Bob Lane Collapsible Cup - MYOG Clone

Bob Lane Collapsible Cup - MYOG Clone

August 28, 2012:

Matt Porter started a thread on the Backpackinglight  web site about the "Bob Lane Collapsible Cup he has:

Bob Lane Cup Thread

Several other members added comments about the cup.  A couple other members had seen one of these cups or knew someone that had owned one.  I even found that one of these had just sold on ebay for $50.00.

I though the idea was clever and decided to see if I could make one for myself.  The cup had a Patent on it at one time and I was able to find the Patent drawings.

Matt has been very helpful in providing additional information about the cup.

I printed out the Patent Drawing in a couple different sizes and made a few card stock mockups.  The photos show three different sizes.  The largest one is just under 5" wide.  I am still tweaking the pattern.

I am holding the cups together with #8-32 Nylon screws and nuts.  For my own cup I might just use try one with the Nylon screws and nuts.   I can cut the extra off the end of the screws and then heat the tip to melt a cap of sorts on that end.  Then I can use it and see how long that idea will last.

The "for real" cup could be made from one of several different material I have on hand.  I have the .016" titanium, 1/32" aluminum or a thin plastic I have.  The aluminum should be the easiest to work with and I will start with it.

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August 30, 2012:

I have now made a Lane Cup out of two different materials.  I made the first one out of some 1/32" aluminum.  As it turned out it would not open. The aluminum was to thick and the cup would not open.  

I then got out a piece of a thin plastic material (.020") called "Styrene" and made a second Bob Lane Cup - Clone.  This one does open and only weighs 13 grams /  0.46 ounces.  The down side is that it leaks, drip, drip, drip, drip.  It might be possible to tweak the pattern so the plastic might work better.

I plan to make at least two more test cups, one out of 0.010 aluminum and one out of 0.010 Stainless Steel. 

The question for me now becomes "If I add a cup like this to my gear list", how do I plan to use it?  If I want to drink out of it, my first version plastic cup leaks to much.  If I only want to use it as a scope to get water from a creek or spring to put in a water filter, water bottle or other water container, then the fact that it leaks may not be that important.  

At 0.46 ounce the plastic cup might be light enough to add to my gear list but it has to have a real job.  Adding a cup like this to my gear list would only work for me if I don't have anything else to scope water with.

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September 1, 2012:

I have been playing with the "Styrene" Cup Clone #1 and have refined the edge to reduce the leaking problem.  Most of the time now when I open it, it doesn't leak till I handle it a lot.  

I think a cup like this could be used to scope water out of a shallow stream or water hole and maybe even to drink out of, but I am not sure yet if that alone is good enough to add a half ounce to my "Super Ultra Light" gear list.  Since I drink from a bottle I haven't figure out yet what else I might be able to do with a cup like this if I am carrying it.  

and

A half ounce is a half ounce is a half ounce.            

Apr 2012 - Comfort Review of my Hammocks

In my advancing old age and with the steady decline in my fitness level I have a dilemma when it comes to any type of long distance hiking. My solution several years ago was to start making my own hiking gear, super-ultra-light hiking gear. What I was losing in my fitness level I thought I could make up with very light gear. This worked for a couple of years until I had several medical problems at the same time. During one of these I went from about 170 to 135 pounds. I was able to gain my weight back but was never able to get back to the same level of fitness as before.

I made more really light gear and tried to move forward.

I like to sleep in a hammock and had made a Cuben Hammock that was really light.

Cuben Hammock Thread

I also had a similar light Silk Hammock.

Silk Hammock Pictures

These were fine for a while. Then they started to cause shoulder pain. I dug out my old Army Jungle Hammock yesterday and hung it up in my backyard. A year or so ago I put my old Army Hammock on a Diet to see how much I could lighten it.

Jungle Hammock Thread

Well its spring time and my medical checkup all have occurred within the same 30 days. This only happens every couple of years. Unlike last year and earlier this year when I required surgery after each of last three Bladder exam, yesterday I passed my Bladder exam. I have one more exam the middle of next month, then I will have about 70 days before the next series of exams start.

When I got home from my exam I hung my silk "Speer" Hammock. Silk makes a marvelous spring and summer Hammock if you don't weight to much. My hanging weight is 155 pounds. Then I hung my modified Jungle Hammock and laid in it awhile. My old body really likes the way the Jungle Hammocks lets me lay more or less flat.

To reduce the weight a couple more ounces I replaced the Bamboo Spreader sticks with two pieces of 3/8" - 6061 T6 Aluminum Tubing and with wood plugs. The weight savings from the Bamboo Sticks in 3.53 ounces. While the 3.53 ounces doesn't sound like much it is a savings of 14.5%. This brings the modified weight of the Jungle Hammock down to 20.7 ounces.

If you look close in picture #1, you can see a piece of Velcro sewn along each long side of the hammock. This was for the old bug net that was made as part of the hammock top. No top so the Velcro lost its job and has been removed. Another small weight savings, this time only 0.81 of an ounce. The Hammock weight is now just below 20 ounces at 19.86 ounces without the spreader bars.

New Pictures:

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This afternoon I got my Cuben Hammock out and hung it in my backyard. As I have gotten older being squeezed in by the sides of this style of Hammock became very uncomfortable and I stopped using both the Cuben Hammock and my Silk Hammock.

I had folded up one of my GG Sleeping Pads and stuffed it into the back pocket of my new GG Murmur pack. I removed it and put it at the head end of my Cuben Hammock and got in. WOW, what a nice difference that made. The pad held the sides of the Hammock apart making it very comfortable to lay in. So much so the Cuben Hammock is now out of retirement.

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The weight of the Cuben Hammock with tree cords is 5.54 ounces. The GG Sleeping Pad weighs 4.37 ounces. The Pad is one of the GG 1/4 inch Pads that I rounded off the corners to work in my light weight Cuben / Pertex Quantum Bivy. I would be carrying the Pad anyway in the event I had to sleep in a Shelter or on the Ground. If I use the Cuben Hammock with the Sleeping Pad I save almost 14 ounces over using the Jungle Hammock.

Over the next few weeks I will try napping in the Cuben Hammock a few hours a day when I can, using the Sleeping Pad at my head, and see how that works.

If I can go with my Cuben Hammock I can start working on the other gear I need and see if I can fit it all into my new Murmur Pack.

Gossamer Gear "Murmur - 2012"

I bought a new pack, a Gossamer Gear Murmur 2012. I own 2 GG G6 packs and really like them. I even modified one of the G's. The new Murmur reminds me a lot of my modified G6 but bigger.

Gossamer Gear "Murmur - 2012"

GG Murmur 2012, review and short video

I ordered my GG Murmur on 02/16/2012 and received it on 02/18/2012.

Gossamer Gear Murmur 2012 - web site

The first thing I did after taking the Murmur Pack out of its box was to weigh it. The pack weight as shipped is 8.6 ounces.

Still Saturday 02/18/2012 - I then packed a sleeping and 2 bottles of water in it (pack weight now is 4165.3 grams or 9.18 pounds) and went for a 2 mile walk . I had to make a slight change in my clothing as it was getting warmer and then went back out for another 2 miles.

Sunday 02/19/2012 - same weight but did 6 miles.

Monday 02/20/2012 - Added some weight to bring the pack up to 4736 grams or 10.4 pounds. I expect to walk another 6 miles today. I want to get the pack weight up to 15 pounds as so as I can and see how it carries at that weight.

The GG web site lists a recommended max carry weight of 15 pounds. My goal is to design a gear list for a 3 to 5 day hike in mild weather on a trail such as the Appalachian Trail that stays at or under the 15 pound pack weight.

I will start by calculating the daily weight of my consumables and start on a gear list to see how I can keep my "Pack" weight from going over GG's recommended limit. The easy answer might be to do a few more miles per day to reduce my time between resupply points and the weight of my food.

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Training - Sort of - for a Hike - Feb 2011

I am walking 2 miles in 40 to 45 minutes. I walk every day no matter what the weather happens to be like. I will update my mileage every day or so.

February - 2011

1. 4 miles

2. 4 miles

3. 4 miles

4. 4 miles

5. 4 miles

6. 6 miles

7. 6 miles

8. 6 miles

9. 8 miles

10. 10 miles

11. 6 miles

12. 8 miles

13. 10 miles

14. 8 miles

15. 10 miles

16. 8 miles

17. 8 miles

18. 10 miles

19 4 miles

20. 10 miles

21. 8 miles

22. 10 miles

23. 8 miles

24. 10 miles

25. 8 miles

26. 4 miles

27. 10 miles

28. 8 miles

Total for February 2011 - Mileage Total - 204 miles

Training - Sort of - for a Hike - Jan 2011

I started walking more in December 2010 to break-in my new prescription orthotices. I have a 2 mile route around my neighborhood streets that goes up and down a couple of moderate hills.

During January 2011, I walked 4 miles each day or a total of 124 miles. I started out in February with 5 days of 4 miles each and then went to 6 miles a day. I did 6 miles a day for the next 5 days. I was feeling good so went to 8 miles for the next 2 days. I have gotten where I want to walk 8 miles one day and 10 miles the next day.

I am walking 2 miles in 40 to 45 minutes. I walk every day no matter what the weather happens to be like. I will update my mileage every day or so.

January - 2011 - Mileage Total - 124 miles

Un-Supplied / Un-Supported Hike - 600+ miles along the AT

I have been looking over some of my old "Posts" and it seems that I haven't added anything for almost a year.

The Topic in the Title box - Un-supplied / Un-Supported Hike - 600+ miles along the AT - is something I think about a lot.

For several years my recurring cancer has not allowed me to get into a real fitness program. I don't know if I am out growing the cancer or if it has decided to take a vacation. Early in 2010 I was feeling better then I had for a long time and I asked my doctors if I could get back into a fitness program. They thought that would be a good idea. In April I rejoined a club I had belonged to several years ago

I had 36 training sessions or twice a week for four months. The first week of August I was working out on a "Dome" thing and my left foot slipped off the edge. I hurt my left foot and had to stop my program. I went to a foot doctor. No broken bones but I hurt something around the first join back of my big toe. I had what the doctor called a fallen arch and tendentious. He had a set of prescription orthotics made for me. He actually had one Hard set and 3 Soft sets made. The Soft sets worked OK in the shoes I was using but my shoes were to small for the Hard Set. I had an old but new pair of Golite Shoes that have a wide toe box. I was able to wear the Hard set in Golite Shoes after a break in period. The break in period was slow but I can now wear them all day. The orthotics made a big difference but their was still some pain in my toe joint. The pain has been very slow to go away. It is much better now but not completely gone.

Last night I bought a new pair of The North Face - Hedgehog trail shoes. I had to get them a half size larger then I normally wear. They seem to be working OK with the Hard orthotics. I have worn the Hedgehog style trail shoe for several years or one like if but without the Gore-Tex liner.

I am not really thinking about a Un-Supplied / Un-Supported Hike at this time. I am going to work on a possible gear list for a really light hike on the AT and will try for a Spring starting date. Between now and then I will be back in my fitness program and see how things progress.

Balloon Pump on a Diet

Balloon Pump on a Diet

About 4 years ago when I first starting playing with the idea of making my own Down Air Mattress or Balloon Bed I looked for a light weight way to inflate Poly Tubes or Balloons. I found this Balloon Pump made by Gayla Ind. Inc.

http://www.gaylainc.com/twistez1/twistez7.html

The Balloon Pump weighs 78.8 grams or 2.78 ounces. I took it apart and modified some and reduced the weigh down to 1.72 ounces. The photo's show how I did this.

I have used this modified Pump to inflate my Stephenson's DAM. With the Stephenson's DAM their is little or no resistance to the air flow so the small pump works well.

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