David, old wetsuits make good cozies all right. My first (decent) ones were made that way. However, I’ve recently come across a much better item – fishermen’s “gravel gaiters.” Neoprene (3 mm thick, like a wetsuit), with a full Velcro closure that sticks to a special outer surface of the neoprene. The ones I like are 7.5″ tall. which is perfect for making two 2″ tall cozies for the 110 gm. canisters, and one 2.5″ for the 8 oz. canisters. Since they come as two gaiters for $10, you’ll have 6 of them for cheap. I can’t remember the brand, but once my Ace hardware store is back in stock I’ll try to remember to post it. Another local store has some made my Frogg Toggs – two 2″ tall gaiters for $6 (so minimal cutting), but the Velcro is pretty bad, and I don’t recommend that brand at all.
The best part is that they are the same thickness neoprene (and black, not blue), and they weigh 1/2 what my wetsuit versions do. Of course my wetsuit versions have cutsy additions, like a channel sewn into the top to run a cord through so that I could cinch it up tight. So the channel, cord, and mini cord lock add extra weight, and Sir Moulder politely assured me that those embellishments were completely unnecessary. Also, since you can make the cozy as snug as you want, it eliminates the need for a Velcro strap to keep the copper strip tight against the canister. I do believe it’s a ‘mo better’ and lighter canister cozy.
David, I just know that you have a few fishing stores near you, so check it out. And I also want to challenge you to come up with one of those Korean copper strip/magnet thingies to fit a 110 gm canister, and sell me one for $5! Actually, we don’t need no stinkin’ magnet, since the cozy keeps the strip in place. But I like the design of that copper element, which must be quite efficient (not that ours aren’t).
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