Good use for Tyvek from Post Office Envelopes?

[John Brown]

Just went to the post office and noticed that you can take basically as many Tyvek shipping envelopes as you want, for free.

Started wondering about deconstructing them and then gluing them together to make a ground cloth.

Or, using them as stuff sacks? There must be better ideas out there, just seemed like great free materials…

[paul johnson]

our tax dollars hard at work providing free ground cloths for the UL community. guess it could be worse. resourceful thinking on your part John. surprised that the USPS let’s this be done? not something i would necessarily do – my conscience would never let me get away with it. but, still resourceful on your part. i’m going to start collecting all of the Tyvek envelopes i rcv. as shipments in the mail. maybe i can do something with them in a couple of years when i have enough. let us know if it works out. [see following addendum]

edited addendum:
noticed the postal coloring on the inside of the stuff sack. seems like someone else has already had the idea. wouldn’t surprise me if this is soon prevented by the USPS as it doesn’t seem quite right – to me at least.

edited add’n:
just noticed another poster feels somewhat similarly.

[Joshua Mitchell]

http://www.peak.org/~webdawg/DIYGear/

[Jim Ells]

I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with that idea. Not using the envelopes for stuff sacks, etc., but the fallacy that it might be alright to just take as many as you want knowing you are not mailing items. A good example of what is wrong with America and why we have so many Enrons and the like.
As I type this I am hoping you are just kidding. If not, maybe you need to readjust your moral compass.
Jim Ells

[Joshua Mitchell]

A LOT of people in professional careers (especially if they are in engineering) are constantly getting product information mailed to them in Tyvek Envelopes.

I have a friend of mine who saves his envelopes and give them to me. Just tossed some out because they reached the wife’s point of ‘use them or get rid of them’ since we just moved.

Less morally ambigous, plus it’s even better than recycling, it’s reusing.

[John Brown]

Folks, definitely do not want to start a flame war, I respect your opinions on this. I respect the idea that we should follow through on principles at every level of our lives. And I particularly respect the massive expertise available on this website, and you all’s willingness to share it.

That said, casting aspersions about my moral compass over a few tyvek envelopes seems a little heavy-handed. Likewise the jump to enron. Questions of scale, of damage to society, etc. would have to come into play. And let’s remember, ” let he without sin cast the first stone.”

If anyone wants to continue the discussion in the chaff forum, I’d be interested. I think it’s interesting to think about how to reconcile backpacking values with some of the issues of production, synthetic materials, etc., that come into play as we get into our gear, and I’d like to know what other people think.

[paul johnson]

good response. glad to see you took the responses in stride. but let’s not pick & choose a small portion of one Biblical passage, rather consider the entire passage (not even appropriate for the chaff section i would imagine since this is a backpacking website and not a theological one).

re: “values” vs. “issues of production” – interesting topic. much food for thought there. couldn’t contribute much, but i’d be interested in learning something on this for my own edification.

[Patrick Baker]

Hey,

Wakeup, you live in a Miltary-Industrial complex. Save your Morals for the common man, screw the corps !

[Ken Thompson]

those envelopes are there for you to use,not to take. it’s that simple

[Ryan Jordan]

What are you guys moralizing about?

I have the perfect solution.

I think TYVEK envelopes are SO useful, that we’ve mandated virtually every shipment from BackpackingLight.com less than one pound be shipped in them.

Best way to get the big ones without spending a lot of dough @ BPL (the big ones are best for DIY stuff sacks): Order 12×15 Aloksaks!

You see, order from BPL = free Tyvek envelopes = morality preserved!

(Just trying to help out, ahem)

:)

[david epley]

How about Dr. Defusion?

As for me and mine, we wait till someone sends us something in a Tyvek evelope, then we make special underwear out of it.

[Jim Ells]

I did take this to Chaff several days ago, but it’s fun reading this in either forum.
Tyvek underwear?
Jim

[Dondo .]

I may be wrong about this, but I think I saw plans for tyvek underwear on “The Red Green Show”. Seems like it also involved some duct tape…..

[John Brown]

Ok, I can see the argument as to how it’s a problem if there was a massive run on USPS Tyvek envelopes caused by UL backpackers with maladjusted moral compasses.

If it ever becomes a crisis, I’ll be the first to admit the error of my ways and re-fashion my new underwear into envelopes. Given that Tyvek lasts forever (in landfills, too) it shouldn’t be a problem.

[John Chan]

For the PCT bear hanging method.

cut a corner out of the old envelop, sew up one side, thread accessory cord around the perimeter of the hole. A cheap, light, and durable replacement to the rock sack in the Ursalite kit (should one be needed).

[paul johnson]

Rock Sack – Good suggestion. Keep ’em coming.

Soon Tyvek will rival Duct tape for the number of things that it can be used for!!! Bill Fornshell could probably fabricate most of his UL “kit” from just Tyvek and Duct tape (Bill, I mean that as a complement).

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