New windscreen closure?

[David Drake]

Here's something I came up with a few weeks ago. It's so simple, someone has prob. done it before, but I haven't seen it (please enlighten me if that's the case).

I used two sets of "gripper" type snaps (#15) from Jo-Ann's fabrics. Installs easily in aluminum flashing windscreen. Very durable, very convenient, adds ~3 grams.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi David

Yes, snaps can work well, but the Al foil many here use is a bit too light for them. The snaps would tear out before releasing.

Cheers

[David Drake]

Thanks Roger. That gives me a few more things to play around with (in addition to using foil instead of flashing to lighten my screen.) I've learned a lot from these forums, and the critique is really helpful.

[Dennis Park]

How did you afix the snaps to the aluminum? Did you just treat the aluminum as if it were regular fabric?

[David Drake]

Pretty much. I backed the aluminum up with the end of a chunk of 2 x 4, and tapped the barbed part of the snap thru, then flipped it over and set the snap part, using a hammer and the little tool supplied with the snaps. I was worried about the aluminum ripping out, like Roger mentioned above, but the snaps actually don't "snap" very tight (just enough to hold the screen closed), maybe because the metal doesn't flex around the male part of the snap the way fabric would, so there's not much stress unsnapping the screen. Lighter material prob. would cause problems.

[Huzefa @ Blue Bolt Gear]

Interesting.

edit: Try reinforcing with a long strip the entire vertical sides. That may work for a lighter foil wind screen.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I'm a little late on this one, but it would be cool to add or or two more male halves of the snaps, so you could roll the flashing up and then snap it into place so it doesn't unroll. This would be great for storing your windscreen in your pack.

It would probably be the same weight as 2 hair elastics but there'd be no risk of losing anything and it would be a more elegant setup.

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