Photo: tunaboat

While my forays into carpentry stopped with the plywood skateboard ramps my best friend and I used to build in junior high, building cool stuff doesn’t take professional-level know-how. Plus, it’s satisfying to use something you made yourself.

In honor of Labor Day, here are five neat projects from the Matador Sports’ vaults that you can do right now:

1. How to Rehab an Old Sailboat

If you like to sail but you’re not the hoity-toity yacht-club type, you may like Misty Tosh’s article on fixing up old boats. She goes into detail about everything you need to do to get onto the water, including some, like making an inventory of your gear, that I wouldn’t have thought of.

Photo: tiarescott

2. How to Build a Climbing Wall at Home

This rapid-fire video shows the whole process of putting up a basement woody, though it’s light on the instructions. If you want a little more detail, Metolius has a great PDF guide to putting up your own bouldering wall.

3. How to Build a Backyard Skating Rink

Matador’s Candice Walsh shared this guide to making a rink like the ones her father used to make for her when she was growing up. All you’ll need is a shovel and a garden hose.

4. How to Make Your Own Skis

More manifesto than how-to, this article by David Page makes a pretty strong case for skipping the Dynastars and shaping your own gear in your garage. If you’re ready to move on to the next step, Skiing Mag has super-detailed instructions on building your own skis.

5. How to Make Your Own Hamboard

This video series on YouTube documents a group of kids’ efforts to build their own hamboard, a giant, surfboard-sized skate deck. Judging by the video of their final product, it looks like it works.

Community Connection

Read about a Labor Day “eat-in” for healthy school lunches.

Photo: alextorrenegra

[Editor's note: This post is sponsored by our friends at REI.]

WHILE SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING are classic winter sports for the family, there are several up and coming winter sports that give you unique ways to have fun and explore outside. Here are five we have our eyes on this season:

Ski joring

If you’re looking for a sport that includes the furrier members of your family, this is it. Ski joring is a combination of dogsledding and cross-country skiing in which a dog or a team of dogs pulls along a rider on skis.

Unlike dogsledding, you don’t need a team of malamutes to start ski joring – any medium to large-sized dog can play, as long as they don’t mind a romp through the snow (most dogs don’t). Since ski joring harnesses don’t have any reins to steer, you’ll want to teach your pups basic dogsledding voice commands before heading out.

While any pair of cross-country skis will work for ski joring, serious racers prefer skate skis made by companies like Atomic Team. To reduce the risk of accidental injury to your dog, avoid skis with metal edges.

Don’t forget to equip your four-legged teammate either. To protect your dog’s paws, set them up with a pair of cold-weather booties. The best booties will have rubber bottoms with plenty of traction, like Ruff Wear Grip Trex. If your dog is a shorter-haired breed, a dog coat will help them stay comfortable in the snow.

Sledding

Sledding may still be kids’ winter sport of choice, but that doesn’t mean that adults can’t enjoy it too.

Photo: thousand.birds

Unlike normal plastic sleds, high-performance designs like the Hammerhead Sled work just as well on the mountain as they do on neighborhood sled hills.

The Hammerhead’s shock-absorbing aluminum frame and included skis can handle everything from hard-pack to light powder; with the optional powder skis, it can handle much deeper snow as well.

For mountaineers, winter trekkers, and anyone else who needs a sturdy sled, the Paris Company Expedition Sled is made for hauling gear through winter conditions. The sleds are made to be used with a harness, and have grommet-reinforced tow holes for extra durability.

Splitboarding

Like their name suggests, splitboards are snowboards that can be split in half to become skis, opening the way for traversing backcountry terrain without having to lug around snowshoes

In board mode, a splitboard rides just like any other snowboard. Switching over to ski mode only takes a couples of minutes and involves undoing a series of metal clasps that join the halves together.

While splitboards aren’t nearly as common as traditional decks, a few manufacturers produce their own models. Burton’s S-Series Split Snowboard has a solid reputation and comes at a reasonable price.

If you’re planning on heading off-trail, make sure that you’re well-versed in backcountry safety. REI is a great resource for information and expert advice on avalanche safety as well.

Ice climbing

Ice climbers use specialized gear like ice axes and crampons to climb frozen waterfalls and other ice formations. While ice climbing isn’t for everyone, adventurous types can catch some of the mountain’s greatest views, not to mention the rush of going up something that normally goes down.

Photo: HK James Ho

REI has some great resources and articles on ice climbing equipment and technique. Proper footwear will go a long way towards keeping you safe and comfortable on the ice. Modern mountaineering boots are made specifically for climbers and have removable inner booties designed to speed up drying time. You’ll use the same harnesses and ropes that you’d use for rock climbing, plus sport-specific devices like ice screws.

Like all mountaineering and climbing, ice climbing should only be attempted with proper training and practice.

Snow skating

You could call snow skating the feisty little brother of snowboarding. Instead of the traditional gear, the sport uses a board that resembles a thick plastic skateboard deck, usually with higher, boot-friendly kicks. The result is a ride that has the feel of a skateboarding session.

Which kind of board you pick depends largely on where you’re planning on riding it. Alpine boards have one or more ski-like runners, as well as a leash to stop runaway boards in case of a fall, while decks made for neighborhood freeriding often sit directly on the snow, using grooved channels in the bottom of the board to stop it from spinning.

Just like skateboarding, protective gear is a must for safe snow skating. At minimum, you’ll need a helmet and wrist guards; if you’re just getting started, knee pads aren’t a bad idea either.

Community Connection

For ideas to help you get your family outdoors this winter, check out 8 Winter Adventures to Get Kids Excited About the Outdoors.

Photo: Ben+Sam

The more sports I pick up, the more I feel like Imelda Marcos: my shoe collection just keeps growing.

I’ve got hiking boots, basketball shoes, and boxing shoes. I’ve got running shoes, wetsuit boots, and snow boots. Shoes are always the one piece of sports equipment I can’t avoid buying, and they’re all too specialized to be interchangeable.

The problem doubles when you take the kind of active vacations that I take. Since I can’t afford to carry an extra suitcase just for my footwear, I’ve learned to compensate by bringing shoes that multitask.

No matter what I end up doing, these three types of shoes almost always keep me covered:

Leather Oxford Sneakers

Pairing a flexible leather upper with a thick rubber sole, there isn’t much these kicks can’t do.

Their heavy treads and solid support make them great for hiking. They’re light enough for a pickup game of soccer, but comfy enough for just lounging. With a little bit of polish, they’ll even pass for dress shoes.

Many major shoe companies make versions of this design. Skechers’ model is comfy and cheap, but lacking in the durability department. Timberland’s are well well-constructed, though a bit on the heavy side.

Canvas Hi-Tops

There’s a good chance this super-shoe is already in your closet – just about everyone and their mother has an old, ratty pair of Chuck Taylors stashed away somewhere.

Besides working on the basketball court, Chucks and other hi-tops are great for the gym.

Their flat bottoms have the balance and traction to handle weightlifting and boxing workouts, and they’re packable enough to squeeze into a backpack.

While Chucks have the brand recognition, the knock-offs in Payless and other discount stores work just as well, and cost half as much.

Sandals

Flip-flops work for relaxing, but forget about moving in them. On top of being every bit as lounge-worthy as flip-flops, Tevas and other wrap-around sandals hike where sneakers can’t – across streams, through mud, or down the rocks at the beach.

When buying sandals, look for a pair that’s both comfortable and durable. You (hopefully) won’t be wearing socks with your sandals, so it’s extra-important to make sure that they protect your feet.

Community Connection

Matador Goods reviews another piece of multi-tasking gear in Less Bulk: Backpack and Photo Bag in One.