This page acts as an index to all (being optimistic) my MYOG projects. As someone who is a bit of a perfectionist in terms of finding gear that does exactly what I need, and turned over quite a lot of gear in that quest, I have come to the conclusion that to really achieve my requirements I need to be prepared to make it myself, or at least to be able to modify something bought.
So I thought I would look into the practicalities of making gear, and the more I found out about it, the less scary the idea became. So I decided to take the plunge.
MYOG “Versa Mid”
This project was about blending all the aspects I like from a number of shelters I admire, with none of the bits I dislike. It is a bit of a hybrid of the following, taking ideas from each:
- Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo
- Tramplite Backpacker Solo
- Tipik-tentes Pioulou
- MLD Cricket
- 3F UL Gear Lanshan 1
- Wild Gear Designs Penta Tarp
I was looking for a shelter that was firstly double skin – the main flaw with the Lunar Solo – but offering a decent amount of space, and some versatility. I borrowed the idea of the zipperless doors from the Pioulou, and these thereby also provided much of the versatility – by adopting a wrap-over door arrangement, that made it easier to extend and “fly” the doors, or even to stake them out with varying degrees of vestibule.
The result was a pretty rough and ready shelter, that bore all the hallmarks of a first project. It wasn’t going to win any beauty contests or other prizes. But it works well as a light 2-3 season shelter I can use with an inner, a bivvy etc.
| Part | Covers | |
| 1 | Initial Thoughts about the type of shelter I was looking for | |
| 2 | Initial design and specs | |
| 3 | Prototype and design changes | |
| 4 | Learning to cut and sew | |
| 5 | Ordering the supplies | |
| 6 | More sewing and refining | |
| 7 | Supplies arrived | |
| 8 | Making a larger prototype | |
| 9 | Making a larger prototype (continued) | |
| 10 | The Build ! | |
| 11 | The Result ! | |
| 12 | Field testing and conclusions |
MYOG Bivvy Tent
This project (still in progress) will hopefully solve my years-long quest for a suitable lowland stealth shelter that’s low profile but also light and reasonably spacious. You don’t seem to get all of these.
This will be a side-opening shelter that’s higher at the head end than the foot end. It will be capable of being opened along its length or like a tunnel.
