I seem to have developed a minor obsession with straps recently. Obviously it’s partly the fault of Norm and his recommendations, but I do need to check if this is normal - does anyone else spend their evenings scouting the internet for the perfect strap? I wouldn’t mind, but these aren’t even sexy straps, just for luggage.

Quite normal

https://www.ghyllside.co.uk/voile-strap ... uckle.html#.

Yummy...

Nope. Definately not normal.
But spending evenings reading about people with a strap obsession. Totally normal.

You can now buy Voile straps int' shop - https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/shop ... ile-straps

I'm told that everyone buys orange because that's what proper American bikepackers use, so if we can start a UK trend, that'd be great ta.

Ooh and here's some nice artwork Dee did me, perfect for the strap-obsessed.

Bearbonesnorm wrote:You can now buy Voile straps int' shop - https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/shop ... ile-straps

I'm told that everyone buys orange because that's what proper American bikepackers use, so if we can start a UK trend, that'd be great ta.

Ooh and here's some nice artwork Dee did me, perfect for the strap-obsessed.

Green then?

Very normal. I mean, I'm completely normal and I think about them frequently. In various contexts. Dee's nice artwork implies that Stu's context is a camping weekend in Nottinghamshire. One of my contexts caused me to replace the standard straps on my AK drybags with S2S hook straps at only 15g each. Even they're too heavy. Dunno why straps have to be so ludicrously over-engineered. I expect Stu will have the reason close at hand for me. You could hang one of MaM's bread lorries off the original AK straps (*). I worry that my 1.5mm dyneema tarp lines will snap in the wind but you could probably dangle the aforementioned vehicle from one of those too.

(*) Don't try this at home kids.

PS. Combining the ideas of straps and dyneema, at one point I actually considered making hyperlight straps from the said 1.5mm cord with tiny copper hooks and eyes from our local hardware shop but then thought that arriving at my bivi spot with a sawn-in-thirds sleeping bag would be sub-optimal and detrimental to my beauty sleep.

Bearbonesnorm wrote:You can now buy Voile straps int' shop - https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/shop ... ile-straps

I'm told that everyone buys orange because that's what proper American bikepackers use, so if we can start a UK trend, that'd be great ta.

Ooh and here's some nice artwork Dee did me, perfect for the strap-obsessed.

There all over "insta"

That hardware shop is ace by the way. It's like some wierd fusion of the Tardis, Mr Benn's shop, my grandad's shed (wierd in itself, over 60 years he kept adding extra bits on the entrance end, each of a different size, which had to be walked through to get to the original inner-sanctum shed at the far end). ANYWAY..where were we, oh yes, so you can get literally anything in this shop. The vast emporiums of B&Q, Homebase, Wickes (or Wiiiiiiiiiickes as that idiot on the ad pronounces it) can't remotely compete. You know me well enough to know that the homily here is 'support your little specialist shops cos they usually have MORE choice and advice than the nasty big ones' .

Thank feck it’s normal. Obviously that’s all I want to be

And I got some orange voile straps the other day. I have a small orange (satsuma?) obsession too.

macinblack wrote:

Bearbonesnorm wrote:You can now buy Voile straps int' shop - https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/shop ... ile-straps

I'm told that everyone buys orange because that's what proper American bikepackers use, so if we can start a UK trend, that'd be great ta.

Ooh and here's some nice artwork Dee did me, perfect for the strap-obsessed.

Green then?

Yes please... can we do green. I've ordered mine already from the BB shop

Bearbonesnorm wrote:You can now buy Voile straps int' shop - https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/shop ... ile-straps

I'm told that everyone buys orange because that's what proper American bikepackers use, so if we can start a UK trend, that'd be great ta.

Might I suggest quoting the length in cm or mm too? You have that weird mix of imperial length and metric weight going on

mountainposture wrote:I seem to have developed a minor obsession with straps recently. Obviously it’s partly the fault of Norm and his recommendations, but I do need to check if this is normal - does anyone else spend their evenings scouting the internet for the perfect strap? I wouldn’t mind, but these aren’t even sexy straps, just for luggage.

Perfectly normal btw... Voile straps are the way forward though... look like a copy (or is other way round) of the Revelate straps...

Oh, and is it possible to start a thread with strap-ons and end up with parrots? Of course it is. The hardware shop has a resident cockatiel thing which has the run of the place, can't remember its name, Genghis Khan probably, and it's insanely vicious. Had a piece out of a customer's ear the other day. Anyway popped in yesterday for some grass seed and it wasn't there. Phil behind the counter said she'd gone to hospital. I immediately responded 'in for anger-management psychotherapy eh?'. Apparently she was lying on the bottom of the cage that morning (yes, I know, please don't ) not moving. Upshot was she had severe blood-calcium deficiency and they were trying to fix that (dripfed parrot?). Further parroty discomfort was caused by trying to lay an enormous egg and failing and it was stuck. The connection being she'd used all her calcium up making the egg and then keeled over (cockatieled over in fact)! You learn something new every time you visit that place.

Eh? Wh-what? Oh. Yes. Sorry nurse I'll come quietly. Had a bit of a funny turn there. Sorry.

Reg, if ever you find yourself in Montgomery (perhaps visiting the castle), I suggest you call in at the hardware shop there. Place is like a maze and every corner is full of stuff you never knew existed or that you need as much as you do once you know it exists.

Might I suggest quoting the length in cm or mm too? You have that weird mix of imperial length and metric weight going on

They're American, so listed in inches. If I quote the weight in ounces most folk won't have a clue - it's like the good old days of fork travel and disc sizes

Bearbonesnorm wrote:You can now buy Voile straps int' shop - https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/shop ... ile-straps

I'm told that everyone buys orange because that's what proper American bikepackers use, so if we can start a UK trend, that'd be great ta.

Ooh and here's some nice artwork Dee did me, perfect for the strap-obsessed.

Already got one on my tool box but in the old type snap on logo needless to say the snap on man was not impressed and refused to take my box as a trade in till I removed said stickers , obviously I still have my battered old tool box ,amazing the amount of money people will turn down over something I find quite funny

Ta Stu, will add that one to the list!

They are great straps and never a problem.

I've been using them on the pack raft since I got it




and even on the Winter Event as well

mountainposture wrote:I seem to have developed a minor obsession with straps recently. Obviously it’s partly the fault of Norm and his recommendations, but I do need to check if this is normal - does anyone else spend their evenings scouting the internet for the perfect strap? I wouldn’t mind, but these aren’t even sexy straps, just for luggage.

I worry for my own insanity...i work in the cycle industry, I remove bikes from boxes, sometimes they have velcro straps...sometimes I take them all...as they'd end up in the bin. I think I have more straps than a use for them right now....

Goat, you worry about your insanity and you come here for amusement!? Must be aversion therapy .

(much more important to worry about going sane I reckon. It creeps up on you unawares then suddenly.. bang.. you're normal and no going back. Awful prospect).

Thought I'd posted out this, but don't know where it went...

Was looking at these earlier this week, timely thread

What's the best length?
And what the difference between a voile strap and a titan strap?

Bearbonesnorm wrote:Reg, if ever you find yourself in Montgomery (perhaps visiting the castle), I suggest you call in at the hardware shop there. Place is like a maze and every corner is full of stuff you never knew existed or that you need as much as you do once you know it exists.

I grew up in a place like that And to make Reg happy we even had a Minah bird in the shop at one time.
As a lad one of my first tasks of the day was walking round carrying a tin bowl with a wooden handle and flicking water onto the floorboards before sweeping.

Leather straps in those days. Oh, and elastic snake belts.

benp1 wrote:Thought I'd posted out this, but don't know where it went...

Was looking at these earlier this week, timely thread

What's the best length?
And what the difference between a voile strap and a titan strap?

Titsn 18 inch recreational (as opposed to industrial strength which is 43g for 20 invh) is 28g as opposed to voile 20 inch which is (claimed) 14g

Titan doesn't come in 'uk bikepacking green' and also appears to need importing

Voile was chosen by BearBones shop whilst Titan wasn't...

Are shorter ones available? 508mm* seems quite long unless you are attaching something bulky

*inches are from the dark ages...though I still think in miles not km

Are shorter ones available?

They do a 381mm* version but the reason I chose the 508mm is that they're really not that long when in use and the long ones can be made very small, yet the small ones can't be made any longer ... two birds one stone kinda deal.

*is that better for you?