Home Made Gear? - Bag

[ktgoodman]

Has anyone made any cool home made gear? Share what you have made or would like to make, you might give others some good ideas for projects.

I made 2 down quilts and then moved on and made 3 down sleeping bags, the family is fully outfitted with bags / quilts. We shoot lots of geese so we started plucking the down, washing it, waterproofing it and then I learned to sew, watched a you tube video of a guy making a quilt and said, "I can do that". Here is my -20 degree down bag, it has 20 ounces of premium Canada Goose down, total weight of bag is 31 oz. Just in sewing time I have 15 hours into this bag, 30 geese gave up their down to make it.

For reference, that is a 6 inch Bose speaker next to the bag - super lofty!

 

[atkins0331]

Has anyone made any cool home made gear? Share what you have made or would like to make, you might give others some good ideas for projects.

I made 2 down quilts and then moved on and made 3 down sleeping bags, the family is fully outfitted with bags / quilts. We shoot lots of geese so we started plucking the down, washing it, waterproofing it and then I learned to sew, watched a you tube video of a guy making a quilt and said, "I can do that". Here is my -20 degree down bag, it has 20 ounces of premium Canada Goose down, total weight of bag is 31 oz. Just in sewing time I have 15 hours into this bag, 30 geese gave up their down to make it.

For reference, that is a 6 inch Bose speaker next to the bag - super lofty!

View attachment 128606 View attachment 128607

Looks like a bunch of work but super cool

 

[ktgoodman]

Looks like a bunch of work but super cool

Yes, lots of work. My first try took 20 hours of sewing and working to figure it out. Now I'm faster, but not going into production for sure. Its a good project for 2 days during a nasty Idaho winter storm. Gratifying to sleep in something you've made.

 

[Litehiker]

I've often read on backpacking sites of people making their own down bags and garments but NEVER to them using down from the geese they shot! CONGRATS on totally DIY bags.

Eric B.

 

[ktgoodman]

I've often read on backpacking sites of people making their own down bags and garments but NEVER to them using down from the geese they shot! CONGRATS on totally DIY bags.

Eric B.

Thanks - it was really cool. I have enough down to make another bag, but am waiting for the right time or person to make it for. It goes well until the bag that i'm drying the down in, opens up while in the family clothes dryer. I had down all over the place!! I had 2 hours before my wife came home, picture me frantically cleaning up the mess.

 

[Oi.223]

I've thought about old sheets and sewing them into elk quarter size bags. They would probably roll or fold up compact enough to sit unnoticed on the bottom of my pack until I need them. Maybe hit the Goodwill store this evening.
https://www.archerytalk.com/vb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=1054820895

 

[packgoatguy]

We took a water proof SOL "emergency sleeping bag" (kind of like a fabric version of a space blanket) and added a layer of climashield insulation and momentum fabric. Turned it into a super lightweight backpacking quilt. Good on its own to about 30-40 degrees F. I pair it with an enlightened equipment down quilt (which on its own is good to about 20 degrees) but with the two quilts together (the waterproof SOL bag on the outside) Im good to down below minus 10... and the whole package weighs less than any zero degree ultralight down bag that Im aware of. And I think it is more "redundant" as the mixture of synthetic and down gives me the best of both worlds.

 

[Sevy]

My wife sewed up some deer and elk bags out of bed sheets they work great. And they were cheap. She also made me a rear rest bag for shooting that turned out awesome. I cant seem to find a picture of it right. It is filled with plastic oddly shaped beads from maybe amazon? I love that rear bag.

 

[azdesertrat]

ive turned sheets into game bags there my loaner set now though pretty patched up. made a little marker beckon i keep with it out of one of those cheap battery powered glow sticks at wally world i altered its handy for markin a spot in the dark. ive made plenty of sand bags and sew up all my gear that gets damged (glad my moma taught me how to sew when i was little) one thing i do like to do is insted of using sewing string is use 20-30# braid garantee you wont have a stitch break lol

 

[azdesertrat]

also built my own reloding bench metal frame with 2" butcherblock top, made a braket for my kayak to mount a trolling motor, made the wood stove for my wall tent, im always makin somthing

 

[packgoatguy]

When it comes to making gear or modifying gear, for me it is always focused on shaving off a few ounces or extending the utility of something... Some other gear we have made or modified include:

1. my carbon fiber tent poles have been modified to double as my hiking staff, shooting bipod, and a tripod for my spotting scope/camera.

2. modified a Zpacks Triplex Cuben Fiber tent to add additional height and width... it now sleeps more than 4 adults.

3. made my solo bivy setup; has waterproof cuben bottom, momentum fabric sides, and a bug screen mesh top with full zipper. Put a small cuben tarp over it, and the whole setup weighs about 12 ounces including tent stakes and ground cloth.

4. made our backup 4 man backpacking tent out of silnylon.

lots of other mods over the years. Its a fun addition to getting out into the woods.

 

[Timnterra]

That's an awesome sleeping bag! I would love to be able to make my own gear like that!