I can save money buy making my own gear. Here is how:

1. My wife has a machine already. In fact her mother gave it to her. My mother has always sewn things for me. That means I have 2-3 people who know how to sew who I can ask for help.

2. I am constantly looking at the dollar fabric bin at Walmart, and looking for sales at other fabric places. I have been lucky to find 1.1 oz silnylon, 1.1 oz uncoated nylon, and some heavier 4 oz ripstop something. This is a major reason why I can save by making my own gear. However, it is really hard to find the right material this way. It is kinda like panning for gold. But when I do find some fabric, I buy the bolt. That also means I buy fabric when I don't have a project in mind at the time.

3. I don't count my time as money lost. If I am sitting at home watching TV, or sewing, I get paid the same either way.

I think if I take one of those away, it wouldn't be worth it. For the price of full price silnylon, you can pretty much buy a sil-nylon tarp. The sewing machine we have isn't that great. That means I have to do a lot of babying to get it to sew decent. In other words, it takes longer, so if I counted my time, I wouldn't save any money.

There are other factors that don't involve money. I have a goal to have 100% homemade gear. This is just personal satisfaction. I am getting closer though.

Before you buy a machine, ask around to borrow one. You would be surprised who has a machine they would be willing to lend out. That would at least help in deciding if you want to buy one later or not.