My new MYOG Blog

[Sam Minnich]

Hi everyone,

I now have a blog to show all of my MYOG projects. I'll be posting there regularly, so check it out if you're interested. Right now there are posts about my Tunnel Tent, primaloft vest, and lightweight fleece jacket. Let me know how you like it. Here's the link:

http://lightaspossible.blogspot.com/

[Logan Spader]

I want that fleece. I have dreamed of having collars that tall on all of my fleeces.

[Jerry Adams]

That's an advantage to MYOG – you can make your collar wider if you wish

Nice vest

Nice tent

[Jack H.]

Nice blog! Might I suggest also writing your units in ounces and pounds. It'll make your website more accessible to Americans, who like me, can't convert metric in our heads. At this point, I didn't bother to figure out how much any of your stuff weighs. And that's really what I was looking for.

[Bob Gross]

Sam, I really like that microfleece jacket. You stated that it weighs around 206 grams. Roughly what size is that? You look like a Medium maybe.

That is what I need to sew now in my size.

–B.G.–

[Lawson Kline]

Nice Blog and nice job on the gear.. As Jack noted most Americans don't learn the metric system in school (which is a joke) and don't use it in there day to day lives so to make it more "American friendly" I would add both systems of measure.. Well keep up the good work :)

[Walter Carrington]

Thanks, I especially like the vest.
Converting grams to ounces:
Google converts units for you: just do a google search for:
87 grams in oz
Answer: 87 grams = 3.06883469 ounces

[tyler marlow]

great stuff!
I'll definitely be following your blog!
Any chance you'll will do instructions as well?
Like the others, I really love that fleece, enough that i would pay for plans or a kit for it.

[todd]

Sam,

Very nice. I like your writing – especially the "why's" – why you made it the way you did, etc.

The weight of that vest is awesome.

Todd

[Mark Hurd]

Very nice, will bookmark and await future updates.
-Mark

P.S Some of us Americans can think in centimeters and kilos:^)

[Bob Gross]

Mark, I still struggle with velocity in KM/HR. M/S seems more logical.

–B.G.–

[Sam Minnich]

Wow, thanks for the great responses to my blog! To answer a few questions: I will definitely put all of my measurements in both metric and imperial, so it's universally easy to read. Thats a great idea, thanks for the suggestion. I also do have plans to do some instructional posts in the future. The fleece seems to be a favorite, I'll put a link to the pattern I based it off of. It is a free pattern that's available for download. I think I'll do an instructional of how I designed and made that fleece. That way anyone that's interested can see how to make it.

[David Stenberg]

Great blog!

Can you give some information on your tent poles.

Weight, source, material?

Thanks! Good looking projects!

[Sam Minnich]

The poles I used are .344" diameter Easton Nanolites, ordered from quest. Each pole is 8 segments, with a 145 degree angle in the middle. Total weight 341 grams (12 oz).

[Tom Peterson]

Good job on both accounts. Your workmanship looks to be very professional, too.

[Sam Minnich]

I just posted my new cuben rain pants on my blog. They weigh 35.5 grams (1.25 oz). Check 'em out if you like super light stuff! Here's the link:

http://lightaspossible.blogspot.com/

[Daryl and Daryl]

Sam,

Nice work. You are motivating me to get going with the cuben.

Looks like the leg seam is overlapping with a couple strips of tape. Is that correct?

Where did you buy your cuben fabric and tape and what type of tape is it?

Did you sew any parts at all?

Daryl

[Sam Minnich]

Hi Daryl,

I bought the cuben from a website called extremtextil.de I'm not sure where you are located, but it probably only makes sense to order there if you're living in europe. Otherwise, I'm sure many people on this forum know some good sources for cuben fiber. The seams are all taped, there's no sewing involved. I used a tape from 3M, the product number is 3M 9485PC. The seams are all done with a single strip of tape, and I just laid the fabric down so it overlapped enough to cover the tape(a little extra overlap to keep the glue from being exposed). The tape is simply sandwiched between the 2 layers of fabric. It seems like the seams are every bit as strong of stronger than the fabric, and I've heard a lot of reports that confirm this. If you want more details on how to do seams with tape, let me know. Maybe I'll do a tutorial on my blog.

[John West]

Sam, keep up the good work, you've got some really awesome projects on your website, and it inspires me to try some of them.

[Daryl and Daryl]

Sam,

Thanks for answering my questions. Very helpful.

Daryl

[James Taylor]

I worship you! Seriously, I'm laboring over making a bottle holster for a shoulder strap, so seeing your professional looking MYOG stuff is very inspiring.
Stahl

[Miguel Arboleda]

Very nice work, Sam. I'm personally most impressed by your shelter. For anyone who has ever tried to build and design a shelter, especially a tunnel tent, trying to get the angles in the pattern right is one of the biggest hurdles. That and trying to figure out how to get the tent poles to fit in the sleeves without distorting the fabric. Good job!

Did you follow Roger Caffin's page about building tunnel tents? It looks like one of his type of designs, especially the pointed arch.

Are you happy with the design of the vents? That's one place I, too, had a lot of trouble trying to get right. I don't know why it's so hard, it looks easy enough!

[Pilate de Guerre]

Sam,

I just devoured your blog in one sitting. Great stuff! Please post more on the construction techniques and design rationales as you make more gear. Maybe some in process photos. I eat that stuff up. Looking forward to updates!

Take care.

Pilate

[Scott Ashdown]

Sam, Your blog has been really inspiring. Great job on the Cuben kit you have made so far. Very Impressed!!!!! I'll have to give that a go myself.

Scott

[Chad Helmke]

I'll reiterate what everyone else has already said-Great job! I'm also very intrigued by the tunnel tent as I think it could be an excellent lightweight family tent with my two little ones based on your listed dimensions. Do you have a pattern for it or for download as I think in cuben and with CF poles it could hit the low 2 lb mark which would be a dream! Also the cuben would require less sewing as it could be bonded which would also be nice. Thanks again and keep up the fantastic work!

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