DIY Gear

[SSScout]

Hokay, enough politicosexireligiosity...

 

Let's talk about stuff that's REALLY important. Camping gear!

 

The Troop of my youth made stuff. We were famous for an ultralight tent:

Use 6mil black plastic. It comes in 10' wide rolls, so we made 10'x10' tarps and occassionally an experimental "Baker" type tent. But we found the tarp to be emminently adaptable. I guess the only drawback is there is no 'skeeter netting included.

You need someone's rec room floor, swept and vacuumed clean. Take off your shoes. Stretch out the 6mil plastic and cut NEATLY using a straight edge and a long board to protect the floor. Carefully reinforce the edges with duct tape (two inch wide on BOTH sides of the plastic), put an "X" of duct tape, 1'x1' along a diagonal about 2' from a corner. Set grommets in each corner (4) and evenly along each side (3x4=12). Set a grommet in the "X" of the diagonal duct tape. This serves as a tent pole point for the "Explorer" set up.

Use this tarp in pairs for dining flies, singly as a backpack tent. If you step on it, it gets holes in it. The black is more UV stable than clear and will last longer. If you camp often, treated gently, it will last one or two seasons. When the grommets pull out, use it as a ground cloth.

Tradition has it that this idea came home with Scouts from Philmont.

 

Any more DYS stuff out there?

Maybe the 'blue' tarps are cheaper yet.

[hot_foot_eagle]

There are a number of designs for alcohol backpacking stoves on the web. Most are made out of aluminum cans, cat food cans, etc. Several are said to be qute efficient. All are extremely light weight.

 

I've played with a few and like them, but haven't taken the time to build my own yet. I'll probably make it a winter project.

 

 

[shortridge]

An ultralight backpacker named Ray Jardine makes his own pack, tarp-tent and quilt (instead of sleeping bag): www.rayjardine.com/papers/magazines/1998-backpacker/index.htm. I haven't gone for the tarp yet because mosquitoes are heck where I'm from.

 

A collection of DIY plans for a lot of gear can be found here: http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html

[BrotherhoodWWW]

When I was very young my dad was a SM of a troop in Klamath Falls OR that was planning a 50 miler. All the boys in his Troop made Alaskan Pack Boards. I think kids were a bunch tougher back then!

 

I as a youth used a #10 coffee can as my main cook pot for camping. I've made my own nylon ditty bags and stuff sacks for years. I'm currently making ditty bags for my Troop's patrol cook kits. I'm not sure if it is really cost effective to make the cook kit bag but for smaller bags and stuff sacks a yard of fabric goes a long way. Add a short piece of nylon cord with the core removed and you can save a pile of money while keeping your backpack organized.

 

However it is really a labor of love because if your rime is really short or worth a bunch it may be cheaper to just buy ready made, but what fun is that?

[Gunny2862]

Henry Shires also does a tarptent and sells a kit. His design includes a mosquito netting area. As soon as I can afford some of the proper material I will be making one. I've already done a mock-up with $1 a yard nylon and liked it very much with the exception that any and all moisture both fell thru and condensed on it - but it was a $1 a yard.

 

My Scouts love the alcohol stove and the ability to supplement meals with ramen when ever they want assuming of course an adults watches them get the stoves lit. We have both homemade and purchased alcohol stoves and the purchased ones are more reliable but some of the homemade ones are more efficient in their use of fuel.

 

I am at some point going to try the blanket kit sold by ray jardine.