You'd think there'd be a MYOG.com or .org but not yet. (Or, at any rate, the geeks have bought 'em up before an MYOG'er could put them to good use.)

"Make your own gear" is a hot new scene in backpacking, but it can apply to anything, right?

Thanks to ultralight godfather Ray Jardine a decade or so ago, folks started making their own UL backpacking gear -- starting with packs, tarps, and sleeping quilts and moving out to things like beer-can stoves and bike packs. Jardine's book, info, courses and general DIY approach have caught on and spread into a neat how-to sharing scene as backpackers share their innovations. Of course, DIY and info-sharing has always been around -- the hippies did it, the reenacters and primitive skills folks do it -- but MYOG seem to offer a new twist. Maybe it's because some of the materials are high-tech?

It reminds me of the "Make" and "Instructables" scenes in the larger web/media world.

Check it out and run with it! Apply it to your scene, too!

Bikes, boats, skis, hook'n'bullet: MYOG works everywhere!

The acronym is neat, too -- you'll see it pop up more and more.