I think there's a certain satisfaction to be had from making stuff. Perhaps whatever it is has cost you less than it would to buy one or maybe what you've made isn't available to buy ... either way it can be a nice feeling.
I've been meaning to sort myself out with a new stove wind shield for a while but didn't get round to it. My present one is alright but I knew it could be better and certainly lighter. I've used tin foil in the past too but it's not exactly the most robust of materials, so on multi day trips it's never really proved that successful. What I needed was something light that was flexible yet strong, cheap to buy and easily sourced ... not that I was asking for much.As luck would have it a shopping expedition turned up just the thing. While begrudgingly pushing a trolley around Morrison's I came across a pack of heavy duty foil serving platters ... 3 in a pack for £1.80. Any bikepacking Ninjas will be glad to hear they're also available in stealthy black but cost twice as much.
The separate pieces are joined by simply folding the doubled up material 3 times then 'rolling' the joints with a piece of wood (rolling pin, broom handle, etc). They're plenty strong enough and still retain enough flexibility. All the edges have been folded twice and rolled ... just to add a little more strength and remove any nasty edges. A slot near each end allows the thing to be joined to form your (almost) circular wind shield.
It rolls up to fit inside my 900ml mug, weighs next to nothing, should last a while and even has what I can best describe as etchings on the surface, so looks a little bit posh. There was enough material left over from 2 platters to knock up a new lid for my mug too, something which saved me over 100g in unnecessary weight ... now I'm proper geeky!
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