USER TIPS

• General
• Mariposa™ Ultralight Pack
• G4™ Ultralight Pack
• G5™ Hyperlight Pack
• SpinnShelter™
• Lightrek™ Poles
• NightLight™ Pads
• Hip Belt Pockets

Are you not quite ready to use Dr. Bronner's soap for toothpaste? Do you have a favorite brand or need a special one for sensitive teeth? Consider making toothpaste 'dots' by drying little dabs on your dehydrator while you're dehydrating some food for your next trip. If you don't want to run the dehydrator, just put some dots on plastic wrap on a paper plate on your dashboard. To use, just moisten. --submitted by Rosaleen Sullivan

I would suggest you mention in your advertising and instructional information the alternate uses for the hook and loop pockets on the shoulder straps and hip belt. I leave some amount of cash, a spare car key, book of 'gopher' matches and a Micron LED light in mine. These items are left in the pack permanently for use in an emergency. I use the provided foam inserts for padding and there is still ample room for the items and they can be placed out of the way so as not to interfere with carrying properties. Small items in these insert pockets are discretely out of the way, unobserved and readily available. --submitted by Dr. John Harlacker

I added two small holders (out of ripstop nylon) to the shoulder straps, one for a small digital camera and the other for my GPS. The holders held the bottom half of the unit and then I had small elastic that prevented the units from bouncing out. I had one piece of elastic going around the GPS horizontally and then came over the top with another piece of elastic and sewed it to the middle of the horizontal elastic. This way I could bend over to pick up my hiking sticks etc., and not worry about the camera or GPS falling out. I only sewed the top of the pocket to shoulder strap. The rest of the pocket was free – worked fine. Photo 1, Photo 2--submitted by David Dailor

Arrow shafts are available at archery stores or sporting goods stores or online. Probably best for anyone wanting to make a "frame" out of them to just go to the nearest sports store and buy a few of the cheapest available. They come in different lengths, diameters and thickness. You could weigh them but the difference wouldn't be that great. Aluminum shafts are about three times heavier than carbon fiber (the ones I use in the Mariposa prototype weigh 2.1 ounces vs. .7 for the carbon fiber). I just took a shaft and bent it over my knee until it was the shape I wanted, then cut off the excess. The arrow shafts are fragile and it is necessary to bend them slowly and carefully. I broke the first one I tried. I know that putting sand in tubing makes it easier to bend (and less likely to break) but I didn't do that, just went slow. I imagine cutting a form out of wood and bending to that shape would be easier. [After bending them into the appropriate "S" type curve, you need to do something to keep them from rotating once inserted in the pack. Using a hacksaw or other method, cut a small notch in each top, such that it is on the inside of the stay when it is in the correct position in the stay sleeve. Then take a piece of coat hanger, and bend each end at 90 degrees, so you have a 1" bent piece on each end, and the distance in between is the distance between the two stays. When the stays are in place, insert the wire holder to keep them from rotating. Get some plastic caps at the hardware store, so the sharp edges at the ends of the stays don't wear on the pack fabric.] --submitted by Robert Burroughs

If you prefer to have water bottles attached to your shoulder straps for easy access, you can easily construct a pair of water bottle holders with some shock cord and cord locks. Use the shock cord and cord locks to construct two loops above and below the sternum strap, going through the webbing that the sternum strap slides up and down on. You'll find the Propel brand of water bottles have nice ridges that make this work well. Photo --submitted by Dave Schultz

Some people may find that the waist belt on the Mariposa™, or one of the other model packs for that matter, is too large for them, and cannot be tightened sufficently (oh, that we ALL would have this problem!). You may of course return the pack unused for a refund. But if you like it and want to shorten the waist belt, take a "Z" out of the strap where it meets the pack by sewing as shown on the following diagram.

Not ready to give up your luxury sleeping pad and camp chair kit? Gail from Maui shows how she maintains dual use in this series of photos.

(See above under the Mariposa)

Spectra lines can be a pain if you take them on and off your shelter, or move them around to adapt to particular conditions. To keep the lines tangle free, take a small piece of blue foam out of one of those spare sleeping mats, or similar source of material, cut some slits in the edges, then wrap the loose lines around the foam in the individual slits. --submitted by Dave Schultz

If you live in wetter climes than southern California, you may like the option of having a bathtub floor for your Spinnshelter. This tip comes from the UK, where obviously they know a thing or two about camping in rain. This simple project, made by this customer in heavier silnylon, could be done in lighter silnylon, or even the Gossamer Gear Spinnsheets. Check out the overall photo., detail photo, and instructions. --submitted by David Beechey

1. Make a mark at the very middle of the pole from tip to top of handle then move your mark 2" toward the tip. 2. Wrap some masking tape around this area to prevent fiber run when cutting. Transfer the mark and cut with fine tooth hacksaw or chopsaw. When using a hacksaw cut all the way around. 3.Next cut a 4" piece of 7/16"x .016 alluminum ( I found it at the first hardware store I went to). 4. Clean-up the burr on the inside of the alluminum and slightly sand the outside of the shorter pole with 220 grit. Put some masking tape 2" down from the top of the shorter pole (the one with the tip). 5. Apply a small amount of PL glue (polyurethane) to the pole down to the masking tape. Slowly twist the alluminum onto the pole until it hits the tape and wipe off excess. Come back later and wipe off more excess because the PL glue expands while it dries also check the inside for too much excess glue. 6. After all is dry in 24 hours put the two poles together and tape the joint and drill a hole on the unglued pole through the pole and alluminum approx. 3/4" inch from the top of the alluminum. Preferably with a drill press but not necessary, drill slow and straight. Use a piece of copper electrical wire or any wire to make a pin.Bend a eye in one end and bend the other side over after you insert it. Bring an extra pin or two. I wrapped a small amount of electrical tape very tightly, and do not overlap the tape, around the pole to take some of the slack up but it is not really necessary. --submitted by Mark Shramek

I don't like sticky duct tape residue stuck to my hiking sticks. So, to prevent my Keeper strings knots from sliding down my slippery hiking poles (or to mark where to attach tarp lines), I just rolled a 7/16" faucet O ring up the pole to the desired height to act as a stop. Available at any hardware store in the sink repair section. Cheap, light, infinitely adjustable, and works perfectly. --submitted by Lew Stookey

Looking for a little bit longer torso pad, but still want to carry it in the pad holder pockets? Check out these instructions. --submitted by ...

A simple way to increase the comfort of your NightLight™ torso pad, both in the pack and on the ground, which even lightens it up a bit! instructions --submitted by John Potter

Insertion of the NightLight™ pad into the back of your Mariposa Plus™ backpack can be made much easier if you first place the pad in a 6" gallon 'small-size' plastic waste can liner. The liner - 22" x 2' - is available in all grocery stores and only weighs 0.4oz. When in camp, the liner can be used in a multitude of ways. Some examples: The liner works great for gathering pine cones to be used as firestarters or use it for carrying rinsed-out clothes back to camp to be hung for drying. --submitted by Leon Nelson

This photo shows how a hiker is using his Hip Belt Pockets when not wearing his pack. He just slides his belt through the elastic loops. Check out the photo here. --submitted by Paul Cronshaw

Disclaimer: Wear at your own risk of teasing and humiliation from fellow hikers and/or sane people. Gossamer Gear nor (most of) its employees condones or recommends using the Hip Belt Pockets in this manner due to its resemblance to wearing a fanny pack, which if you haven't heard, is a fashion faux pas. Wearing the Hip Belt Pockets in any way without a backpack could subject the user to scorn, ridicule, and in severe cases, a proper beat down. You have been warned.