Here's what I'm planning to do this winter and spring:
Spinntex stuff sacks, I think the kit has enough material for 5, some of them will be part of a birthday gift for my brother (I know he isn't reading this blog so I won't ruin the surprise by writing this). He's joining me this summer for a week long trek in the mountains and he needs various gear before we leave. He got an Alpkit sleeping bag from me and my dad for christmas, a Pipedream PD400 (-3 C 750 fill power), so the process for equipping him is well underway ;). Speaking of Alpkit, it's a company well worth checking out. They have lots of smart gear for a reasonable price, great service and fast shipping. Highly recommended. Take a look at their Filo down jacket (£ 75.00), Hunka bivy (£ 33.00), Gordon dry sack (£ 18.00) and MytiMug (£ 25.00)
More about my projects:
Liberty ridge pants. I've already got a pair of Montane Featherlite pants, but I find the DWR very shortlived, needing to be reapplied often with Nikwax TX-direct or the like. I was impressed by the DWR of the Momentum while making the Minimia vest, so I think these will work better, and of course be custom fitted.
Silnylon poncho, maybe 2 if I have enough silnylon and my brother wants one.
A 17 oz Momentum quilt. This will be my first quilt and I have a gut feeling that it will be a success being the restless side sleeper that I am. I plan to make a drawstring closure at the head end, and to have straps at the bottom.
I also bought two rolls of hydrophobic thread, 6000 (!) yards yeach. These are huge and will surely last a long, long time.
(ridiculus!)
I am gradually acquiring a lot of gear, more than I really need. My plan is to try stuff out to see what works best for me, and then sell or give stuff away to family and friends. Selling may be a bit hard here in Norway because there are very few UL enlightened people around. Shipping abroad is very expensive, so that's not really an option.
Almost forgot to mention that I won the Platypus raffle over at hikinginfinland.blogspot.com - yay! Thanks Hendrik!
I recently became the owner of a washing machine and so was able to give my waterproofs and windproofs the best washing they've ever had. The effect was remarkable. Raindrops stand out on them once again. Note that I did not re-apply the DWR. I just cleaned them. Nikwax Techwash seems much more impressive than TX Direct, which suggests that contamination is more of a problem for DWRs than abrasion.
ReplyDeleteI had success with TX Direct on an old pair of Windstopper cycling gloves. These now stand off drizzle. Last winter they rapidly became sodden at the first sign of precipitation. (They are many years old.) The TX Direct seems to have gone right inside them. Perhaps it is less effective on surfaces than on thicker fabrics.
I'm just speculating but can say for sure that Techwash is impressive.
Hi John, yes, Techwash is a nice product. I've been using Techwash in combination with TX-direct, but last time I had none left and just used wool/silk detergent (very mild stuff) and then TX-direct. That worked fine. Will try only Techwash next time to see what the effect is on its own.
ReplyDeleteHave you read this thread by the way? : http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=5409. Seems like Techwash may be just a liquid mild soap, and that cheaper alternatives may work just as well.