Ski gear cleanout
 

Today I sorted out my ski tool box. I kept everything that was in there, even the generic screwdrivers and such, but I took out the ball of twine, a hammer and a set of sheet-metal cutters(??).

Since we have moved to a smaller space and I can't keep everything forever any more, I have cut down on the amount of gear I am keeping. Gone are all the unused skis, boots, poles, small parkas, singleton gloves and torn hats. I am keeping the 1997 192 cm Rossignols and the $20 Salvation Army Atomics, my least-bent set of poles, the boots I bought at the consignment shop in Truckee (and which I refurbished a while back by sewing new velcro strips onto the top closer straps). I am also keeping an assortment of gloves and hats, 2 different face masks (saved my kids with those once), 2 sets of snowboard pants (where were those when I was a kid in cold-wet Vermont winters?) and my newest parka (from Lands End, of all places). The one-piece suits and ancient bib overalls are going to thrift store purgatory.

The last time I did this was after I went to California in the Navy in 1970.. I bought all new gear out here, but my parents still moved all my old stuff when they downsized themselves in 1987. When they sold that house in 2009, I recommended that they donate my best set to the New England Ski Museum - mid-sixties 208cm Toni Sailer fiberglass downhills with long-thong bindings. I don't know if the museum got them, but I am sure they don't have 2..

Ski gear cleanout
 

Hard to let so much good gear go.
We had an actual foundation put under our cabin a decade or so back -
before that it was sitting on two foot diameter logs cut on the property
to make room for the cabin. Anyway, clearing the under cabin, I came up
with over 50 pairs of mounted skies, every single pair irreplaceable,
and each guaranteed to be needed immediately I let them go. Kept 10
pairs of vital sliding surfaces, and my Raichle parts boots. It may be
time for another clean out.

On 8/28/16 4:44 PM, Richard Henry wrote:
the boots I bought at the consignment shop in Truckee (and which I refurbished a while back by sewing new velcro strips onto the top closer straps).
I need to update my velcro straps. Did you use a sewing machine? and how
did it stand up to the density and thickness of your straps?

Ski gear cleanout
 

On 08/28/2016 05:57 PM, lal_truckee wrote:
Hard to let so much good gear go. We had an actual foundation put
under our cabin a decade or so back - before that it was sitting on
two foot diameter logs cut on the property to make room for the
cabin. Anyway, clearing the under cabin, I came up with over 50 pairs
of mounted skies, every single pair irreplaceable, and each
guaranteed to be needed immediately I let them go. Kept 10 pairs of
vital sliding surfaces, and my Raichle parts boots. It may be time
for another clean out.

I got rid of the cruft maybe 5 years ago, but I kept my first skis
(Hexcel orange) and some extra poles. Since then I've accumulated
several pair of decent boots and some nice jackets (yard sales) that I'm
going to take to Play It Again when they bring their ski stuff out. I'm
keeping my new boots, my old boots, and the duplicate pair of old boots
(absolute virgins, also yard sale) just in case I stop being able to
bend my toes enough to get into my new boots.

On 8/28/16 4:44 PM, Richard Henry wrote:
the boots I bought at the consignment shop in Truckee (and which I
refurbished a while back by sewing new velcro strips onto the top
closer straps).

I need to update my velcro straps. Did you use a sewing machine? and
how did it stand up to the density and thickness of your straps?

I used a staple gun and hammered the legs flat.

--
Cheers, Bev
Of course SoCal has four seasons:
Earthquake, Mudslide, Brushfire, and Riot

Ski gear cleanout
 

On Sunday, August 28, 2016 at 5:57:23 PM UTC-7, lal_truckee wrote:
Hard to let so much good gear go.
We had an actual foundation put under our cabin a decade or so back -
before that it was sitting on two foot diameter logs cut on the property
to make room for the cabin. Anyway, clearing the under cabin, I came up
with over 50 pairs of mounted skies, every single pair irreplaceable,
and each guaranteed to be needed immediately I let them go. Kept 10
pairs of vital sliding surfaces, and my Raichle parts boots. It may be
time for another clean out.

On 8/28/16 4:44 PM, Richard Henry wrote:
the boots I bought at the consignment shop in Truckee (and which I refurbished a while back by sewing new velcro strips onto the top closer straps).
I need to update my velcro straps. Did you use a sewing machine? and how
did it stand up to the density and thickness of your straps?

I did it by hand with a really big needle. It took more than an hour for the first boot, and I had to wait a couple of days before tackling the second because my fingers hurt. I got the material (velcro strips, big needle, and nylon thread) at the local sewing stuff store.

One of the things I left in the tool box was a plastic bag with needle and thread to patch up those little tears that happen on clothing from time to time.

Ski gear cleanout
 

On Monday, August 29, 2016 at 8:52:08 AM UTC-7, The Real Bev wrote:
On 08/28/2016 05:57 PM, lal_truckee wrote:
Hard to let so much good gear go. We had an actual foundation put
under our cabin a decade or so back - before that it was sitting on
two foot diameter logs cut on the property to make room for the
cabin. Anyway, clearing the under cabin, I came up with over 50 pairs
of mounted skies, every single pair irreplaceable, and each
guaranteed to be needed immediately I let them go. Kept 10 pairs of
vital sliding surfaces, and my Raichle parts boots. It may be time
for another clean out.

I got rid of the cruft maybe 5 years ago, but I kept my first skis
(Hexcel orange) and some extra poles. Since then I've accumulated
several pair of decent boots and some nice jackets (yard sales) that I'm
going to take to Play It Again when they bring their ski stuff out. I'm
keeping my new boots, my old boots, and the duplicate pair of old boots
(absolute virgins, also yard sale) just in case I stop being able to
bend my toes enough to get into my new boots.

On 8/28/16 4:44 PM, Richard Henry wrote:
the boots I bought at the consignment shop in Truckee (and which I
refurbished a while back by sewing new velcro strips onto the top
closer straps).

I need to update my velcro straps. Did you use a sewing machine? and
how did it stand up to the density and thickness of your straps?

I used a staple gun and hammered the legs flat.

--
Cheers, Bev
Of course SoCal has four seasons:
Earthquake, Mudslide, Brushfire, and Riot

Where were you with the staple gun idea when I needed it?

Ski gear cleanout
 

On 8/29/16 9:52 AM, Richard Henry wrote:
One of the things I left in the tool box was a plastic bag with needle and thread to patch up those little tears that happen on clothing from time to time.
Duct tape. Accept no substitutes.

Ski gear cleanout
 

On 08/29/2016 09:53 AM, Richard Henry wrote:
On Monday, August 29, 2016 at 8:52:08 AM UTC-7, The Real Bev wrote:
On 08/28/2016 05:57 PM, lal_truckee wrote:
Hard to let so much good gear go. We had an actual foundation put
under our cabin a decade or so back - before that it was sitting on
two foot diameter logs cut on the property to make room for the
cabin. Anyway, clearing the under cabin, I came up with over 50 pairs
of mounted skies, every single pair irreplaceable, and each
guaranteed to be needed immediately I let them go. Kept 10 pairs of
vital sliding surfaces, and my Raichle parts boots. It may be time
for another clean out.

I got rid of the cruft maybe 5 years ago, but I kept my first skis
(Hexcel orange) and some extra poles. Since then I've accumulated
several pair of decent boots and some nice jackets (yard sales) that I'm
going to take to Play It Again when they bring their ski stuff out. I'm
keeping my new boots, my old boots, and the duplicate pair of old boots
(absolute virgins, also yard sale) just in case I stop being able to
bend my toes enough to get into my new boots.

On 8/28/16 4:44 PM, Richard Henry wrote:
the boots I bought at the consignment shop in Truckee (and which I
refurbished a while back by sewing new velcro strips onto the top
closer straps).

I need to update my velcro straps. Did you use a sewing machine? and
how did it stand up to the density and thickness of your straps?

I used a staple gun and hammered the legs flat.

Where were you with the staple gun idea when I needed it?

Why didn't you ask before? I may have even done that before I met you
at SS. What year was that, do you remember?

I've tried sewing velcro on. I've tried gluing it on. Both are
unsatisfactory. I could have done it with my Husqvarna sewing machine
(with real stump-pulling low gear) but the hook part tends to break the
thread quickly.

I thought of replacing the straps on my old boots with the straps from
my unsatisfactory $5 boots, but got my new boots before I did it. I
would have gone to Sport Chalet and asked the nice man (or so I thought)
how to do it, but we know how that turned out...

I put my SC 'I'd rather be skiing' license plate frame on my 'new' car.
At some point people with those will probably start waving at each other.


--
Cheers, Bev
Always carry a length of fiber-optic cable in your pocket. Should
you be shipwrecked and find yourself stranded on a desert island,
bury the cable in the sand. A few hours later, a guy driving a
backhoe will be along to dig it up. Ask him to rescue you.

Ski gear cleanout
 

On 08/29/2016 12:02 PM, lal_truckee wrote:
On 8/29/16 9:52 AM, Richard Henry wrote:
One of the things I left in the tool box was a plastic bag with
needle and thread to patch up those little tears that happen on
clothing from time to time.
Duct tape. Accept no substitutes.

The adhesive flows. Not that big a problem with some stuff, but awful
with clothing.

--
Cheers, Bev
Always carry a length of fiber-optic cable in your pocket. Should
you be shipwrecked and find yourself stranded on a desert island,
bury the cable in the sand. A few hours later, a guy driving a
backhoe will be along to dig it up. Ask him to rescue you.

Ski gear cleanout
 

On Monday, August 29, 2016 at 12:02:32 PM UTC-7, lal_truckee wrote:
On 8/29/16 9:52 AM, Richard Henry wrote:
One of the things I left in the tool box was a plastic bag with needle and thread to patch up those little tears that happen on clothing from time to time.
Duct tape. Accept no substitutes.

That's already in the truck, along with WD40, a multi-tool, and some leather thongs.

Ski gear cleanout
 

On 08/29/2016 03:47 PM, Richard Henry wrote:

...and some leather thongs.

There's a joke there somewhere...


--
Cheers, Bev
Subscribe today to "Fire in the Hole - the Quarterly Journal
for Incinerator Toilet Enthusiasts" -- Andrew