Utility Belt

[gfish]

My major fashion affectation is my utility belt. It carries, going counterclockwise from the buckle: flashlight, sharpie marker, leatherman (Charge XTi), digital camera, monocular, PDA/cellphone. The exact contents and packaging have changed over the years, slowly being refined. I've put a great deal of thought into optimizing everything about it, mostly because I'm a big dork.

A couple of weeks ago I realized that I had been ignoring an entire component of the belt, leaving it completely useless -- the belt itself! Duh. So what can a belt do? Well, it's like a rope, but too short to be particularly useful. What if it was longer? What if it was a rope, but folded back and forth several times? I figured I could get at least 5, maybe 6 lengths before it got too thick to be comfortable. So I bought parts and started prototyping. This weekend I made the final version, which has a whooping 8 lengths, each 66 cm long, for a none-too-shabby total of 5.3 meters of 6mm climbing rope. Dorky? Certainly. Useful? ...maybe. Removal would be annoying, so I'd have to really need the rope before I did it. But if I ever do need it, I'll have it. So there.

Comments

[damiana-swan.livejournal.com]

You are, indubitably, a big dork. But I love the concept! And I'd be willing to bet that somewhere there is something along the lines of a carbon fiber rope (something thin and extremely strong) that comes in black, so you could be a highly stylish dork. And I bet it'd catch on, too.

[chaoswolf]

How long ago did you start the utility belt and approximatly how many weeks after you started it did you realize that you forgot the belt?

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

Every time I think you can't get any dorkier, you prove me wrong. I salute you.

[darlingfreak.livejournal.com]

LOL!

I heart dorks!

[tylik.livejournal.com]

If I understand what I'm seeing, the rope is just looped back and forth between the two belt ends, yes? Is there anything else involved? It occurs to me that you could make a backing out of a lightweight band of fabric, with some number of tie downs for the rope (I'm thinking figure eightish, except with more loops, tie downs for the individual strands of rope). The advantages here is that while the fabric itself would make a poor belt on it's own because it would not be rigid enough, the rope could lend it rigidity, and the fabric and tie downs could provide some organizing structure, arranging the rope as a flat band of strands rather than a thick roll.

And, if you were careful, you could then remove the rope from the belt without completely disassembling the belt, though as mentioned previously, the belt, sans rope, would be definately sub-par.

You have quite surpassed me in dorkiness, though I find myself wanting to start a conversation of the finer points of such things as fitting points of fitting out a fishing vest with a variety of useful tools and/or survival equipment...

[tikimonkey.livejournal.com]

not long ago, iainzard gave me a hard time because i bought a really cool grundig wind-up radio (http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&did=24&product_id=2376) and then told everyone how cool it was. thank you for putting that incident into proper perspective :)

[chatworthy.livejournal.com]

Are you using static or dynamic rope?

I'd make it out of black 3mm cord over (or under) webbing, myself. Strong enough for a minor emergency. Must try something like that, once I get the shop set up.

H'mm... Not quite TSA-approved. They wouldn't let me carry my Leatherman aboard whan I flew up to San Jose for Consonance. The search-and-rescue geek in me appreciates the bright orange rope; the paranoid in me is shouting for you not to wear that through security; it's just unusual enough to get you detained. Alas.

[mdlbear]

There are good reasons for wanting a totally non-metallic belt for travel; I use a webbing "luggage strap" from REI with a quick-release buckle.

[chatworthy.livejournal.com]

Well, my Leatherman was in one of my carry-ons at the time. It got in there by accident. Fortunately (until it was time to pay the parking bill) I was parked right there in the closest garage, so I just left it in the car all weekend.

And with a wide cloth belt such as Callie describes, you can do as I have done on occasion and use a Fastex buckle of the appropriate width. That makes it all non-metallic.

If the rope is for infrequent emergencies you could sew it into the carrier part of the belt. Leave one end of the rope accessible; when you need the rope, grab and pull. It should come out of the belt without tangling - same principle as a throw-bag. Then you'll need to sew it back in, but you'd need to re-rig the belt anyway.

[chatworthy.livejournal.com]

Of course, when you're not in the security zone, you'd want to have a carbiner or two and possibly a small rappelling ring as well. After all, you've got rope and potentially webbing already; might as well make a minimal climbing rig.

(Note to self: bring green backpack to CopperCon - we can compare notes)

[ivy]

What you need are two metal (or non-metal) chain links. Then you can wrap the rope back and forth between them, and use the links + a carabiner for a buckle. Easy on, easy off, still a lot of continuous rope.

I envy you having a Sharpie in such proximity. I carry one in my small book bag (purse sized), but that's nowhere near as well done as your belt. Envy of geek.