[FLoutdoors]

A lot of people spend way too much money on name brand hiking/camping items. The majority of the gear that I use is all homemade by myself. I believe that homemade gear is paramount to store bought gear because it is cheaper and serves the same purpose without paying for a brand just because it's popular. The homemade items I currently carry in my 3 day hiking pack include: tea light stove and almond tin pot cook set, pocket saw, and pocket fishing kit.

Pocket Saw

Pocket Fishing Kit

Tea light stove / Blue Diamond Almond Cook Set

These are just a few of my homemade items of hiking gear. I would love to hear from you guys on how you have saved money and created your own gear. I get more satisfaction out of using something I made myself than simply shelling out big buck$ for name brand gear.

 

[charliemeyer007]

I think that you are way ahead by diy because every piece of gear wears out and you have the jumpstart on the replacement item.

 

[SamboRoberts]

<$5 in parts to make a fire piston out of PVC tubing and wooden dowel.

Char cloth.

 

[Daggel]

I've made my own backpack out of steam-bent white birch for the frame and 500d camo Cordura for the pack (hand sewn), made my own dog sleds from birch and dog harnesses, all wood bows, mooseskin mukluks, mittens, and winter hats. Recently, made my own poncho, which wasn't too hard, working on a HD but light single wall camo tent, and lots of other things, nothing too technical but very time-consuming. I used to have a friend in AK who hand-carved his own rifle stocks out of white birch.

 

[spiffy]

For backpacking on the Appalachian Trail I made these:
Ripstop Nylon Hammock and 1.1 SilNylon Tarp (9' x 11.5')
It packs small and weighs just under 3 lbs including Bug netting, Treestraps, & tieouts.
2nd photo shows the tarp stowed in "skins" ( Yea, I need camo tree straps! )

 

[Cragar]

Have the fishing kit that I made, well I made the container; that's the only DIY part about it. Got the idea from Dave Canterbury's video.

Love the Spice Rack idea. Will have to put something like that together for my kitchen kit.

 

[Taurus]

Good post, good items. I agree that some people are gear snobs when purchasing name brands....the prepper version of Paris Hilton, if you will

 

[FLoutdoors]

For backpacking on the Appalachian Trail I made these:
Ripstop Nylon Hammock and 1.1 SilNylon Tarp (9' x 11.5')
It packs small and weighs just under 3 lbs including Bug netting, Treestraps, & tieouts.
2nd photo shows the tarp stowed in "skins" ( Yea, I need camo tree straps! )

Nice tarp and hammock! I've been thinking about making a nice little silnylon tarp to put in my day pack instead of bringing my tent (I like to bring all of my gear with me even on day hikes to get used to the weight and also, you never know when you'll need it). Where did you purchase the materials for this?

 

[FLoutdoors]

Have the fishing kit that I made, well I made the container; that's the only DIY part about it. Got the idea from Dave Canterbury's video.

Love the Spice Rack idea. Will have to put something like that together for my kitchen kit.

Thank you! I can't take credit for the spice rack idea because I saw it on someone else's YouTube video and just had to make one. Another good thing to put in these straw capsules is Neosporin. It saves space and weight in your pack to cut down to these little capsules instead of the original tube it came in. I usually throw 2 or 3 Neosporin straws in every survival kit I make.

 

[Daggel]

Some easy stuff to make yourself if you have a decent sewing machine and a little metalworking equipment is climbing gear. I've made my own harnesses, slings, quickdraws, steel climbing gaffs (for trees, they are expensive), and gaff pads/straps.

 

[Cragar]

Thank you! I can't take credit for the spice rack idea because I saw it on someone else's YouTube video and just had to make one. Another good thing to put in these straw capsules is Neosporin. It saves space and weight in your pack to cut down to these little capsules instead of the original tube it came in. I usually throw 2 or 3 Neosporin straws in every survival kit I make.

Yep. Got some antibiotic ointment in some, as well as some cotton balls and vaseline for easy fire starting.

 

[spiffy]

Nice tarp and hammock! I've been thinking about making a nice little silnylon tarp to put in my day pack instead of bringing my tent (I like to bring all of my gear with me even on day hikes to get used to the weight and also, you never know when you'll need it). Where did you purchase the materials for this?

Thanks -- Not the nicest seams but it is functional.

Checkout www.Hammockforums.net There is a great DIY section from simple tarps and gathered end hammocks to various "clones" of popular retail hammocks/tarps as well as topquilts and underquilts. Super info (can get overly technical at times) and very helpful folks.

Bought whoopieslings from www.whoopieslings.com (crazy fast shipping) (can be a DIY project)
Odds and ends, thread, coated 70d camo from www.diygearsupply.com - also carries fabric.
Yellow tree straps are Harbor Freight lashing straps - broke off the buckle and kept the loop intact.- 2 pack of 12' for $4
Got the 1.1 Ripstop Silnylon from www.noahlamport.com -- You must call to place an order / check their stock(colors) of the factory 2nds. 1st quality is not needed - the 2nds have only a minor color/coating variation that was barely noticeable and does not impact functionality. (Have them ship the fabric folded vice rolled to save shipping $$)

Fire up your "thread injector" and have a blast!
BTW, I like the saw idea!:thumb:

 

[Cragar]

Check out Seattle Fabrics too. They've got some good materials. Also you can sometimes find Silicone Impregnated Nylon at Walmart.

 

[Coyote Brown]

<$5 in parts to make a fire piston out of PVC tubing and wooden dowel.

Char cloth.

Sounds good. Got the plans?

 

[catmando]

im a little short of funds .. and in need of a knife or two..
si was in the local resale shop and bought several butcher knives and leather belts... after some cutting and sewing the belts together i have a couplke of sheaths for the knives and have sharpened the knives with my dremel.. they are very sharp now.. i paid a total of 2.00$...

 

[spiffy]

Check out Seattle Fabrics too. They've got some good materials. Also you can sometimes find Silicone Impregnated Nylon at Walmart.

Seattlefabrics.com pops-up often on the Hammock board. They seem to have a large selection of items. I haven't purchased from them so I can't offer an opinion either way.
I believe that many, if not most Walmarts have stopped selling fabric/closed the sewing depts. Again, there are numerous threads on the Hammock board regarding the good-old-days when Walmart had $1.00/yd SilNylon. If you find any in tactical colors for a reasonable price, buy it up and sell it on the hammock board or eBay.
Like Sasquatch, I have yet to see the elusive $1.00/yd SilNylon......

 

[FLoutdoors]

Also...

I forgot to mention another semi-DIY piece of gear I obtained is a standard pool raft for a sleeping pad. It only cost me about $6 at Walmart and I have used it on 4 camping trips. It is still going strong with no signs of wear and tear, and it is lighter/cheaper than a thermarest! can't beat that!

 

[SoCalSurvivor]

I wanna make my own hammock and also bivy bag and my own modified tent but my question is can a regular house hold sewing machine sew these fabrics. And the fabric retain its waterproof properties

 

[spiffy]

I wanna make my own hammock and also bivy bag and my own modified tent but my question is can a regular house hold sewing machine sew these fabrics. And the fabric retain its waterproof properties

I'm no expert but I believe regular machine should be fine. I didn't use a heavy duty machine for my projects - but it depends on the weight/thickness of the material. I assume most household machines can sew cotton denim (jeans) so as long as your projects aren't heavy canvas or leather, you should be good to go. I did learn two things:
1) there are different needles -- you may need to match the needle to the type of fabric.
2) Thread tension!! Getting the right tension is absolutely critical to decent seams.

Seams will need to be waterproofed. There are many seam sealers available such as http://www.mcnett.com/Seam-Grip-Seam-Sealer-Outdoor-Repair-P133.aspx

Hoped that helped.

 

[dirty_drew]

Fire starter kit:

Larger prescription bottle containing compressed dryer lint wrapped in used dryer sheets, and a spark striker on top.

Also got a similiar fishing kit with pvc but i use 10 pound mono and a small container for flies.