Book Review – Building Outdoor Gear By Gil Gilpatrick
www.foxchapelpublishing.com
Spending time in the outdoors is, in my opinion, the best way you can spend a day. However, for many outdoor activities at least some gear is required. You can always stop at a local store and buy your required gear, but there is more satisfaction in being able to build you own gear and tailor it to your needs.
In Building Outdoor Gear, Gil Gilpatrick presents all sorts of great projects that will meet your needs, whether you are fishing, hunting, camping or canoeing. Each project is laid out in a chapter that will guide you with ease through the steps necessary to create a useful peace of gear. Each chapter contains many photographs and diagrams for reference, which I found very useful when I was unable to visualize a step. At the beginning of each chapter you will find a list of materials and tools required to complete each project. Upon first glance, I was a little daunted by the length of some of the lists, until I took a closer look and realized that many of the items were things I already had, or stuff I could readily acquire. There is nothing missing from these lists, if you follow them you will find you have everything necessary to complete the project.
I know many people choose to skip the introduction part of a book. Do not do that with this book. Not only will you learn more about the author’s qualifications, but it will guide you to the layout of the book. While you may be tempted to skip over chapters to a project you can’t wait to begin, have some patience and read the first two chapters before starting anything. Chapter 1 focuses on using epoxy, a skill required by many of the projects, and chapter 2 teaches you the technique of caning, something that will be required for some of the projects.
I began by reading the first two chapters, and then found myself browsing through the other chapters, depending on my interest on a given day. Eventually I realized I had read the several times! As I read through the book I found my fingers were itching to get a start at some of this gear.
Some of the projects found in this book are:
- Trip Boxes,
- Bucksaw,
- Canoe Motor Mount,
- Reflector Oven,
- Canoe Chairs, and
- Canoe Paddles.
While I have not had enough free time to dedicate to one of these projects yet, there are two I am most eager to get to – the trip box and the reflector oven.
The trip box has so many uses, aside from keeping your food protected on a trip. It can be used to store items, as a tethering point for tarps, a table, almost anything you can think of, and I think it would be one of the biggest assets I could add to my camping trips. The idea of being able to bake some fresh biscuits or bread on the reflector oven makes me a whole lot happier about being away from my own oven for a length of time.
Scattered throughout the book are handy tips and recipes that the author has come across in over 40 years as a master Maine Guide. The Maine Guide Breakfast Buns (found on page 51) look like a great way to start another wonderful day in the outdoors.
Building Outdoor Gear is a beautiful book and great resource that you will be happy to have on your bookshelf or coffee table, whenever you don’t have it beside as you go through the steps of creating a unique and wonderful piece of gear for your outdoor adventures.
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Disclaimer – This review is my opinion and I received this book for free in exchange for giving said opinion. I have no association with Fox Chapel Publishing and was not reimbursed or paid for this review.
argosgirl
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