Soooo, I need a job…..

(Cue Breaking Bad music).

Keep buying those lottery tickets and then you'll have the time to use the gear. If you have the job to buy the gear, you don't have the time. Keep your overhead low :)

Have you thought of starting a home-based business? That's what I did when my kids were little. Didn't take a lot of my wife's time and we made over $30K a year net on it. Of course the problem is finding the right business!!

There are quite a number of "work from home" jobs out there. Most of them require some computer skills and or customer service skills. Most of them have a low to modest salary.

Just yesterday I was dealing with an online federal contractor, and website problems came around. The first agent tried to help, but then failed. The second agent tried to help, but then failed. Then the third agent came online, and he intended to put the problem to bed. He called me by telephone to work through the problem. After a while, he spotted the system problem, contacted the right people to set it straight, and then offered to me to handle a manual transaction. All of that worked perfectly, once I got to the right agent, and he was working from home.

–B.G.–

The point of this thread is that you dont have enough spare cash for extra gear.

As a mother who is looking for family oriented gear, thats a pretty big demographic for companies and an important one. Companies know your kids are their future customers.

You already obsess a bit over gear. You like to post online. Earn some of the gear you need by evaluating it.

Your opinion is as valid as anyone else's.

"Hiker Mom " has a nice ring to it..;)

Theres plenty of perfectly serviceable but cheap gear that folks in real life use every day outside

You dont need "name brands" or technical names for decent gear

For example the 650 fill jackets that every departnment store sells these days works just fine, and some even have UL shells …. The difference between them and higher priced down jackets is marginal … They often go on sale for less than $50

There are somethings that it may be worth spending a bit more money on, but by far and large alot of the gear folks trumpet on the intrawebs is more a triumph of marketing than anything else

You can easily find decently light gear at reasonable prices especially on sales

The most important thing is to get out, on day hikes if nothing else, with the gear you have and then figure out what you need and no more

Rather than buying just based on the latest fad on the forums

;)

Erica,
Moms are the best.

Your post made me think of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB3xM93rXbY

I would suggest making a list of gear you need or want and just post it. Some people have great used gear that they're willing to part with for little to no money. Good luck!

I still don't have enough money for our family gears. And quality family gear is hard to come by used. I do nation-wide craigslist search.

Great Ideas Everyone! Thanks! Heading out for a winter hang this weekend, and have some gear I have not field tested yet……You have got me thinking…….evaluate gear!

Yes, looking for lightweight family gear is tough. I have my set up pretty much nailed down, but would like to try some different things for the family. Evaluate family gear…..brilliant!

Funny, I do have two small businesses, but make zero money on them….sad, but true. They are mostly passion projects and hobbies at this point. I should put my energy somewhere else.

I'm in a similar, yet different, situation. I work for a seasonal company, so every winter I have 3-4 months of what i'll call "leisure time" – I budget away money for bills and save for the future and feel secure in that regard, but while I always have a surplus of time, my income is somewhat "fixed" and I have to be smart about what I buy or where I vacation. (Still, seems like i'm hiking in Peru this march!)

Spending time on here helps to root through the stuff I want versus need, plus it's better to let others discover why product X actually sucks when you get beyond the marketing hype.

I've also realized that time and money are often better spent on trips and journeys, versus gear. Maybe I would have enjoyed a Cuben duo or supermid on my last weekender of the fall season, but my golite SL3 was good enough to get me on the trail – I could have bought the duomid but then I wouldn't have had the money to drive out 4 hours to the trail head, tolls, campsite fees, and all that.

As for home businesses; the Almanac had declared this winter to be a "Snow-pocalypse" and I got that snowblower when it was on sale to make some extra cash around my neighborhood – so far we've totalled under an inch of accumulation.

so you want a job to get some money to buy more gear? Why not cut out the middleman and start making the gear you want? You would get the gear you want and work at on the time scale you want. Also, If you get good enough at it could turn into a source of income for you.

You're not getting paid to backpack and post on the forum? Most of us are making 5 figure salaries for this.

But really, I hope you find something more useful than my post. :)

Doing MYOG can be fun but there is a learning curve. If you try to make a tarp, or a pack don't be surprised if you make a mistake and have to buy more fabric and do it again. Depending on the materials you choose this can quickly become as expensive as buying a ready made item. Of course if you're already experienced with a sewing machine the calculation changes a bit.

What exactly are you looking for?

As a stay at home mom, it would make sense to try and make some of your own gear.
Should you seriously consider that, I have all kind of lightweight fabrics and notions that I could send you. Let me know if you decide to go that route.

"Funny, I do have two small businesses, but make zero money on them….sad, but true. They are mostly passion projects and hobbies at this point. I should put my energy somewhere else."

Do you think there's a market there at all? If so maybe you just need to find new ways to promote your businesses?

Ahhhhh, Katherine, that's another story for another day.

One of them is a small sewing business (making many random things) but one of the things I make are Fleece Active Skirts for the winter!

But yes, my problem is indeed marketing and promotion. I feel uncomfortable selling myself, which as a small business owner, you should be darn skippy at, but alas….I am not.

Stopping here since I don't want to hijack my own thread! (But thanks for the insight, maybe there is a market I haven't reached out to yet)

For those that are asking…..I am looking for a two(ish) person tent, not feasible to make IMO. And an UQ protector (which I probably could make) with something(not sure what material they are made from). Maybe I will search the MYOG thread about that one.

Erica, for a little while i thought about making and selling gear as a source of revenue. Problem is while i'm a great idea/concept kind of thinker/gear maker, actual execution and logistics isn't my strongest area (or to put into other terms, i'm less the engineer and more the theoretical physicist…). I'm still a somewhat beginner sewist and sometimes lack the necessary patience to do the job fully well.

How good at sewing are you? Maybe with our forces combined we can overtake the UL and light backpacking world by storm?

I'm only half joking btw, there is a thread of seriousness in there, but since we don't know each other, and i assume live far apart (i'm in VA), pretty impractical.

Anyways, best of luck and hope you can find something at home.

If a tent is what you're after I have a suggestion for something that MIGHT be within your skill level since you already know how to sew. Sew two pieces of nylon together for a 8 x 10 tarp. Then just sew bug netting onto the ends with about a 1 ft. skirt around the sides. My friend made one of these with silnylon that was right at 20 oz. Silnylon is a pain to sew so you could us coated nylon. Its heavier but also cheaper and less slippery (so way easier to sew).

Hi Erica, you said one of your businesses is sewing; a tarp is not a difficult piece of gear to make. I have several yards of Silnylon that I can send you. Maybe I misunderstood your op though.

"For those that are asking…..I am looking for a two(ish) person tent, not feasible to make IMO."

From my understanding, a pyramid tarp-tent is not all that difficult to make with some basic sewing ability and practice. Essentially 4 triangular panels of material sewn together, with a zipper added to one of the panels to get in and out of.

As regards specific dimensions, i'm not sure, perhaps Jerry or others could advise you.

Ah, it seems that I made my opening post seem like I was actually looking for work. I just want to clarify that I was just musing on the fact that my "unpaying" job as a SAHM puts a strain on gear purchases. It was not a cry for help or for donated gear, just was wondering if I could commiserate with any other hiker moms who physically stay at home while their minds are on the trail and gear.

Thank you though to all who have given me some encouragement to take my businesses further!

Well, consider that you're somewhat a captive only of our own culture and perception. :)

People in some parts of the world are on the trail 24-7. Be a SOTM… Stay On Trail Mom. :D

Erica, you could form your own internet forum/newsgroup for SAHM backpackers like yourself, then you could make promises and collect the money.

–B.G.–

Neat thought Bob! I might have to make a page for that. I am part of women hikers of the world, but this would be a nice smaller group. Thanks for the thought!