MYOG

A sage once said: "Grams lead to ounces, ounces lead to pounds, and pounds...lead to suffering."

One of my first longer backpacking trips was ~100 miles in southern New Hampshire. I took almost 50 lbs of gear with me. That is too much gear! Since then, I've worked on lightening my kit. ..

Step one: Take less stuff.

Step two: Take lighter stuff.

Products from major brands are often packed with unnecessary features, and use unnecessarily burly materials. If you're careful with your gear, you can use lighter, more delicate materials. And if you strip away unnecessary features, you can save some serious weight. Small "cottage" brands (like Z-Packs, Gossamer Gear, and Enlightened Equipment) make great products that are far lighter than what you can find at REI.

However, it's also possible to lighten up if you Make Your Own Gear. And, after getting inspired by the fantastic work from the folks over at Reddit's MYOG Community, I decided to learn how to sew and give it a shot myself.

Altogether, I've shaved off almost 25lbs from my summertime kit!

Here is some of the gear that I've made in the process:
(*Note: The Google image carousel is a little wonky, so it cuts off parts of some photos.)

Alpha Hoodie

Material: Polartec Alpha Direct 4028 (2 oz/sq yd)

Pattern: Self-Drafted

Weight: 3.29 oz

Quilt #1

Materials:

  • Insulation - Apex Climashield 2.5 oz/sq yd

  • Outer - 0.66 oz Membrane 10 Taffeta Nylon (Green Tea)

  • Inner - 0.56 oz Membrane 7 Ripstop Nylon (Charcoal Grey)

Weight: 12.74 oz

Temperature Rating: ~45-50°F

Pattern: Self-drafted

Quilt #2

Materials:

  • Insulation - Apex Climashield 7.5 oz/sq yd

  • Outer - 0.66 oz Membrane 10 Taffeta Nylon (Olive Yellow)

  • Inner - 0.56 oz Membrane 7 Ripstop Nylon (Charcoal Grey)

Weight: 26.14 oz

Temperature Rating: ~15°F

Pattern: Self-drafted

Quilt #3

Materials:

  • Insulation - Apex Climashield 5.0 oz/sq yd

  • Outer - 0.66 oz Membrane 10 Taffeta Nylon (Blaze Orange)

  • Inner - 0.56 oz Membrane 7 Ripstop Nylon (Charcoal Grey)

Weight: 19.14 oz

Temperature Rating: ~30-35°F

Pattern: Self-drafted

Backpack

Main Materials:

  • LiteSkin LS21

  • Robic 210D Extreema

  • 1/8'' 3D Spacer Mesh

  • Kydex (Frame)

Weight: 32oz

Volume: 50 Liters

Pattern: Stitchback TH50

(I made this one for my partner)

Kenso 2 Tent

Main Materials:

  • 1.6oz HyperD PU4000 (Charcoal Grey - Floor)

  • 0.9 Xenon Sil (Brick Red- Roof/Doors/Sack)

  • 0.5 oz NS50 Noseeum Mesh (Black)

  • HyperD 300 (Black - Reinforcement Patches)

Weight: 27.12 oz (in the stuff sack!)

Pattern: Dubber Designs Kensho 2

(This tent design uses trekking poles to give it structure, so there's no need to bring dedicated tent poles.)

Wind Jacket

Materials:

  • HyperD 1.0 (Burnt Orange - Calendared)

  • YKK #3 zipper (separating for the center, continuous coil for pockets & pit zips)

Weight: 3.34oz

Pattern: Learn MYOG UL Windshell