Home Made Gear?

Papa Dragon wrote:

Silver Dream Machine
608g, ripstop nylon shell, goose down fill.

Wow, looks good, tell us more:

• did you make it all yourself, and where did you get the down & ripstop?
• what is the down spec and how much down per m²?
• are there baffles between inner & outer as discussed earlier?
• what system have you used to close the footbox &/or top?
• what conditions do you expect/hope to use it?
• how much did it cost in materials?

Very impressed, well done.

Thank you Andrew
I did make it all myself.
Down is 750 fill pure goose down from Makoti. Used 360g for the quilt, and its 1300mm wide at the top, for the top 700mm, then tapering to 1000 at the feet.
Yes, it's baffled, the baffles are 35mm high and 100mm apart. Probably a bit small in retrospect, but I think it will contain the down better.
Used no-grab? velcro and a drawcord for the footbox, and a drawcord for the top.
From the research I have done it should handle at 0 degC. (obviously needs testing).
Materials about 700 bucks all in.

andrew r wrote:

did you make it all yourself, and where did you get the down & ripstop?

Sorry, the ripstop came from Ragland in PMB, it's a Gelvenor Textiles product. 42gsm.

Quick report back on the quilt:
Night 1, 11.0degC, tent KBC, flysheet and inner door open my side. K-way compact mattress, ripstop nylon inner - only boxers- toasty warm, bit of overheating, quilt is easy to ventilate.
Night 2 Nkosazana Cave, 10.6degC, First Ascent thermal top, boxers, beanie (chilly breeze blowing), toasty warm.
Night 3 KBC after storm, 9.9degC, doors open again after the storm, boxers only, toasty warm, bit of ventilating.
I didn't feel anywhere near the limit of the quilt at any time, and I reckon coupled with a Sea to Summit liner and K-way extreme lite bag (I have been very comfortable in the K-way Lite bag and liner at just over 6degC, boxers only) one could go down quite low.

Papa Dragon, would you mind letting me know whether it is necessary to use special thread/sewing techniques when stitching waterproof material? Say, the flysheet of a tent for instance? Thanks

ruthtbl wrote: Papa Dragon, would you mind letting me know whether it is necessary to use special thread/sewing techniques when stitching waterproof material? Say, the flysheet of a tent for instance? Thanks

Ruth, I'm certainly no expert, but from my research, use 100% polyester thread, thread containing any cotton will rot.
When stitching is complete, use a suitable seam sealer, either the commercially available one, or a silicone based one for silnylon type fabrics.
Hope this helps.
Out of interest, are you doing repairs, mods, or a new project?

Awesome, thank you! I am doing a super ambitious DIY project - making my own tent/tarp tent thing

Cool!!!!!
Don't forget pics, as you go along too.

I'll probably post a video of the whole process once I'm done Really gives me an appreciation for the store-bought stuff!

Pics of my tent, don't think I've posted pics of it yet....