[pct-l] new resource for home-made equipment (was: REIpast&present)

[Paul.C.Griffith at bankofamerica.com (Griffith, Paul C)]

Apparently not.  The frostline web address is a bunch of junk ads.  I made a tent and down sleeping bag of theirs a quarter century ago.  Jardine's "Beyond Backpacking" book www.rayjardine.com has instructions for clothing, synthetic quilts, tarps, and the pack that Golite sells as the Breeze (I put 1500 miles on mine before getting a 7oz GVP).  Glen Van Peski www.gvpgear.com shows plans for making your own G4 or G5.  www.thru-hiker.com has instructions and plans on their site for down bags and quilts, and sells kits and materials.  WWW.tarptent.com has plans for their ultralite tent.  See also www.owfinc.com and www.seattlefabrics.com.  I just made a down quilt using the Jardine zipper foot pocket design, and just winged it on the construction of baffles and seams and stuffed fistfuls of down in the baffles out on the porch - works great.  I had to read the instructions to thread the machine - I'm that unskilled.  If you screw up, that's what seam rippers are for. But if you don't have the time and/or interest to make it yourself, those nasty capitalist stores do carry some nice ultralite gear if you look hard:  Integral tarp/ponchos and bigger tarp tents, $40 7oz tarp ponchos from Campmor, the Golite Breeze pack for $69 (I paid $130 three years ago).  Or let the cottage industry folks make it for you.  And as I write this, someone else posted an address for a resurrected Frostline!
-----Original Message-----
From: Diane Ely [mailto:littlemazdatruck@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2003 3:57 PM
To: blisterfree@isp01.net; pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] new resource for home-made equipment (was: REI
past&present)


There used to be a company named "Frostline" which sold instructions for 
making your own backpacks, bike panniers, tents, sleeping bags, jackets, 
etc.  Are they still in business?



Diane Ely


>From: "Brett" <blisterfree@isp01.net>
>To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
>Subject: [pct-l] new resource for home-made equipment (was: REI past 
>&present)
>Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 16:35:49 -0400
>
>For more and more of us, the ultimate solution to the problems of
>capitalism-gone-awry at the backcountry outfitters is to dispense with the
>outfitters altogether. These chain stores are no different than any other:
>the more their greed compels them to compete on a large scale, the more the
>cutthroat business climate incites further greed; they fulfill their
>manifest destiny to overpopulate themselves throughout the country, and
>suddenly they must be all things to all people (read "very little to anyone
>in particular") in order to turn the kind of profit that will cover their
>massive overhead.
>
>We don't need this, at least the many of us who enjoy hiking, camping and
>such. We don't need to be dependent on the outdoor gear industry in order 
>to
>enjoy the wilderness safely. Instead, we can skip the end retailer and
>purchase our materials a bit closer to the source, then make our own
>equipment at home. And we can do so for less money, while at the same time
>producing the items exactly as we want them. Sleeping bags or quilts,
>outdoor clothing, stoves, tarps. Am I preaching to the choir yet?
>
>Many on this list are likely on this path to self-sufficiency already. For
>those who would like to learn more, or who are just getting started, one
>option might be to read a new book I've edited: "The Ray-Way Tarp Book" by
>Ray Jardine. This text explains how to easily make a 1 or 2 person 
>"ray-way"
>tarp, as well as a net-tent that clips to the tarp for use during bug
>season. All of the materials needed to make these items are now available
>through www.ray-way.com, and at less cost than one would find at the online
>fabric outlets, for instance. And of course for much less than if buying 
>the
>equivalent commercial items from GoLite.
>
>The book also explains, in detail, how to use these items to best advantage
>in the wilderness, in various seasons, locales, and types of weather. In
>essence, it's a greatly expanded version of the tarp-related discussion in
>Beyond Backpacking.
>
>We don't anticipate that REI will be carrying this cottage-industry book 
>any
>time soon, so if interested then see the above website or 
>www.rayjardine.com
>for details.
>
>- blisterfree
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>pct-l mailing list
>pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
>http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l

_________________________________________________________________
STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*  
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

_______________________________________________
pct-l mailing list
pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l