The First Pitch

Some options for the ever flexible tarp

I finally had an opportunity to get the Blue Shelter pitched and try a few different configurations.  There are a few things that need done to make the whole set up better.  I'm going to add 5 tie-out points to the interior on the tarp (2 on each panel and 1 dead center).  I also still need to seam seal the stitching to ensure water proofiness.  I also am a little unhappy with the guyline schema.  I followed the tie out plan from a great article I found on tarp camping but I think the shortness of a lot of the line lengths will limit what I can do at any given time.  I think I will need to get a good 50-100 feet more of 2mm guyline to be able to make the setup more easily flexible.  Even on my first attempts I was very happy with how fast I could get the BS set up and out of the rain.  The still be produced Bivy will reside in the tent for ultimate weather and bug protection.  I tried to set it up as a pyramid but the pole slipped so I'll need to work out those details with the tie out point.

Storm Mode

A-Frame

The Flying Diamond/Hammock rig

The Blue Shelter

After searching and searching for good materials here in India I finally pulled the trigger and ordered some goods from DIYGearSupply and Thru-Hiker.

Bag of goodies

My Goal is to create a 9x9 tarp, a bivy bag, a 32* sleeping bag, and an insulated vest.  The tarp seemed like the biggest and easiest so I started there.

So starting out I needed to decide on a plan.  I primarily based my design and procedures on the instructions found on DIYGearSupply.  I really wanted a catenary cut hex tarp but with the reality of camping mostly on the ground in this neck of India I decided that the square tarp was the most flexible and would work with the hammock, just not as sweet as the hex tarp.  I'm also planning a trip up into the Himalayas sometime this year so the hex tarp's usefulness is further diminished for my current situation.  See ya later sexy, here comes Mr. Utilitarian.

So first what I did was created a layout using the tiles on the ground and some masking tape.  Once I had it all measured out then I marked it with a sharpie.  A not of caution with silnylon, if you mark something, you will be able to see it forever from both sides.  I have a few marks for the tie-out reinforcements that I will be reminded of for perpetuity but as my first big project I'm okay with that.

After laying out the sil I cut out the reinforcement triangles out of the 200D nylon.  Then I got nervous and decided to make a stuff sack.  Electric blue wasn't my initial color selection but they had ran out of grey the day before I ordered and didn't have it until the week after I ordered.  Not very stealthy but as a white guy backpacking in India I'm probably not going to blend in too well anyway.

Tent stake stuff sack with some of the trimmings.

 I had read so much about how slippery the silnylon is and what a pain to sew so I wanted to test out my skilz.  It actually sewed pretty similar to the thin polyester I'm using to make my kids hammocks so it wasn't too bad.  I just had to go slow and pin a lot.  By pin a lot I mean use a lot of binder clips and bobby pins.  The bobby pins were great.  They were light, held the material securely and I didn't have to worry about punching holes in what will hypothetically be my rain cover and a frigid, tempest swept mountain side.

Not perfect but much better than I expected.

After I had marked out my tarp I cut it with my 100 rs soldering iron.  It did a great job at cutting and heat-sealing the fabric but I needed a 3rd hand to do it accurately.  I stayed pretty close to my black line so I'm happy with it.  First I made the hybrid felled/french seam to get the 2 main tarp halves together.  I was very happy with the way the center seam turned out.

Thankfully I have young kids to supply my hem edger.

 Then it was simply just putting the re-enforcement triangles where I wanted my tie outs and hem it up with a rolled hem.  I followed this article in relation to tarp set ups.  I went with 5 tie outs on each side (corner, quarter, mid, quarter, corner).  Once I had that set up I got sick and let the project sit for a week or so.  The next phase was definitely my least favorite.  Taking down the corners and putting the tie-outs down with the included D-rings.  I don't really enjoy repetitive work, which is all this was for that period of time.  Eventually, however, it was over and I had a near completed tarp.  I tied on some guy-lines and my tarp is now practically finished.  I still plan on some tie-outs on the sides and down the ridgeline to give me the most headroom/flexibility/storm worthiness.

Tomorrow on my morning run at the park I'm going to attempt to pitch BS with my trekking poles just because I want to.  I've been super happy how things turned out.  I think we're looking at about 8 hours of layout and sewing but it is hard to tell as it was done over a multitude of days.  Gear construction is a lot like machining.  3/4 of the time is spent laying out, planning, prepping.  Only about a quarter of the time is actually wielding the thread injector.  I'll post some pics if I get a chance to pitch the BS in the near future.  Off the Top Quilt!

Couldn't resist the opportunity for a campout in the living room.

The Pursuit of Swag

In 4 days I am going camping with some friends.  We had 2 months to make bedrolls and I thought it would be a walk in the park.  Now we have 4 days, little more intense.  I am going to attempt to make swags that are a shameless knock off of the Wynnchester swags.  We are going on a motorcycle trip and as our local is not hammock friendly one of these behemoths might be just the ticket.  Plus they feel and look very cool which is always worth something.

The gloriful swag

With the help of several friends I have been attempting to break the DIY chains of India and make some stuff.  It has not been easy.  After attempting for months to source things online it was time to just head out into the city.  The first stop was a bazaar which rumor had it held Canvas.  The market was abustle with activity when we arrived and practically packed when we left.  The energy of the place was contagious and I think just going out and doing something refilled my chutzpah quotient.  No one we could find carried canvas or knew where in the bazaar we could buy it.  Fortunately I now have another trustworthy lead if I need canvas in the future.

While at this market we found ourselves on a street of Ayurvedic supplies I thought we should ask about Beeswax.  Low and Behold almost everyplace had it.  Some wanted me to sign away my first child for the stuff but I walked away with 2 kg's for Rs 900.  I know that that is still way more than we could probably negotiate for but I was happy to just get it.  I'm hoping to write another blog on the purification process of the beeswax, which I found to be delightful.  I've said it once and I'll say it again, I was born to keep bees.

So on our long list of needs for the trip we had 1 of them.  We did get a lead from this trip and so a week later we were in Charminar looking for canvas.  We did find a light weight variety that was too expensive but we jumped on it as it was the first canvas like fabric we had found in our search.  Hopefully the other Bazaar will be the land of milk and honey that I am expecting it to be.   Now if anyone wants to someday follow our textile pilgrimage through Hyderabad and is frustrated that I am not documenting the names of the places we went, it is simply because I don't remember what anything was called.  While picking up the canvas we were told by the almost friendly shopkeeper where to buy zippers.  Bulk coil zipper was the one thing that I figured would bring this whole operation to its knees so we figured we would chase down this lead while we  were in the area.  This brought us further from our car, which will carry weight later in the story.

Down the street we go, down a narrow alley that I would never have gone down myself, and we find ourself in as close to a gear maker's paradise as I think Hyderabad holds.  This shop sold supplies for making luggage and I was surrounded by rivets, thread, webbing, buckles, many things that I have wanted in the past.  I wanted to just buy 10 of everything but this project is already getting expensive and "maybe for later" purchases always seem to just collect dust.  There is a solid 10% chance I could find this place again if I had to.

So we bought a nice big spool of polyester thread, 40 meters of zipper and 15 of the "higher quality" zippers.  I would have loved the zippers to have pulls on either side but at this point I was going to grab the goods while they were hot.  While we were paying sprinkles began to drop outside.  By the time we walked out the door the rainfall was, in a word, torrential.  So we sat for 20 to 30 minutes waiting for it to let up.  Mother Nature in all of her wiles relented for at least 5 minutes for us to get back out to the main street.  Withing 14 and a half seconds we were well soaked.  The long walk back to the car gave the rain ample opportunity to find any dry spots on our persons and soak them.  Luckily I was wearing my Chucks so the water that was several inches deep at the shallowest path we could find found a comfortable home soaking my socks.

These delays and the weather helped to ensure that the 40 minute drive to get to Charminar turned into a 3 hour drive to get back.  There were a few places we thought of looking for Linseed oil  (as this is a key ingredient in our waterproofing scheme) but the weather and traffic were so bad, plus us being soaked and freezing in the car, we just skipped the trip.  The good news is that armed with some banner material we have everything we now need to make the swag shell.  I still have dreams of a mosquito net, mattress, and waterproofing but we will have to see what the new day brings.

A sewing machine was supposed to arrive at my door 5 hours ago.  Hopefully it will come tonight and the late night sew-a-thon can commence.  Almost there but not quite.