Thursday, October 7, 2010

Make a Gear Loft-Alternative Gear

I made this gear loft with an onion sack bought with 3 pounds of onions in it.
I cut it open sideways to maintain the metal staples at each end. Knowing its strong enough to carry 3 pounds of onions I feel its a good piece of alternative gear for the ultralighter. It only weighs 6 grams (less than 1/4 ounce) when fully constructed as you see in this photo.
To make your onion sack gear loft you'll need:
*light cordage or elastic
( I recommend elastic so that it will fit a variety of tarps and tents).
*mitten clips
( shown in photo, or other clips to attach gear loft to structure)
*onion sack
(cut length wise, metal to metal, heat seal carefully so there are no frayed edges around opening)
The gear loft above is 18 inches long, clip to clip. It will stretch to over 24 inches, allowing me to use it in a variety of places. I used 5 feet of cord elastic to create this loft.
Beginning at the center of one long side of the onion sack, thread the elastic through the mesh around the opening.
Once you get to one end, thread the clip onto the elastic, about 6 inches away from sack.
Make a knot to keep clip in place right at the end.
Now bring elastic parallel to itself, and thread around the other side of the opening all the way to the other end.
Proceed to add another mitten hook or clip the same length away so it matches the other end. See photo for example.
Make the knot to keep hook in place. Bring elastic parallel to itself, back to the opening and finish threading it around the opening. Tie knot, so that the circle of elastic is complete.
Of course, this is my first onion sack loft and future ones could be longer, or use a larger onion sack.
Alternative gear ideas are fun to play with. They cost very little and are customized to the indiviguals needs.

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