>>433477That's wrong, but if you enjoy spending your Sundays at swap meets, then who am I to take that little bit of joy away from you?
To those still reading the thread,
owfinc.com and
thru-hiker.com are two online sources for tech fabrics, as well as synthetic insulation and loose fill goose down, (both also sell patterns, and thru-hiker sells kits) none of which are "expensive as fuck" by any means.
For example, an ultralight bivy costs $175 if you buy a completed one from Mountain Laurel Designs. If you buy the fabric you'll need (going from the prices at thru-hiker, which are relatively high) to complete a bivy as pictured here
>>432086: that's 2 yards of momentum-90 fabric and 1 yard of noseeum netting for the top, and then 3 yards of silnylon for the bottom (you'll have a lot of extra fabric left over for stuffsacks), add in about 3 feet of zipper, and that brings the total cost in the $65 range with shipping. This project can be completed on even the cheapest of sewing machines that you can get from Walmart. Add in $80 for the sewing machine, and you're still only up to $145 for everything.
Other projects... an ultralight synthetic quilt is something that has very low availability in the market, at all. The ease and low cost of this project should make it a no-brainer for anyone wanting to get into outdoor DIY.
Down sleeping bags are another good project, albeit more labor-intensive. Because of the high cost of a quality down sleeping bag ($400-500 for a Western Mountaineering bag), it's very appealing to make your own for under $200 total. You can customize every inch of the bag, and fill the baffles with your own preferred amount of high fill power down insulation.
I think anyone who has to ask what their time is worth has probably never made anything with their own two hands. The appeal of DIY is self-evident. To imply that you can "lose" something or "waste" your time by spending it on a hobby you enjoy is utterly insulting.
