Making or Modifying Your Own Gear

[Espero]

I've made or modified some of my own gear for backpacking and ended up with a better, lighter, more durable, dual use piece of gear that made my trip easier, safer and more enjoyable. For my upcoming trip, I've made various Cuben Fiber stuff sacks that I will use to organize and protect my gear. I've also taped SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) reflective tape on my backpack after reading in this forum about wearing reflective gear while walking along the roads. I sewed a fleece sleeping bag liner (zipper and all), but set it aside in favor of a lighter off-the-shelf item. I'm starting this thread so others may share some of their own innovations, ideas, modifications, tips, and their successes or failures. Let's hear from you. Buen Camino.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Good luck with that. People here really dig on the latest, lightest, highest-tech wonders, especially things so fabulously Unique they come with their own how-to technique videos.

You don´t see a lot of home-grown gear around this forum, at least not until you hit the trail and have to improvise! (I think your reflective tape idea is tip-top, btw. Especially with all the pilgrims who like to walk along the edge of the road (even though there´s a camino path right next to them) in the early-morning half-light, dressed in dark colors. Twice a week I drive eastward at dawn along the N-120 to Carrion de los Condes. Only having had one coffee.
Road-walkers, beware!

 

[kimbo]

I too, have been fabricating articles that I could design for my particular needs. My camino will begin in May 2014, and I will be traveling from Texas. I have made a sleeping sack that is a convertable version. If it is cold, I wrap up in a polar fleece blanket in the sack. If it is warm, I flip the sack over and sleep with just the microfiber sheet covering me. Also have read horror stories about bed bugs. As one of bugs find to feed upon, I want to take every precaution to escape the nasty little critters. I have fabricated a micro fiber sack to encompass my pack. I can seal it up, and will treat it with the bug killer I bought from REI that is supposed to take care of bed bugs and all the rest too. The sack will also be used to surround my pack for the ride to and from Spain. It will be sent through as luggage, and I will feel more secure knowing that it is bound up, and as safe as I can make it. So far that is all I have designed, but I still have 7 months, and I get lots of ideas during my training walks. Very excited about walking The Way, and meeting the wonderful people I have read about on the forum. Beun camino Kimbo

 

[hecate105]

To the utmost horror of the German cyclists we met we used tomato boxes on our front racks - cheap, light and drain easily. Great for jacket, snack, water, book - all the bits and bobs you want in a hurry.
The best things we took with us was cable ties - they mended just about everything! broken panniers, trailer (after a man ran it over) my hood. A failsafe way to fasten anything to your bike (or rucksack...)
A plastic jar with lid we made holes in and grew our own beansprouts.
I have an old freezer basket on my rear pannier - in which I put a cool bag with all our food in. On the UK portion of our pilgrimage we got a kids cycle trailer off ebay (£25) and re-styled it to fit our 5 stone lurcher x, as well as all his food and our camping gear - and a gallon of water...
All our paper/cardboard rubbish is used to fuel our Kelly kettle (http://www.kellykettle.com/) so we can have a cup of tea!
We are like travelling wombles...!

 

[Laliibeans]

Before I went to Jordan I kept seeing neck warmers featured in camping stores, and considering I was going to Jordan in winter with snow and the odd flash flood I thought it might be worth taking a scarf or something anyway, but there was no way I was going to pay upwards of $40 for a small tube of fabric. So I butchered my old camping fleece that was otherwise dead and used all the workable fabric, drawstrings, zips and studs to make a neck warmer and a pair of boot covers (I was on an archaeological dig so wanted to prevent dirt getting into my shoes as much as possible).

I'm pretty sure that neck warmer saved my life because it was freezing the whole time, we worked out in the snow, hail and torrential rain! At least my neck was warm and my boots were dry.

I enjoy making my own stuff and even more when it's useful. My sister and i used to make a heap of our own stuff for camping when we were in scouts because we just didn't have the money the other kids had for gear.

 

[hecate105]

Laliibeans, what a brilliant idea! I hope you had a great time in Jordan, we'd love to go. I'd love the archaeology bit too. I was brought up beach-coming, so we made loads of stuff, my Dad wouldn't of spent money even if he'd had any. It makes you much more resilient and imaginative. My whole house is now home-made or bought from the tip!