How do you Go Ultralight Without Spending Major $$$? (please ignore previous thread).

[Al Shaver]

I’ve spent 100s of nights in a Black Diamond Megamid (now I own a Megalight made with silnylon fabric). Both are a floorless pyramid. I recently downsized to the 14oz. GoLite Cave 1 tarp.
Dr. J. recommends a highly breathable bivy sack to protect from rain splash when using a tarp. I tend to agree with this which is why I have ordered a Pertex Quantum 6.5oz. bivy from BPL.
For bugs I use a homemade mosquito net hood. I only need to keep bugs off my skin, not out of the tent.
Gossamer Gear sells 2.5oz., 32 inch wide ground cloths and 5.5 oz. double width ones that I will start using/testing next week on a 6 day ski crossing of the Sierra Nevada.
Cheers, Al

[Frank P.]

Sure, Jim, we can talk about this off of the forums. But I don’t dig it, because I can’t seem to get your e-mail right. I probably entered it wrong. Can you be a little more specific (like where do these_ go in your address)??? Thanks – Frank.

[Jim Colten]

that would be jim at colten.net

[Frank P.]

Just letting u know that I dropped u an e-mail. – Frank

[John Dante]

Just make it… Going cheap will only get you stuff that either doesn’t fit right or doesn’t have the kind of features you like. Get a sewing machine and some lightweight fabrics, if you have the time…Who knows, you might come up with a poduct that you can start a company with.

good luck

[Frank P.]

I really, really, like your trane of thought, but a needle and thread are just as foreign to me as a Lamborghini. Does anyone know how I can pick up the basics, without attending one of those sewing classes that is geared towards women and creating “pretty patterns”? Also, what’s a good thing to look for in a sewing machine? Is there a particular type of thread that is best for gear??? Thanks – Frank

[Frank Ramos]

first, handsewing is like tying your shoelaces. You don’t need any instruction or any books. Just thread the needle and then experiment. You’ll very quickly reinvent the wheel.

Regarding sewing machine, just buy the cheapest Singer/Brother machine at Walmart. Should be under $100. I have a Singer myself. You’ll also need some basic tools, also available at walmart, such as decent scissors, some pins and a pin cushion, a small ruler and maybe a yard stick as well. A rotary cutter and mat is amazing helpful for cutting fabrics, though scissors will also do the trick. All you need is a small 8″x18″ mat which you can move around as you cut–this will cost about $15 at Walmart. Then buy ten yards of $1 a yard fabric at Walmart and then practice.

For a first project, try making some stuff sacks. Just imitate the design of existing stuff sacks.

Later, you can ask questions here or at various other forums on the internet. To answer your specific question about thread, always use either 100% polyester or nylon. Avoid cotton, which rots in the outdoors. Most people use ordinary 100% polyester for everything except very heavy duty items, backpacks, where heavy-grade nylon thread might be used.

[Douglas Frick]

Frank P., there’s good advice on the net. I wanted to make some of my own gear to save money and get it to fit me just right, but I didn’t want to figure it all out from scratch and find the right material too. I found Ray Jardine’s website. He sells kits for tarps, quilts, packs, etc.

http://www.ray-way.com/

My wife and I made the Bomber Hat and a quilt, and the tarp and net-tent are next on our list. The instructions are excellent and provide exact details on how to do each step, and everything needed for the project is included in the kit (except thread, which is sold separately). These are well-thought-out and tested designs.

If you don’t buy the kits (which I think are a good deal), his Tarp book will show you how to make your own. Beyond Backpacking has a short section on making your own gear.

Here is a link to Jardine’s page on sewing machines and sewing tips, which will probably be useful regardless of what you want to make.

http://www.ray-way.com/sewing-tips/index.shtml

A message on another thread mentions Thru-Hiker as a source for good do-it-yourself help; here is the URL.

http://www.thru-hiker.com/messageboard.html

They also sell kits and material.

http://www.thru-hiker.com/MaterialsStoreMain.asp

If you’re interested in making a hammock, there are several very easy designs out there. I won’t bother looking up and posting the URLs unless somebody is interested, though. (I’m still figuring out how to survive in my Hennessy Hammock.)

[Jay Ham]

Hi everyone,

It will take a little time, but we are going to show sewing how-to in our Make Your Own Gear section at Backpacking Light. Sewing can be intimidating, but is really no more difficult than using wood and nails to build a birdhouse. The real trick is in creating the pattern and making straight cuts on slippery fabrics (silnylon can make you insane in this regard).

We are planning to start with easier projects and teach skills as we go, to develop the experience needed to make a full featured pack or down sleeping bag. One of our early projects will be sewing your own stuff sacks (out of spinnaker of course). The work has begun on this, but we have other MYOG articles coming out real soon. Look for a MYO alcohol stove article coming next week.

Jay Ham
MYOG

[Tony Burnett]

are the most difficult part of DIY stuff. I just built a 3 person tarptent (full netting, front/back beaks, sewn in floor) which weighs 25oz (before seam sealing).

The hardest part was determining the size/shape of the beaks and the wacky front netting door (single piece, no zipper, but still rolls away). I had to whip out a bit of trig (“Law of Cosines” , etc.) to get it done.

The next most difficult part was cutting the large pieces of material. The thin materials like to bunch up, strech a bit, wrinkle, etc. So, making cuts on loose fabric is difficult. I ended up taping my sheets of silnylon to the kitchen, or garage, floor with masking tape and then placing duct tape over the masking tape. This would allow me to hold the fabric still so I could pull out the wrinkles and keep the sides squared up.

Relateded to cutting, is pattern layout (not sure of the term). Trying to determine the best way to cut the material so you have the least amount of wasted material. Again, a bit more trig was needed.

The actual sewing part is very, very easy. If someone would have designed and cut all of my material for me, I could sew another tent in a coupe of hours. The design and cutting easily took 40+ hours.

[paul johnson]

Tony,

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

What about the actual sewing of the lightweight fabric? Ray J.’s website has info on this & this seems to be a problem area for some who tried his patterns.

Did you experience any problems?

What about problems with the feed dogs & fabric bunching?

What about tensioning of the upper & lower threads?

Finally, what type of sewing machine did you use?

When you get an opportunity, let’s us know.

Many thanks,
pj

[Frank P.]

Thanks Douglas, Frank and Tony! Sounds like a very good idea to get a kit to start off with, and first i’m going to get some cheap fabric to practice with. BPL – i can’t wait to see the plans for the sleeping bag when you come out with it. Thanks— Frank

[Douglas Frick]

>What about the actual sewing of the lightweight fabric? Ray J.’s website has info on this & this seems to be a problem area for some who tried his patterns.

Silnylon is a bear to sew, regardless of pattern or weight. It doesn’t hold a fold when creased, actively tries to unfold when you’re sewing a felled seam, slips apart easily unless pinned, and yet it likes to creep underneath the needle when it isn’t wanted. After having sewn a few projects I really appreciate the effort that goes into making commercial ultralight gear, because you can’t sell stuff that doesn’t have nice stitching. We didn’t have too much trouble cutting because we used a rotary cutter and big plastic measuring rulers/squares to hold the material down. The biggest difficulty with the quilt was trying to sew three layers of silnylon and two layers of batting together. Besides the various comments on Ray Jardine’s sewing page (which we found helpful), my recommendation is to just go really slow, a few inches at a time. It will take a long time, but it’s better than messing up your seams. Measure twice, cut once.

>What about problems with the feed dogs & fabric bunching?
>What about tensioning of the upper & lower threads?

We didn’t have too much trouble with this once we got the machine adjusted correctly and did a few practice seams. We cut the Bomber Hat pattern and spent about fifteen minutes practicing various seams and such on the scraps, then started in on the project. Pinning helped keep the two (or more) pieces of fabric from pulling too far away from each other, and when sewing the batting she ran the machine while I shoved the batting under the presser foot with a seam ripper.

>Finally, what type of sewing machine did you use?

Bernina. I’m blessed with a wife who is a quilter, so she’s an expert on the sewing machine, cutting patterns, and pinning. But she now hates silnylon.

[paul johnson]

Douglas,

Many thanks for sharing your experiences and answering my questions.

Take care,
pj

[Frank Ramos]

I made one of Ray’s quilts, though but I modified the design slightly. I agree that it can be very difficult to get the fabric and insulation together through the machine. What I did was simply hand baste the insulation to the shell, then turn the quilt inside out, then topstitch the edges. Even topstitching is not trivial. Handbasting takes an extra couple of hours, but if you’re an amateur sewer like me, you probably save that much by not having to seam-rip your mistakes. Seam-ripping with insulation is a real mess, by the way.

Some people talk about use a piece of thin plastic, or even a piece of stiff paper, like an business card, between the presser foot and the insulation to keep the insulation from snagging on the presser foot.

The modification I made to the Ray-Way quilt concerns the so-called gorget. I just extended the quilt an extra few inches (I am 71″ tall and made the quilt 92″ long), then I sewed together both foot and head ends to make both head and foot pockets. The head pocket is only partly sewed up, so there is an air hole at the top (middle of quilt), which can be place directly over my face when lying on my back, or which will allow some air in when lying on my side. Pulling the quilt over the head and breathing under it increase warmth ENORMOUSLY. I haven’t noticed any moisture built-up in the head region. Body heat seems to dry everything out there. In the foot region, I always get dampness, whether with polarguard or down. My feet just don’t generate a lot of heat.

My feet also don’t seem to be bothered by cold, perhaps because I walk in sandals so much, even in cold weather. So I didn’t actually make a full foot or head pocket. That is, I didn’t sew the extra 10 inches down the sides like Ray recommends. Instead, I just sewed together the ends. At the head end, the draft stopper prevents drafts, while at the foot end, I like drafts because I hate having hot feet.

[Tony Burnett]

>What about the actual sewing of the lightweight fabric? Ray J.’s website has info on this & this seems to be a problem area for some who tried his patterns.

I have also made a down quilt using 0.85oz nylon. That was easy to work with compared to Silnylon. Just take your time and you’ll be fine. I don’t pin anything (seems kinda silly to put holes in something that is suppose to be waterproof). I just work in 4″-6″ sections.

>Did you experience any problems?

The fabric (silnylon) does slide a bit, but you get use to it.

>What about problems with the feed dogs & fabric bunching?

Never been a problem for me. I own a Pfaff, which has an extra “dog” on top of the fabric right behind the foot (sort of like a “top feed dog”). Here is a picture…

http://www.pfaffusa.com/machsewing_idtsystem_frame.html

If I disable that extra foot, its far more difficult to work with. I am glad I have that feature.

> What about tensioning of the upper & lower threads?

Not really an issue. I will warn you that Ray’s thread did require a bit of bobbin tension adjustment (its a bit thicker than standard store bought thread). I bought a separate bobbin case just for my thread. And left the one my wife uses alone (that way she can’t blame me for her screw-ups).

I no longer use Ray’s thread as it is a Pain in the Ass to work with. It loves to explode inside the bobbins once they are less than 1/3 full, as it is very springy. I now use the thread from thru-hiker for everything.

>Finally, what type of sewing machine did you use?

Pfaff Lifestyle (aka Model 2018? 2022?). It was a floor model.

[paul johnson]

Tony,

Appreciate your insight.

Many thanks,
pj

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