Beard & Long Hair

[Double Bow]

One word.... Mullet!
I would go w/ the mullet and beard look in honor of the olympic hockey players. Knock out a few front teeth while you're at it and the hockey groupies will be banging down the front door.

You're on the right track but a full beard doesn't go with a mullet. You need a Fu Man Chu or a Ron Jeremy style mustache. That way, you'll be totally stylin' as you drive up to the trailhead in your Iroc Z28!

 

[DougPaul]

I won't cut the beard because it's too good as a frostbite preventer under the face mask.

A beard will help insulate one's face, but if you get frostbite, it makes it harder to detect and treat.

Doug

 

[dr_wu002]

A beard will help insulate one's face, but if you get frostbite, it makes it harder to detect and treat.

Doug

If you can't see frostbite, then it's not there...

-Dr. Wu

 

[DougPaul]

I say you cut every other strand of hair off, therefore you reduce the density and perhaps weight, yet with the beard, you will disrupt the laminar flow of air around you, thereby reducing surface friction and drag. Kind of like those dimples on those cycling helmets time trial riders use or golf balls.

Turbulent flow due to surface roughness can increase or decrease the drag--depends on the details.

The original golf balls were smooth and it was a surprise that scarred ones travel farther.

Doug

 

[blacknblue]

That is exactly the experiment I did. It absolutely increases drag. I left my beard on just the left side of my face and found I kept turning left. I did the same experiment the next year with the right side of my face bearded and found I constantly was turning to the right. Standing still in high winds was also problematic. If I was on any type of slippery surface and the wind was high enough I would start spinning like a top. Very disorienting.



Keith

Maybe that's why I always do the Pemi loop in the same direction...

 

[DougPaul]

If you can't see frostbite, then it's not there...

Until it thaws--yeeouch!

Doug

 

[sapblatt]

You're on the right track but a full beard doesn't go with a mullet. You need a Fu Man Chu or a Ron Jeremy style mustache. That way, you'll be totally stylin' as you drive up to the trailhead in your Iroc Z28!

Can you write "Ron Jeremy" on this site?

 

[Neil]

That is exactly the experiment I did. It absolutely increases drag. I left my beard on just the left side of my face and found I kept turning left. I did the same experiment the next year with the right side of my face bearded and found I constantly was turning to the right. Standing still in high winds was also problematic. If I was on any type of slippery surface and the wind was high enough I would start spinning like a top. Very disorienting.



Keith

I think you should share this information with the short track speed skaters. Even the women in case they use performance enhancing substaces.

 

[Puck]

Did a long beard slow Moses down or was it his back weight or was it his age? I don't think he was the peakbagger you are Dr Wu, he only bagged Mt Sinai and Mt Zion, however, he was great on the long distance through hikes.

 

[sapblatt]

Did a long beard slow Moses down or was it his back weight or was it his age? I don't think he was the peakbagger you are Dr Wu, he only bagged Mt Sinai and Mt Zion, however, he was great on the long distance through hikes.

Yeah, but how hard is it to bushwhack in a desert? After you get around the burning bush it is pretty straightforward.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Did a long beard slow Moses down or was it his back weight or was it his age? I don't think he was the peakbagger you are Dr Wu, he only bagged Mt Sinai and Mt Zion, however, he was great on the long distance through hikes.

His beard didn't slow this man down!

 

[jfb]

One way to reduce drag on airplanes is to remove the laminar boundary layer. Small holes are drilled into the wing's surface and the air is sucked into the plane. For hiking, you'd have to carry a vacuum pump in your pack and place an array of tubes in your beard with the ends flush with the surface.

I wonder if shaving your legs would be more effective than shaving your face?

 

[dr_wu002]

One way to reduce drag on airplanes is to remove the laminar boundary layer. Small holes are drilled into the wing's surface and the air is sucked into the plane. For hiking, you'd have to carry a vacuum pump in your pack and place an array of tubes in your beard with the ends flush with the surface.

No, this isn't practical. First of all, I'd look stupid. Second, what kind of pump are we talking about? Most of the roughing pumps we have around the lab are quite heavy and would also require some kind of battery pack or generator to lug around as well. I think any benefit I'd get from reducing the drag around my beard would immediately be cancelled by the enormous amount of additional weight that I've to carry (which I think would be 50-100lbs).

I think that maybe some engineers would like this. It's a cool gadget. I'll talk to my dad about it. But, thankfully I'm not a gadget-loving physicist -- and I'm cheap too so low cost is a must. It don't matter where I work though -- I ain't shavin'!!

-Dr. Wu

 

[Mr. X]

I think it would be impossible for this dude's beard not to slow him down, yet I found him in a hiking guide of the Green Mountains.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

That is exactly the experiment I did. It absolutely increases drag. I left my beard on just the left side of my face and found I kept turning left.

You did see my 13 year old beard page, didn't you?

http://newmud.comm.uottawa.ca/~pete/beard.html

I got a gopvernment research grant to do that study. (It all depends on how you write the grant proposal.)

 

[giggy]

Can you write "Ron Jeremy" on this site?

now - thats what I am taking about

 

[imarchant]

The answer is with the potarts, not the beard. What you need to do is eat a poptart befor you leave. The crumbs get caught in your beard. You can pick the crumbs out of your beard as you hike, therefore not having to stop. This will offset the time lost it takes to get a poptart out of your pack. You also don't have to throw the wrapper on the ground when you are finished

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Several people have suggested that I hike with a bag on my head but this seems dangerous and irresponsible

If you do try the bag idea, You'll have to decide: Paper or Plastic; I recommend the paper bags in summer use only, they're much more breathable. Use the plastic bags in winter when you need the increased protection from wind and water. Note: The paper bags don't insulate very well when they're wet.

 

[Rik]

If you do try the bag idea, You'll have to decide: Paper or Plastic; I recommend the paper bags in summer use only, they're much more breathable. Use the plastic bags in winter when you need the increased protection from wind and water. Note: The paper bags don't insulate very well when they're wet.

PAPER KILLS!

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

PAPER KILLS!

I knew that was coming!