# wind direction powder



## JimmyP (Feb 11, 2006)

what do the use store brands last for ever


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## PA3-DArcher4 (Nov 5, 2008)

corn starch


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## klemsontigers7 (Jul 1, 2008)

PA3-DArcher4 said:


> corn starch


Yep, corn starch is definitely the best.


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## ks.bowhunter (Jan 20, 2009)

Just grab you a milkweed pod next time you are out and drop it in your pocket.Best wind checker there is...and they are free.


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## user_name (Sep 14, 2010)

I use blue chalk line. It works great because when you are blood tracking you can use it to mark the trail. You can get a big bottle of it for about $1.50 at wallyworld.


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## squeaks (May 10, 2009)

I use orange or even white chalk line chalk work for me


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## Rockyhud (Sep 17, 2008)

I tried corn starch to replace the powder in a store bought wind check bottle (Primos as I recall) and it didn't work well at all - powder came squirting out in long worm-like segments with very little "cloud" hanging in the air to indicate wind direction. I've since tried to find unscented talc but haven't been able to locate any yet. From what I've researched this is the base that commercial wind check products use most often. I haven't tried the chalk line powder - it might work too since it's much like talc (maybe even talc based).


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## klemsontigers7 (Jul 1, 2008)

Rockyhud said:


> I tried corn starch to replace the powder in a store bought wind check bottle (Primos as I recall) and it didn't work well at all - powder came squirting out in long worm-like segments with very little "cloud" hanging in the air to indicate wind direction. I've since tried to find unscented talc but haven't been able to locate any yet. From what I've researched this is the base that commercial wind check products use most often. I haven't tried the chalk line powder - it might work too since it's much like talc (maybe even talc based).


Your problem is that you filled the windicator up too much. You can only fill the bottle about halfway. You're welcome!


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## cJohn (May 26, 2008)

Would baking soda work?


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## RodsNBows (May 26, 2009)

I use milkweed pods as well. Visible for longer, you can see any swirls downwind longer.


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## elmoore (Jul 13, 2006)

I use a Cat Tail Pod, works great!!!


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## keith2010 (Apr 30, 2010)

cJohn, baking soda might be too heavy. won't hurt to try though.


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## swampboss (Sep 8, 2009)

elmoore said:


> I use a Cat Tail Pod, works great!!!


Yep, nothing better here in the south , unlimited supply and its the best price..... FREE !


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## shadowhunter (Oct 12, 2003)

An alternative to powders is a fluffy feather tied with dental floss or bow string material, then connect the string to the front of your stabilizer. It is always working for you unless wet, showing you wind direction.


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## Rockyhud (Sep 17, 2008)

It WAS only filled about half full - still didn't work.



klemsontigers7 said:


> Your problem is that you filled the windicator up too much. You can only fill the bottle about halfway. You're welcome!


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## hockeybuck (Jun 2, 2006)

I use baking POWDER, not soda.


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## sycan (Feb 18, 2008)

Try a product called Micorballoons. It is an ultra-light extender used in epoxies or polyester resins making them lighter and more sandable. Very lightweight and works great for windicator.


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## Hydration Tube (Oct 6, 2010)

I used baby powder. Comes in a traveler size.


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## BrokenLimbs (Nov 25, 2008)

hockeybuck said:


> I use baking POWDER, not soda.


I've used that too with success. But the other day I bought a small bottle of Code Blue, and when I tried it, I was amazed in that the rising air currents actually lifted this stuff upward! The baking powder doesn't do that for sure.....



Hydration Tube said:


> I used baby powder. Comes in a traveler size.


I think that stuff is scented.... If so, probably not a good idea.


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## JDoupe (Dec 9, 2006)

I find with the corn starch...if you shake the bottle a bit...and make sure your last shake is down....when you puff...it comes out as a cloud and not a string of corn starch.

Cheap and works well.


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## Lerie (Aug 23, 2002)

Have been using the milk weed pods for years. I believe that it is the best wind indicator out there. Even on no wind days they give you an indication to which way your scent is hitting the ground. I lie to keep them in a quart size zip lock freezer bag in bulk and then for hunting - place them in a 3 x 4 inch zip lock bag. The only thing with them that I strongly recommend is that you remove the seed prior to using them. You don't want to introduce this weed species in areas that they don't exist.


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## gymrat70 (Apr 13, 2006)

cigarette lighter.


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## [email protected] (Dec 11, 2007)

I use flour in a squeeze bottle works good.


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## hotrodderscott (Feb 25, 2009)

ks.bowhunter said:


> Just grab you a milkweed pod next time you are out and drop it in your pocket.Best wind checker there is...and they are free.


their ya go, spreading that blasted weed! you know how hard it is to keep milk weed out of hay fields LOL Can’t believe people purchase wind detection devises! There are millions of things in nature that naturally drift in the wind! Its all around, just bend over and pick it up!


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## markvan (Aug 3, 2008)

I just light another smoke and puff away.....

When I quit, (hopefully soon....), I'll have to come up with something else.


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## jigga (Nov 20, 2009)

marlboro works great for me i usually dip while on stand unless i need to know wind direction then i fire one up


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## stanlh (Jul 23, 2010)

Is the scent the powder may or may not make that important since it is showing you the direction your own scent is already taking? Certainly unscented would be preferred,since no one would want to add more scent in the woods.


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## rxgac (Aug 24, 2010)

milkweed (or similar floaties) gets my vote. watched one drop straight down from the stand one evening. got to about 3 feet off the ground and then took off downhill like a scared rabbit. wouldn't see that with powder.


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## fatfingers1 (Oct 14, 2009)

I've been using Milkweed pods for about a decade. If you take remove the fluffy contents and place them in a film container, you're set for an entire season. 

You'd be surprised how much of a dead air space or "bend" in the wind your body can create. The milkweed pod floaters will often change direction after it floats a few feet away from where you're sitting. Powder of any type might actually give a false reading when the wind is behaving like that.


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## FarmerPaul (Jun 9, 2005)

Got to give the milkweed pod a nod as well. Have used them for many years. It has helped manty times to determine how far a deer will get downwind before busting me. ( and I remove the seed as well )


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## huntanfishagain (Oct 27, 2010)

While it is good to understand wind direction using one of these methods. The reality with regards to how your human scent is carried is also related to its thermal activity. because a milkweed or powder based windicater is following air current until it falls to the ground it does not mean the pool of gas that you emit will follow the same path.


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## JTM (Jun 11, 2006)

May sound crazy, but it works....just take your index finger and insert in mouth and get it good and wet...then hold in the air...the cool side of the finger is the direction wind is blowing...seriously...simple and it works. Another simple solution is to use a bic lighter...watch the flame...again, simple and effective.

JTM


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## MrWinkles (Nov 7, 2010)

JimmyP said:


> what do the use store brands last for ever


How sad.


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