Author Topic: Have you adapted much of your gear to suit your needs and wants?  (Read 5187 times)

Owen

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Those were the days, no fancy gear, just a rope and a rock face  O0


And lots of accidents.

SteamyTea

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One of the scariest things I have ever done.
When my backpack unclipped itself, tilting me head down above a slab, 60 feet below, I now know what happens just before death.
I don't use emojis, irony is better, you decide

Bigfoot_Mike

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One of the scariest things I have ever done.
When my backpack unclipped itself, tilting me head down above a slab, 60 feet below, I now know what happens just before death.
If you are not wearing tweed and hobnail boots while carrying a hemp rope, it’s not proper climbing.

ninthace

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If you are not wearing tweed and hobnail boots while carrying a hemp rope, it’s not proper climbing.
And a climbing harness consisting of several yards of thin rope wound tightly round your middle, tied with a reef knot, with a Karabiner hooked though it.  But you tell the young people of today ....
Solvitur Ambulando

BuzyG

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And a climbing harness consisting of several yards of thin rope wound tightly round your middle, tied with a reef knot, with a Karabiner hooked though it.  But you tell the young people of today ....


Funny you should mention that. Summer 2018 I scrambled up Great End to Scar Fell Pike via Cust Gully with my son.  It was only the second time we had climbed on Rock together.  I made a very comfy harness from a piece of rope and a carabina.  He brought the one he uses on the climbing wall.  I have since bought a modern one though. To convenient to ignore. ;)

gunwharfman

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Another adaptation I've made is about trying to improve my personal security and the possibility of loss so I've sewn two credit sized pockets onto the chest area of two of my baselayers, I fit my card(s) in plastic pouches and keep them in the pockets, both day and night and they are always 'close to my chest.'

richardh1905

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Improvised a harness out of a large climbing sling before now, managed to incorporate leg loops so wasn't too painful an abseil.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

ninthace

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Another adaptation I've made is about trying to improve my personal security and the possibility of loss so I've sewn two credit sized pockets onto the chest area of two of my baselayers, I fit my card(s) in plastic pouches and keep them in the pockets, both day and night and they are always 'close to my chest.'
Right, now we know where to find them  ;)
Solvitur Ambulando

gunwharfman

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gunwharfman

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When my son went to university I gave him my old Lifeventure Down sleeping bag, he has just given it back to me about 8 years later.

I cut one piece about 3' x 4 (the sleeping bag has a zip all down one side) and my wife's friend sewed all of the edges for me with 4 small toggles attached and I can now 'clip' onto part of my sleeping quilt which covers my torso and upper limbs.

I slept out in our garden last night (a good idea Richard) in my bivi and I was warm as toast. Too warm in fact, by about 5 a.m. I 'unclipped' it, put it to one side, and went back to sleep.

Birdman

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I soldered a powercable to my powerbank to make the whole system more robust for long-distance walking. Fortunately, I discovered just in time that I would never have got that thing past airport security! So I packed a conventional one instead.


I have modified an electric travel shaver to make it plug into a solarpanel or powerbank instead of using two replaceable AA-size batteries. Not only does this save weight, but it prevents it from failing. My experience is that humid conditions corrode the battery contacts and make the shaver fail after some time.


My Terra Nova Superlite tent was on my request modified by the manufacturer to make it more windproof. They added two guy-lines at the front and an extra hook to fix the flysheet to the inner tent. This was not my own idea, I got it from the internet somewhere. It's a much better tent now so I don't know why the manufacturer doesn't make this a standard feature.


Made own pot-cozy, saving lost of gas.


I modified one of the side pockets of my Osprey Aether 70 backpack, glueing in a piece of plastic to prevent scratching of the screen of my phone that I carry in that pocket (used as a navigation device and field guide).
My travel and walking reports: https://www.hikingbirdman.com/

richardh1905

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Just got a new tent (Lightwave T10 Trek), and after spending a couple of nights in it (in the garden of course) I'm thinking of a few simple mods:


- Sew on a hanging loop for a light - strange that they did not include this. I'll be raiding the wife's sewing box for some thin ribbon.
- Add an extra front guyline under the fly to the apex of the front hoop - this will easily attach to a velcro loop that goes around the pole, and will lift up a rather taut ventilation flap giving a bit more airflow, as well as strengthening the tent. No sewing required for this one.
- see if I can add some tensioning straps to the single rear and two front guying points-  important to get these guying points just right on a tunnel tent. I'll see what odd pieces of strap and buckle that I have. Again, no sewing (I hope).


I'll also need to do a bit of sewing to repair the small hole that I made next to the rear hem of the flysheet - those square aluminium nail type tent pegs have some sharp corners! My bad, irritating but nothing critical - mistakes sometimes happen when you familiarise yourself with a new tent. I'll be throwing three rounded wire pegs into the peg bag for the guying points in question.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

richardh1905

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Sewn on a light hanging loop, nice bit of thin red ribbon - I won't be winning the Sewing Bee, but it will do the job. Also fitted loops of cord with linelock adjusters to the three critical guying points, strong and easily adjustable.


But I've given up on the idea of guying out the flap - it added extra stress to the flap sewing in a way that I didn't like.
« Last Edit: 19:53:22, 27/06/20 by richardh1905 »
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

richardh1905

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Just sewn a small loop of ribbon inside my elderly backpacking rucksack's top pocket, so that I can clip my car keys into the pocket; nice and safe.


The rucksack is a Karrimor Jaguar GR66 - goodness knows when I bought it - must be over 30 years old. Still going strong, although I had to repair the plastic attachment points for the internal frame a few years back - much drilling and sewing with heavy yachting whipping twine, and it is now stronger than when new.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

strawy

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I always carry a cheap lightweight walking stick.
When camping,i stick a nail in its rubber foot,it fits in the eyelet of the door of my tent,raise it up,instant sunshine,and no need to stretch too far,a lie in  ;)    

 

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