AGPLDHG&IR

2003 Award Winners

From Pacific Crest Trail Communicator (used by permission)

Hikers Show Creativity at the Kick Off Party and Gear Contest

By Angela Ballard

Baby diapers made from pack towels, a bandanna that keeps you cool in the desert sun, yellow gaiters, fishing poles for trekking poles and vice versus, new uses for duct tape, a hammock, and a Kevlar bear canister.

These are just a few of the entries reviewed this past April at the Lake Morena Campground (in Lake Morena, Calif.) during the Annual Great Pacific Long Distance Hiking Gadget and Invention Revue, also known as the AGPLDHG&IR (or simply “the gear contest” since no one can remember the aforementioned acronym).

Over the past four years the homemade gear contest has become a popular feature of the Annual Day Zero PCT Kick Off party (ADZPCTKO), an event which gathers trail veterans, aspiring thru-hikers, trail angels, maintenance crews, and other PCT enthusiasts for a weekend of socializing, reminiscing, advice-giving, water reports, campfires, hamburgers, and much more.

“We found at the first Kick Off that a lot of people were making their own gear, specifically as a refinement of the strategy of hiking long distance trails,” remembers Greg Hummel, one of the Kick Off’s founders. “The old guard of hikers was so impressed with this that we thought it would be fun to showcase that. So, beginning with the second Kick Off, we put together a homemade gear contest. It’s just grown from there.” The contest, along with the ultralight movement, says Greg, has spurred a lot of inventiveness and creativity in people and tapped into long distance hikers’ innate independence.

“I think long distance hikers are so independent by nature,” says Greg, “that they are looking for ways to outfit themselves outside the normal commercial gear. It’s fun to have an avenue to show that off.” What’s particularly interesting, adds Greg, is that the gear contest attracts a wide range of entrants – from engineers who spend huge amounts of time and effort on their inventions to the almost absurdly low-tech, yet highly functional.

The 2003 gear contest’s judges were Jason Cramer, Jeff Zimmerman, Brian Robinson, and Glen Van Peski. In keeping with Kick Off tradition (the first rule of the Kick Off is that there are no rules) judging was completely subjective and based solely on the judges’ opinions and whims.

2003 Annual Great Pacific Long Distance Hiking Gadget & Invention Revue Winners!

Looking for ways to supplement your commercial gear with a homemade item or two? You’ll find useful ideas among this year’s gear contest winners:

• Best Presentation: Greg “Strider” Hummel for his trekking pole fishing pole. Trekking poles have been used to hold up tents and tarps but Strider has taken trekking poles to new lengths by equipping them with fishing reels.
•  Best Homemade Design: Mike Marti for his Kevlar bear canister. If it can stop bullets, maybe it can stop bears. Mike used Kevlar sheeting to mold a bear can strong enough to stand on. With a special lid system, the canister can be adjusted to two sizes – for short or long trips. There’s been no “official” testing yet, but perhaps this summer a hungry bruin will volunteer.
• Best Use of a Recycled Item: Bob Riess for his fuel storage and measuring container. Never quite sure how much alcohol to put in your soda can stove? Bob recycled a Two Cycle oil container and uses it to both store and measure his stove fuel. By squeezing the bottle, you can push just the right amount of fuel into the “measuring cup” side of the container so you always use the right amount.
• Best Low Cost Item: Mara “Stitches” Factor for her tape and Styrofoam camera case. Using items from her garage, Stitches made a durable camera case that fits her pack and camera perfectly. All you need to make your own is a sheet of Styrofoam and some duct tape. Use the Styrofoam as the inner layer (wrap it around your camera to get the correct size) and then layer on duct tape. Be sure to add a flap to hold the camera in.
• Best Weight Reduction: Read “Reader” Miller for his ultralight trekking poles. Strider uses trekking poles to fish. Reader uses fishing poles to trek. Don’t try this with spindly trout poles. Follow Reader’s example and go with thicker deep-sea poles.
• Most Uses for One Item: Michael “Nameless Mike” Beneditti for his mosquito veil. Mosquito netting in the shape of a hood serves Nameless Mike in many ways. Used over his head it repels bugs. He can also use it as a stuff sack, strainer, puppet, or glove.
• Best Family Hiking Item:  Emma “Eyeball” for her diaper-changing system. Emma’s been experimenting with backpacking diapers for her baby and has come up with a system that works. She uses soft, moisture wicking fleece as the under layer to protect the baby’s skin and keep him dry. A quick-drying pack towel serves as the middle layer, absorbing fluids. The outer shell is silicon-ized nylon. All of these materials dry out fast and can be washed (away from water sources) in a waterproof sack.
• Best Adaptation: Steve “Garlic Man” Walters for his lace-saving wire. Tired of the clip on your gaiters wearing through your shoelaces? Garlic Man threaded wire through his shoes’ bottom eyelets so he can clip his gaiters to the wire instead. The result? Shoelace fraying is at all-time low.
• Best Hands-Free Accessory: Beau “Puck” Baker for his umbrella attachment system. An umbrella can help protect you from sun and rain but holding it all day can grow tiresome. Using a toilet paper role, Puck fashioned a holder for the handle of his umbrella that fits (with duct tape) to the strap of his pack. Now he’s hands-free and happy.
• Best Food System: Judith “Two Legs” Gustafson for her pot cozy. Using insulation and aluminum foil, Two Legs developed a handy pouch that keeps her dinner warm even as she hikes downs the trail. This allows her to cook early and eat late.
• Best Modification of an Existing Item: Marilee “Rev” Clark for her cooling bandanna. Rev sewed a pouch into her bandanna, which she filled with silicon beads. These beads absorb cold water and hold it for hours, allowing Rev to keep her forehead or neck cool as she hikes. She can re-cool the bandanna by letting it soak in streams.
• Best Use of Color: Christopher “Freefall” Sanderson for his yellow gaiters. Look for gaiters at any standard outdoor retailer and you’ll find them in black, gray and perhaps khaki. But what if you need a little more color in your life? Freefall sewed his own gaiters out of yellow material. You can’t miss him on the trail.
• Best Hitchhiking Tool: Dawn “Belcher” Stringer for her dress. Need a ride to the post office? Show a little leg. All kidding aside, it doesn’t hurt to look neat when thumbing for hitchhike. Belcher likes to hike in a dress for other reasons too – increased airflow keeps her cool and when Mother Nature calls, a dress allows her to answer quickly.
• Best Commercial Entry: Ron “Fallingwater” Moak for his lightweight pack. A mesh “fisherman’s” vest in the front of Fallingwater’s pack helps carry the weight so that your shoulders and hips don’t have to. The vest also has pockets, for easy access to key items. You create the pack’s internal frame by folding your sleeping pad and inserting it into a special pocket.
• Most Innovative Pack: Bruce “DuneDancer” Warren for his external frame and canisters. Shaping a durable material into tubes, or canisters, DuneDancer created a versatile pack. The canisters come in different sizes and can be mixed and matched to suit the needs of any trip. They then fit neatly onto an external frame. DuneDancer’s pack also features a pouch that rests on your chest for easy-access to frequently used items.
• Best New Shelter Design: Terry for his tent one-person shelter. At approximately two pounds, Terry’s single-wall, rip stop nylon tent provides lightweight, yet roomy comfort. To save weight, he uses his trekking poles as tent poles.
• Best Lightweight Shelter: Tom Hennessy for his hammock. Rocky, wet ground? No problem if you’re sleeping in a hammock. Tom’s hammock includes a rain fly and mosquito netting for comfort in variable conditions. Special supports allow you to sleep stretched out on your back, or on your side.