Cheap night out challenge

[Bearbonesnorm]

Okay then, the cheap night out challenge. How cheaply can you spend a night outside while still being confortable ? You'll require some kind of shelter, something to sleep in and maybe on and a way of making a brew or something to eat. Shivering all night in a bus shelter with nothing but what you're wearing doesn't count ... you're still meant to enjoy the experience. Making or altering existing gear is good, as is utilising an inexpensive non-bikepacking / backpacking item.

• Kit should be able to survive at least 1 night out ... multiple nights will be a real bonus.
* You must actually try it on a night out.
• Super sale bargains don't count unless you can post up a current link with a valid price.
• Weight should still be a concern but will need to be offset against cost.
• Instructions, pics for MYOG and mods are very welcome.
• Kit lists prior to trip and a 'it did / didn't work' post trip would be great.

Hopefully this will spark a few ideas and encourage folk who can't invest in specific kit to get out there anyway. No doubt I've missed stuff of the above list so feel free to suggest things.

Ta.

[Zippy]

I'm assuming this is a start from scratch as if you have no kit affair? Or if you just itemise the cost of the kit you are using?

As I'm just about starting to build up some decent kit and get going, and don't bivvy nearly enough, I think I shall half try this challenge if that makes sense. E.g. I'll do elements on the cheap, and report back - I hope this will add some value.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I'm assuming this is a start from scratch as if you have no kit affair? Or if you just itemise the cost of the kit you are using?

As I'm just about starting to build up some decent kit and get going, and don't bivvy nearly enough, I think I shall half try this challenge if that makes sense. E.g. I'll do elements on the cheap, and report back - I hope this will add some value.

However it works best for you Zippy. If someone wants to make a tarp from ice cream tubs but still takes their £200 sleeping bag then post the details of the tarp. If someone else wants to attempt a 'full kit' for less than a tenner that's great too.

It could become a great resource for Scottish and Yorkshire folk.

[Cheeky Monkey]

Yorkshire folk.[/size]

Oi :x

[bobs]

Cycled Bridge of Orchy to Oban via Glen Kinglass. Night in Oban Youth hostel £22, fish Supper £6.

Does this count

[Bearbonesnorm]

Does this count

No ... it also sounds expensive

[johnnystorm]

I got one of these along with some guys that were also a quid in the pound shop.

£1 shelter, includes ridge line!

http://www.poundland.co.uk/product-rang ... y-shelter/

[alansmout]

So that's shelter sorted for a quid!

You can get a 300ml aluminium cup for 95p from outdoor clearance and hex amine for£1.50.

Can anyone suggest a myog solid fuel stove and pot stand?

Can anyone suggest a cheap sleeping bag? I think you might be able to do it all for under a tenner?

I would suggest using bubble wrap as a sleeping pad it's cheap or free and pretty light.

Would be quite a laugh to try sleeping out for the night with a tenners worth of gear!

[Bearbonesnorm]

Would be quite a laugh to try sleeping out for the night with a tenners worth of gear!

Look forward to hearing how you get on.

[slugwash]

A real cheap night out challenge would be to drop everyone in a small/medium sized town with something like £10 to £15 and let them see what they can cobble together (kit & foodwise) from supermarkets, pound shops, charity shops, etc, for the night/nights. (Should be undertaken in winter )

[Bearbonesnorm]

I shall be shunning silnylon on my next night out in favour of polythene. I don't just want to pull a plastic bag over my head though so thought I'd try a poly tarp again (first attempt was a few years ago, results should still be up on the WRT blog somewhere). Anyway the issue with making a tarp from a polythene dust sheet seems to be the tie-outs, there's a lot of force on them and once they start to rip or tear it's pretty much game over.


Polythene sheet was cut to size leaving very weak looking corners.


Layer of duct tape on both sides of the sheet. I've covered a reasonable sized area to help spread the load.


Then I cut some plastic washers from an old lid.


Another layer of tape over the washer.


Open out the hole through the washer and attach line. I'll add some cheap line rather than the Dyneema as that doesn't really go with the cheap ethos.

I've no idea quite how well this'll work but past experience tells me that the material itself will handle some wind and rain just as long as the tie-outs hold.

Poly sheet - £1.30
Tape - £1.10

[alansmout]

so i have had a play around with myog stoves for esbit, I'm using a red bull can top approx 1.75 inches tall but can't seem to get it to boil 300ml of water, even with two 10g esbit tablets. Any suggestions on optimum heights? It does seems like its almost there and suspect it will be hot enough to do basic stuff like noodles.

so far i have

99p shop emergency tent 99p

bubble wrap sleeping mat ( free scrounged from works dispatch department )

gelert second hand sleeping bag from a co-worker £6 ( there is a similar bag available from tesco for £7 to stick to the rules)

MYOG coke can pot plus foil lid and stove - free

esbit style tablets from outdoorclearance.co.uk £1.50

I'm night fishing this weekend or next so will be taking this along ( I'll be taking my usual gear as back up just in case...)

[Hoojum]

I've 2 large sheets of lightweight 35gsm RipStop nylon drying in the garden that's just had the MYOG Silnylon treatment. 1 part Silicone mixed with 3 parts odorless white spirit.

It's cost all of 14 quid and should be enough to make 1 full length (if a little norrow) tarp and a Silnylon bottom, Nikwax treated upper, bivi bag.

I'll report back soon and let you know just how damn hard the slippery stuff is to sew.

[matt_outandabout]

Can anyone suggest a myog solid fuel stove and pot stand?

Some ideas:

[Hoojum]

Having been looking into making some more kit for a while I took the plunge and ordered some material, with the intention of making a lightwieght tarp and bivi.

I ordered 10 metres of lightweight 38gsm RipStop nylon of what was described as karki but turned out to be more bronze coloured. Never the less, I continued with waterproofing the material which should also add some strength to the svelte fabric.

Waterproofing was done by mixing 1 part Silicone with 3 parts oderless white spirit and saturating the fabric in it before hanging it out to dry (not in the sun). This seems to have worked very well and the fabric now has the lovely slippery feel of SilNylon and a quick test confirms water hates it and runs straight off.

The fabric measures 135cm x 285cm or 4.5 x 9 foot and weighed 201grams.



Next I cut out some pieces of cordura to strengthen the pull-outs and added some webbing, all of which was salvaged from an abandoned tent I found on the trails . All the tie outs and strenthening weighed a further 24 grams. Although the tarps width may limit it to an a frame setup, I might add a couple of ridgeline pull-ups to add some versatility.





Next I tried to sew the wafer thin slippery stuff, which proved difficult. I had to fold the seam once, run a straight stitch along it then fold again and stitch again. This went OK after some extensive adjustment of the sewing machine.



Next up was sewing on the tie outs and strengthening cordura. Cross stitching just crimped the lightweight fabric together so I had to zig zag a straight stitch which, although this should hold, it doesn't look pretty.



Yes, I probably overdone the stitching on the tabs. I'll run a little more diluted silicone over the stitching to seal it.



So with the small strip I cut off to get the ends straight the finished weight is 218g, which I'm rather please with. It should be a nice option to take in good weather and saves 280g over my bicycle 7.



Whilst costing under 10 quid to make, excluding the £50 I had to put in the swear jar, it might not be as cheap as Stu's poly tarp but I'm hoping it should last a little longer.

So if a numpty like me, with child like sewing skills, can knock up a usable, waterproof and lightweight tarp for under a tenner imagine what you could do?

Next up I'm looking to make a bivi with a Silnylon bottom and breathable upper. Dimensions will be that of my Hunka XL but without the clever articulation of the Hunka so it may come up just a tiny bit smaller. Weight should be half that of the Hunka although it won't be fully waterproof. Any suggestions on a light and breathable fabric I could use for the top of a bivi?

Staying within the rules, once I have the bivi knocked up I'll head out for the night and report back with how I got on.

[Ray Young]

Nice job, I'm thinking of making a 2.5m square tarp and I like the way you proofed yours.

[jbowkett84]

I've spent the odd comfortable summer evening sleeping under a hedge, but as I'd been to the pub first I guess it doesn't count?

[JohnClimber]

How about a mid week B&B or hotel and put it on the works credit card as if I'm working in the area?

Free for me - Does this count?

[barney]

How about a mid week B&B or hotel and put it on the works credit card as if I'm working in the area?

Free for me - Does this count?

or even booking a twin room and inviting your mate along, now that would be free (well for me anyway)

[AlasdairMc]

Shouldn't cost per night be a factor? My Argos tent at £17.50 is approaching a quid a night, and was my tent of choice until I got my Laser.

[Tanglefist]

Ghetto anything cage (with some jury rigging), anyone?

http://www.bullproducts.co.uk/2kg-wire- ... racket.php

The one in our office weighs ~180 grams.

[Hoojum]

So following me making a tarp, which I posted above, I thought I’d knock up a bivi to go with it for my cheap night out.

The bivi turned out to be surprisingly more difficult to make than I'd imagined as I didn’t keep it simple but make a bathtub Silnylon bottom. The top fabric is just ripstop nylon, so not waterproof, but fine for the summer months when a Hunka seams overkill. The finished bivi with half zip, well Velcro really, weighed in at 264g which is half the weight of my Hunka xl and a third of the size, when packed.



Keeping with the spirit of the thread I headed out for 2 nights on the South Downs armed with my £12 tarp and bivi. It wasn’t much of a kit test, being as it was 30 degrees and dry as a bone however; the bivi’s lightness, I think, helped with letting my bag loft but the real surprise was the tarp. It offered a good amount of shelter, packed down to nothing and only weighs 218g. It might even be a whole 220g now I’ve added a couple of pull-ups on it.





The pull-ups I added made it far more versatile and help keeping it taught.





All in all, the tarps a winner and the bivi’s great for summer nights, however, I might have another go at a bivi using a more water resistant top fabric so its more of an all year round bivi. Any suggestions on a fabric and where I could get it would be welcome.
Cheers

[pushbikemike]

Excellent work there. Impressive MYOG skills.
I used Point North fabrics. Made a sleeping bag cover out of pertex. Added a bug net later. They also do a waterproof pertex which is still very light and breathable. I am tempted to make one out of this. But to be honest the non waterproof one suits my needs at the moment.

http://www.profabrics.co.uk/shop/show_p ... d=PXRC-125

[Hoojum]

Thanks for the link Mike, pertex could be an option but I'd like to get it in olive green or black. Profabrics looks good and I'll check out PointNorth.

Any more options poeple?

[Bearbonesnorm]

How about Tyvec HouseWrap?

Breathable, waterproof and the thinner version is pretty light ... I recall 70g / M.