I've not been keeping up with the forum very well lately, so I'm really late in replying to your initial post. I have to say though that everyone else has voiced my opinion pretty well. I'm a serious do-it-yourselfer, but there are a great many things where doing it myself won't save me money. Customized gear and clothing, though makes learning to sew emminently worthwhile! I love making things that are exactly the right shape or size. I'm also rather petite through the torso (I believe my sister refers to me as a freak of nature), so trimming 5 or 6 inches off of those dirt cheap, no-name-brand shirts allows me me to wear normal looking tops instead of mini-dresses into the woods.

As many others have mentioned, the pure feeling of pride you have over a perfectly functioning, correctly sized, homemade piece of gear (no matter how unlovely it might look!) is wonderful. Plus GEAR-REPAIR makes learning to sew very practical.
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Why am I online instead of hiking?