALTAI™ boots don’t fit quite right when they arrive, we have a fair return policy to get you the exact fit you need.)

Undo your standard lacing down to where the top of your foot meets your ankles. Determine which two sets of eyelets match up with this spot and cross the laces over, like usual, but wrap each lace around the other twice before securing the tension with the next set of eyelets.

Inside ALTAI™: Why Vibram® Puts the ‘Soul’ in our Soles

altaidev on May 8, 2018

There is little doubt that a quality, rugged boot must have a top performing outsole. Whether you are trudging through dense forest or chasing criminals in the concrete jungle, the outsole is one of the first components in your footwear that will attest to its worthiness.

This is why we use Vibram® outsoles in all of our boots. From hunting to law enforcement, professionals who demand extreme durability and performance, we trust the best in the industry to conquer a wide variety of terrain and conditions. Our hiking/trekking focused Vibram® outsole is designed to keep you light on your feet; anti-clogging lugs reduces mud, dirty, and debris from weighing your boots down.

The vulcanized rubber that Vibram® offers have extreme traction for wet, messy environments. Originally invented to vastly improve footing for mountain climbers, Vibram® remains the most used sole in the industry. Over the years, Vibram® soles have evolved and, now, with an impressive variety of outsoles for every condition, we are proud to partner with a component that always strives for absolute excellence in outsole performance.

Vibram® best-in-class outsoles are coupled with our custom designed last to provide, not only a durable boot, but a durable boot that fits like a glove. Every boot is designed by a ‘last’ which has been specifically engineered to prevent that nasty ‘break-in period’, common for many, fresh-out-of-the-box boots.

For more information, visit our website and learn about the full features of the ALTAI™ boot line.

23 Ways Hiking Makes You Healthier

altaidev on May 2, 2018

Hiking is one of the unique ways in which you can explore or get to know about a new place. It is also the best way to stay healthy and the one which does not include any kind of whiskey bar clash with the bikers. Besides the crowded city environment, hiking will help you to engage the entire senses. Once you are into hiking, the internal monologue inside you will go away and you will start noticing your environments.

There are several studies which proved that being close to nature will help to relieve your stress levels, thus lowering the incidences of depression. Hiking not just improves your day-to-day positive feelings but also helps in offering a non-pharmacological approach to certain strong conditions such as depression and anxiety. Apart from all these, hiking will help to give or create your own space. It helps a lot in balancing the mental as well as emotional factors which you will be facing in your personal and work life.

On the other hand, if you are hiking with someone important to you, then you can be with them in a deeper level and it would be supportive to your partner or sibling or friend or any human you are with. In short, hiking provides you with much mental pleasure along with enjoying being in the Mother Nature, breathing the cool and fresh air out there.

You can check out the below mentioned 23 health benefits of hiking. Find more detailed benefits of hiking from https://www.riderstrail.com/

ALTAI™ Outperformance Test™ – Do You Have What It Takes?

altaidev on January 30, 2018

David REAPER Justin – Shoot U Soon Radio

Here at ALTAI™, we never settle and neither should you. We constantly strive to build a better boot, with YOUR needs in mind. No excessive bells and whistles you don’t need; we listen to your feedback and our designers take direction from exactly what YOU need in a boot.

This is why we work closely with a wide variety of professionals and experts to put our boots through harsh, real world conditions. From law enforcement professionals, to bushcraft experts, to paintball assassins, we take their input and constantly strive to meet their demanding needs and we pass that performance onto you in all of our boots.

With every pair of ALTAI™ boots, you can be sure: whether you’re hiking towering peaks or chasing down bad guys in the urban jungle, we made sure your footwear will help you complete your mission. So, if you think you have what it takes to give us the most extreme, real life conditions and are committed to customer-based improvements, get in touch with us. Share with us how you are Born To Outperform™ and what matters to you in a durable boot.

 

ALTAI™ Fall Hiking Tips: 5 Important Things To Remember

altaidev on September 22, 2017

It’s officially fall and we know you adventurous types will be gearing up, embrace the cool autumn air, and venture out for an awe-inspiring journey. But like most things, staying up-to-date on best practices are always a good idea. When it comes to hiking, even more so; it can mean saving your life.

Here are 5 Simple Tips for making sure your fall adventures are filled with unforgettable memories and not unshakable tragedies.

  1. Always check plan out the entire journey. This means checking weather conditions where you plan to hike, including road conditions which can vary in remote sites. Seasonal changes occur quickly so be sure to check these conditions daily.
  2. Pack a blaze orange hat or jacket if you plan to explore near hunting areas. Be sure to have some for your four-legged companions as well.
  3. Bring layers! While during some points of your hike you may warm up and lose a layer, you’ll want warm layers around when temperatures suddenly drop or if you hike longer into the evening.
  4. Think carefully about your footwear and socks. Consider steepness, elevation increase, and weather conditions. Will you be crossing a small stream? Climbing a few log jams? Be sure to know what obstacles lay ahead of you to inform you on the right footwear/sock combinations.
  5. Pack as if you need to spend a night in the woods. The essentials should include flashlight with working batteries, food, water, and a fire starting mechanism.

Introducing: the All New MFH200-Z

altaidev on September 19, 2017

A new season has arrived and we have all new styles to tackle whatever obstacles you face this fall. Whether you’re finishing up the last touches on that remodel, sneaking in those last minute yard projects, or simply extending your summer adventures into fall, any of these styles got you covered.

Side-zip models in both 6″ and 8″ versions are perfect for anyone who needs an exact fit, fast. Our quick lace models are also ideal for those who prefer to fine tune their gear each time they gear up.

Available now at our online store.

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