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Backpacking Clothes - Make Your Own
By Steve Gillman, Thu Dec 8th
Okay, do you really want to make all your own backpackingclothes? More power to you, and good luck. After the firsthundred tedious hours of sewing I started buying gear again.However, there are SOME clothes you can make cheaplyand quickly. A few examples follow. Making Your Own Ski Mask Find any old thermal underwear top or bottom, preferably made ofpolypropylene. Cut off a sleeve or leg, pull it over your head,and mark where your eyes and mouth are with a pen or marker. Cutthe holes and cut off the extra. You just made a balaclava. My homemade balaclava weighs less than an ounce. Sew the topshut if you want, or just pin it shut with a safety pin. Makingyour own clothes doesn't get much simpler than this. Hand Warmers Put your hands inside a pair of light socks and mark where yourfingertips are. Cut five holes in the end of each, and you nowhave 1-ounce hand warmers that leave your fingers free. Use themunder other gloves or mittens in colder weather. When you needto
remove your mittens to tie your shoes, you won't totallyexpose your hands.A Two-Dollar Insulated Vest You can buy 1/2" poly batting at any fabric store (I bought mineat Walmart). Unroll it and cut a piece out, roughly two by fourfeet. Put a hole in it for your head. You'll wear it like atunic, but under your jacket. It will be among the lightestbackpacking clothes you'll own. Mine weighs four ounces. I took my vest, along with my homemade balaclava, over glaciers,to the top of 20,600-foot Chimborazo, in Ecuador. I also wore itto the top of Mount Shasta in California, and on many othertrips. I made it as a disposable vest, but it's held togetherfor years now. Feel free to contact me with ideas for any simple backpackingclothes or equipment that can be made at home. However, if itcan't be explained in a paragraph, it's probably too complex andtime consuming for me. I prefer to backpack, not sew.
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