The "what have you made today" thread

Snowonher

Trail Blazer
Been making a few things recently. Made a few waist pouches for friends, all VX21. The pink is actually a dark red but the camera really wanted to turn it pink :o o: A couple of them have the velcro inside with the elastic loops for organising odds and ends.






Also been messing around with a new pack style, something for short day jaunts. Zero bells and whistles. Still need to add a side release clip on the front and add some webbing on the straps for a sternum strap.

 

FOX160

Thru Hiker
Been making a few things recently. Made a few waist pouches for friends, all VX21. The pink is actually a dark red but the camera really wanted to turn it pink :o o: A couple of them have the velcro inside with the elastic loops for organising odds and ends.






Also been messing around with a new pack style, something for short day jaunts. Zero bells and whistles. Still need to add a side release clip on the front and add some webbing on the straps for a sternum strap.

Very nice work and attention to detail.
 

Clare

Thru Hiker
I made a prototype harness style straps to go on my prototype arc blast. Obviously very messy because didn’t want to put a huge amount of time into it if it wasn’t going to carry well. It’s attached to the arc blast “elevator” height adjustment straps and sits behind the tensioned ventilation panel. It probably doesn’t need the elevators and could be sewn directly to the body but I think I’ll probably use them anyway in case I want to swap out for ordinary straps if this turns out to be a mistake. Obvious advantages are slight spreading of the load and better space for water bottle/phone pockets below the grey load lifters. Ho
Hum. Not sure yet. Also the connection to the elevators is sewn into the back of the harness which is just spacer mesh and nylon. That has got to be dodgy. Perhaps foam should go right over into the back section too. Who has made a harness?

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Clare

Thru Hiker
Or perhaps a 40mm piece of webbing across the back of the harness and sew the attachment points to that would be sufficient to distribute the load. Thoughts?
 

Balagan

Thru Hiker
While I was in the mood for cones, I knocked up a Titanium one for the Toaks 650-L. That went OK until time came to punch out the holes as the 8 mm broke down and mangled the Ti sheet. It doesn't look very good but it still works so I'll just call it stonewashed. The Ti is a little on the thin side which probably didn't help.

Although it bears some similarity to a certain commercially available cone, it was put together using Captain Paranoia's template with no mods. Adding rivets was easy enough but I'm not convinced they add much over the slot flissure joint. The one to secure the cone closed is a keeper on the other hand.

I wanted something light that packed inside the pot (those caddies are d@mn heavy!) which made a full-height flissure the only option (wrong shape for a cut-down cone, even with a silicone band) and I'm rather underwhelmed by the result: it's just enough faff to put together and put away to annoy me. I'll give it a go but my cut-down Speedster-style (last photo for comparison), although heavier, is a lot faster to deploy, more sturdy and easier to pack away. I like cones for short and wide pots though...

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cathyjc

Thru Hiker
You may be able to improve it's looks/straighten out the Ti if you lay it on a flat surface and "smooth" it out with the back of a spoon (or something similar). You may have to use a good bit of pressure.
I find it works for me but your foil may have different properties/hardness.
 

Balagan

Thru Hiker
And while I had the pop rivet pliers out... I made a small mod to the Flat Cat Gear Epicurean stove so I can ditch the paperclip and added an aluminium offcut with a bit of silicone for a longer handle that stows away inside of the stove.

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Balagan

Thru Hiker
You may be able to improve it's looks/straighten out the ti if you lay it on a flat surface and "smooth" it out with the back of a spoon (or something similar). You may have to use a good bit of pressure.
I find it works for me but your foil may have different properties/hardness.
I did that and it did smooth it out a lot but only to a certain point. It's absolutely fine where I used a better quality 6 mm punch so I'll stick with that in the future.
 

Michael_x

Section Hiker
Polycryo footprint v0.1 with Duck brand polycryo from States.

Ok, so now I know what doesn't work, potential pitfalls, etc...

How do others make these? Esp corners.

I cut to size (none showing outside tent edge),reinforced the corners with Duck tape, then hole punched, and finally, four small loops of shock cord.

However one corner tore and needed repair with Duck tape early on. So presumably I didn't put enough on.

Now I'm sure if I reinforced all edges then put an X of tape corner to corner, maybe both sides it would be much tougher. Seems excessive though. I'm pondering what is best compromise, amount of tape, etc. Or is there a different better approach?
 

craige

Thru Hiker
I have always just cut to size and left it as is. I put corner loops on one but never used them so can't comment on longevity. Pegging it out will dramatically decrease durability though, it punctures and tears easily under tension. Using the double sided tape that usually comes with the kits to hem the edges will add durability though as the raw edges tear fairly easily too unless your cut is incredibly straight and smooth.
 

Shewie

Chief Slackpacker
Staff member
I’ve been using a 1.5x2m piece of the cheap thin stuff since autumn last year, folded in half I think I’ve found the trick to not tearing it, the two halves just slide against each other rather than snagging.

Makes pack up cleaner too as I fold the wet face inside before folding up.

I’ve tried single sheets with gaffa tape corners etc but they never seem to last very long
 

WilliamC

Thru Hiker
I do the same as you @Michael_x. You do have to get a very clean cut as any nicks or snags will tear easily.
You can use the double sided tape to make seams, but it adds quite a bit of weight and then you're probably better off using the double thickness stuff, which is a lot stronger.
A compromise is to fold over the edges as for seam but only use a few short strips of double sided tape to hold the fold. It moved the tension from the cut edge to the line of the fold. The disadvantage is that it is harder to dry out water that gets into the fold.
 
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