wallyvirginia
Big Wall climber
Stockholm, Sweden
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 9, 2010 - 01:01pm PT
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I thought this thread could be a channel where people can show off their cool homemade/DIY stuff to inspire the rest of us with a passion for the vertical but without fat wallets..
Being a climber from Sweden and mostly going to Norway for the vertical adventures I need to be ready for a swift change of weather. Hence I choose to go on lead with a small pack for storm gear. After getting into aid I found my harness gearloops crowded with haulline, jumars and aiders. I started looking at gearslings and I really digged the metolius gearsling carrying water in a camelback fashion. But what about the stormgear and lunch sandwich? Enough said, I put together my own climbing pack/watertank/gearsling.
Sounds interesting?
What you need is a small climbing backpack with camelbak feature, 2 meters of 6mm cord, 1 m of aquarium tube and 4 small quicklinks.
 Missing photo ID#181319
Cut the cord and tube in half. Thread the tubes over the pieces of cord and tie the 4 quicklinks on with figure eight knots.
Missing photo ID#181321 Put it on the pack, tighten the quicklinks and it's done.
Missing photo ID#181323 Missing photo ID#181324
I have yet to test it in the field, it's supposed to be used for long free climbing and/or easy to moderate clean aid climbs.
Missing photo ID#181328
Please, let me know what do you guys think, hit or miss? Success or failure?
Over and out!
Mikko
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WBraun
climber
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The minute you need to get in a tight chimney with your new homemade rig above you're hosed ....
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Silver
Big Wall climber
Nor Nev
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looks pretty sweet to me.
Werner has a point there. No chimneys for you with that on but I could see it for many other uses.
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matty
Trad climber
los arbor
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Looks cool, could be nice for alpine. Thanks for sharing
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Dingus Milktoast
Gym climber
CALIENTE!
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(You can do chimneys too)
Looks good to me. I generally don't like clipping gear to plastic tubes of that diameter though. The thinner the better but I understand why you went this thick (I think)- don't wanna drop your rack and you could use that cord for rap anchors in a pinch, eh? But often I will get the nose or gate caught on that sticky sort of soft plastic and almost drop the piece, or fail to get it clipped back on correctly. But that's probably just my personal idiot-synchronicity showing.
The only thing I would suggest for your pack is adding a 'drop and drag' cord to the top of the pack, prior to launching up a route. The idea is when you get to a tight chimney or OW, you will already have a sling or a cord connecting the top of your pack to your harness, in a way so that when you shrug off the pack and let it go, it will hang about 6-12 inches below your feet if you were standing straight up. This way you don't risk losing your rack every time you f*#k with your pack. Capice?
Anyway, cheers!
DMT
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Silver
Big Wall climber
Nor Nev
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Werner what did you guys use for boom boxes and all the tube socks you carried around?
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wallyvirginia
Big Wall climber
Stockholm, Sweden
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2010 - 01:14pm PT
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Yeah, I guess and could just put a double lenght runner and a krab on to keep it just below me in chimneys. I've been through that before and even though it works, it's not pretty. Or I'll just try and avoid chimneys, like the rest of us, eh?
I think it's pretty sweet clipping resistance in the aquarium tube, it's 10mm in diameter and not that soft and rubbery.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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nice. some of the guys on bigwalls.com do some cool stuff too.
thought about doing russian aiders? i have yet to try them, but since there are so few out in the wild, I've put my hopes away of trying them.
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wallyvirginia
Big Wall climber
Stockholm, Sweden
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2010 - 03:22pm PT
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Yeah, I've been thinking about russian aiders after having noticed that their users swear by them but the idea of tieing hooks to my knees feels really weird. I bet it works just fine but to the price of having hooks on your knees..? =) Then I just don't know.
I'll check that site out though, bigwalls.com, gotta love your DIY! Right?
Thanks!
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OlympicMtnBoy
climber
Seattle
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Nice work, I think your pack/gear sling should work just as well as some of the stuff like the Grivel Manu pack/sling. If you add a little padding to your belay seat you'll like it a lot more after sitting in it for a couple hours too.
Here are some wall bags and a mini-haul/rope bucket I made not long ago. I recycled some burly fabric from marine/industrial stuff, did some hand sewing, and used my normal home machine.
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wallyvirginia
Big Wall climber
Stockholm, Sweden
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2010 - 03:39pm PT
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Nice work, looks great!
Isn't it just so much more old school and hardcore if you put at least some of it together yourself??? Love it!
I did actually glue on a layer of sleeping pad on the belay seat later, after reading up on the subject online.
Also, the remains of the sleeping pad fitted my haulbag interior perfectly. And I'm good with sleeping on a 3/4 lenght pad. Sweetness!
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wallyvirginia
Big Wall climber
Stockholm, Sweden
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2010 - 06:43pm PT
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No, sorry Dr P.
My name is Mikael Jarmland, Mikko for short and with a fínnish twang.. =)
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Ooops. Duh. Finland/Sweden. Sheesh.
Well, get yer ass down to Yosemite this year and we'll drink some beers anyway! Nice lookin' stuff.
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Sebastopol, CA
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OMB- your normal sewing machine makes bar tacks? nice.
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Brian
climber
California
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Did my first solo with a lawn chair for a "ledge" after reading about how some other guys had done it. Not recommended. I'll have to look for the old slides however...
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wallyvirginia
Big Wall climber
Stockholm, Sweden
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2010 - 06:56pm PT
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Cheers!
(coming from the wall doctor himself, I consider that a compliment and a half) Thanks!
Will do actually, I'll be spending at least first half of August in the valley. Then I'm meeting up with my wife and kid in San Fran and we're going road tripping in "the cradle of grunge"!
Will you be there in August? Is it crazy hot? I've only been there in October before.
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Captain...or Skully
Big Wall climber
leading the away team, but not in a red shirt!
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When it gets "crazy hot", head for the Half Stone.
You will not bake. Not all the time.
There will be fleece!
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Sorry, mate - I don't get there til it cools off a bit in September. Mid-September to late-October is the best time for El Cap, but as Capt. Kirk points out, Half Dome will be a lot cooler in August, if you don't mind the slog. Check first to see what the status is on the springs up there to see if you can get water or knott.
And of course, there's always Tuolumne.
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