The wife and I are on a budget for our camping supplies. I have found that I get gear faster when it costs less money. So when I can diy, I generally end up spending less than half of what I would if I bought it from somebody else. Has it cost time? Yes but I have more gear now than I would have if I had just been to it buying each piece.
My wife's tolerance for down clusters floating around the house is diminishing fast...
This. Working with down in particular has some drawbacks. It's always one of those cost/benefit analysis situations. Is the time spent/experience gained worth the $ saved and hassle encountered.Originally Posted by genixia
Personally, I don't trust my sewing skills enough on something as important as a down UQ, but if you're talking about doing a poncho liner UQ or something like that I'd say go for it! I was more than happy to spend the ~200 dollars on my winter yeti knowing that the stitches are straight and secure.
Keep on keepin' on.
I agree! I just finished a down topquilt last night and I was completely unprepared for how messy down can be! I made a Karo step quilt and I thought this would be a cinch: leave a section of seam open, then open bag of down, dump it in quilt and be done. 5 minutes tops- right?
WRONG! I spent over an hour trying to get the quilt stuffed and even then I had down everywhere! It is extremely difficult to work with without getting it everywhere and without losing a lot of it.
Two heads are good, three are great, but all heads at hammockforums is the best case scenario!
After pricing out recently a Apex UQ can save a huge amount if you make two. Im just throwing numbers off the top of my head i could make two for around 130$ or one for about 90$. I could buy a professionally made Apex quilt for 150$, but i would be guaranteed it would be perfect. With my gear I like to be able to say i made it myself when someone asks me where i bought it... if i can make it better for a good price i will. For hiking the only thing that i have made is my alcohol stoves, walking stick(spare day hike stick), sleeping bag uq(untested atm), and clothing modifications
I just bought all the materials for a 6oz apex top quilt and a 3/4 under quilt for $125. By my estimation that's less than half of buying new. It's my first project, so time will tell if it was a good choice. I've been planning and practicing and believe I've found a method that's within my capabilities. My free time is important to me, but for me, this is more enjoyable than watching TV. The other thing I like about making my own is I get to decide exactly which features I want.
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