[at-l] Cheap Gear (was Re: The COLOR of Stuff)

[EHamilton]

>Making your own gear and going as light as possible will save you a lot of money. 

Yeah, I've made a lot of my stuff. That's how I got my trail name.... I was staying at Ethan Pond shelter/camp in NH and a thru-hiker loved my cooking gear (Pepsi can stove, tomato-can pot, tinfoil lid, pot lifter was a shedding blade gizmo, a dog-grooming tool that looped around my "pot" and formed its own handles. Since then a friend surprised me with a JetBoil. It's super-efficient and super-nice, but it's way heavier than my own cookset made from trash. I'm still undecided which to take. I'll probably go with the JetBoil, though; it's hard to argue with that 2-minute boil time for a pint of water. especially since I used my MacGyvered one today in the backyard just for the heck of it and it took 9 minutes. I didn't remember it being that slow.

I've got a Eureka! Zephyr one-person tent that my husband used on a bike trip several years ago. I bought a Therma-Rest for $50 (closed-cell pad from Wal-Mart just wasn't cushy enough for me; I use a square of closed-cell under my hips even under the Therma-Rest.) I found a huge multi-person tent discarded in a dumpster and cannibalized a window of that so that my Eureka! now has two windows. I'm working on making a vestibule.

I've discovered that Wal-Mart has merino wool hiking socks in the hunting section. I bought a pair ($6.97) and am pleased with how they wear for 3 days and how they wash and dry, so I'll probably get more of those instead of SmartWool. 

I've got an Eddie Bauer backpack that started at 6 pounds that I've altered down to 3.2 pounds; however, I'm looking for another pack for my thru. I'm looking at different patterns and plans for making one but will probably end up using Christmas money for a new one.

MacGyver




________________________________
From: Art MacAilein macailein at gmail.com

Making your own gear and going as light as possible will save you a lot of money. Consider:

Caldera Cone System - $60
DIY SuperCat w/Grease Pot - $10

Nunatak Down Quilt- $300
DIY Down Quilt - $100

Hennessy Backpacker Hammock and Tarp - $250
DIY Speer-style Hammock and DIY BlackCat Tarp - $150


Art
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://patsy.hack.net/pipermail/at-l/attachments/20081102/6fd34c82/attachment.html