How can you weigh down in a down jacket to guarantee you are indeed getting what you paid for?
Easy. All makers specify how much down is in a jacket. So use the knife (see above) to lay open the seams, take out the down, and weigh it.

On a more practical level, what's most important is the quality of construction. One thing to do: Hold the piece up to a light. You shouldn't see any obvious spots where the light is shining through only fabric, no down. If it does, then you'll have cold spots.

Would those multi-fuel camp stoves be able to run off vodka? 151-proof rum? Moonshine?
Vodka, no. Moonshine, if 180 proof, yes. 151-proof rum? Probably. But what a waste of good rum! And the other substances in the rum likely would clog the stove quickly...

I am getting ready for my first ski trip and being from the South, I have no clue what I need.
Questions like this come in on occasion, and on occasion I really do try to help. But c'mon. This is like saying, "I am from the Earth and am going to the Moon. What do I need?" At the very least, one needs a minimal recognition of how conditions are going to be different in place B versus place A, plus a tentative plan to cope with that change.

Is the Marmot PreCip jacket considered to be waterproof or just resistant? I love this jacket but had it totally wet on the inside after being caught in a torrential downpour for about 15 minutes.
The PreCip really is waterproof—Marmot has tested this fabric, as have retailers such as REI that sell it. Trouble is, a thoroughly wet garment also becomes one that doesn't breathe as well. So it's almost 100 percent certain that you were experiencing condensation caused by your own body vapor. Inside the jacket, especially if you're exercising, it's warm and humid. When that moist air hits the cold interior surface of a wet jacket, it not only can't escape (the wet fabric on the outside blocks off the tiny breathing vents), it cools and reverts to liquid.

Ps. Learn this phrase and use it often: "I DONT KNOW."
Another satisfied reader. But in the course of writing this column I've answered approximately 3,000 questions. I get to be wrong once in a while!

In making of gear in powder metallurgy process, what features of the part tend to favor powder metallurgy manufacture and determine whether the desired properties could be achieved by a commercial ferrous powder with the densities commonly achieved by a normal press-sinter method of fabrication?
I couldn't agree more.

In the military I was taught that sleeping naked in your bag maximizes your warmth. Is this true?
This one also comes up a lot, with only the first clause changing ("While pledging a fraternity house..." "While the only female member of an all-male Polar expedition..." "While working one summer as a cowboy..."). The answer: Insulation keeps you warm, so if you wear insulation in the form of, say, long underwear, then wrap more insulation around yourself in the form of a sleeping bag, then you will be warmer than if you start out buck naked.

But is there any grain of truth to this proverb? Perhaps. In days of old, cotton was a much more common material in outdoor clothing. And going to bed while wearing damp cotton likely would be colder than climbing into a dry sleeping bag au naturel.

How can I protect my tent from burglars, or are there tents that are stab-proof with locks?
No one has yet made a tent with Kevlar. But it could happen!

I have a friend who has HUGE feet, and he's having a hard time finding a decent selection of boots for his size-15 dogs. Is there any hope?
No.