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swjohnsey
02-21-2012, 08:24
I decided to use AWOL's, The A. T. Guide. Got it loose leaf. It measures 5 1/4 x 8 inches and comes in a nice Ziploc, weighs about 8 ounces.Anyway, your trail guide will take a beating and see alot of use. Bein' the OCD gram weenie that I am, I decided to "fix" it.

I took it down to local printing/copy place and had it punched (actually drilled) for a couple of holes on the short axis. I put the holes on the side opposite what whould have been the spine had it been bounded because the printing was very close to the edge on the spine side. Since it measures 5 1/4", two holes 1 3/4" in from the edges gives you two holes 1 3/4" apart, mine about 1/4" in from the edge. I then folded each page almost in half, almost because I folded it so the the one edge comes up to the edge of the holes. You can now fold the page out when the pages are assembled. The pages folded measure 4 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches.

I wanted something durable and brightly colored for the cover and found a folder at Walmart made from thin plastic, bright orange, designed for a school paper. Cut it slightly larger than the folded page, one for the back, one for the front. Cut the tip off each corner to give it a rounder profile, more friendly to you gear. Mine is about 1/8" larger than the page on each side. Punch a couple of holes to match the page. Put the pages you want together with the covers and zip tie it together and trim the zip ties.

Mine is 5 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches and weighs 42 grams, 1 1/2 ounces with pages to take me from Amicalola to Hot Springs, about 1/8" thick. The rest of the pages are in my bounce box. It fits in a pint Ziploc bag. The whole thing now fits in my pocket.

Don H
02-21-2012, 08:41
I just cut my book through the binding in quarters and stuck it in a ziplock bag.

Six-Six
02-21-2012, 08:44
I decided to use AWOL's, The A. T. Guide. Got it loose leaf. It measures 5 1/4 x 8 inches and comes in a nice Ziploc, weighs about 8 ounces.Anyway, your trail guide will take a beating and see alot of use. Bein' the OCD gram weenie that I am, I decided to "fix" it.

I took it down to local printing/copy place and had it punched (actually drilled) for a couple of holes on the short axis. I put the holes on the side opposite what whould have been the spine had it been bounded because the printing was very close to the edge on the spine side. Since it measures 5 1/4", two holes 1 3/4" in from the edges gives you two holes 1 3/4" apart, mine about 1/4" in from the edge. I then folded each page almost in half, almost because I folded it so the the one edge comes up to the edge of the holes. You can now fold the page out when the pages are assembled. The pages folded measure 4 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches.

I wanted something durable and brightly colored for the cover and found a folder at Walmart made from thin plastic, bright orange, designed for a school paper. Cut it slightly larger than the folded page, one for the back, one for the front. Cut the tip off each corner to give it a rounder profile, more friendly to you gear. Mine is about 1/8" larger than the page on each side. Punch a couple of holes to match the page. Put the pages you want together with the covers and zip tie it together and trim the zip ties.

Mine is 5 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches and weighs 42 grams, 1 1/2 ounces with pages to take me from Amicalola to Hot Springs, about 1/8" thick. The rest of the pages are in my bounce box. It fits in a pint Ziploc bag. The whole thing now fits in my pocket.

Nice - that's gotta be convenient and light.

4Bears
02-21-2012, 08:59
Or just put the loose pages (trimmed as closely as you can or desire) in a bit more durable bag, thus saving all that extra weight of zip ties and cover, as you will probably end up placing it in a ziplock bag anyhow. Then dispose of the previous days page each evening. Folding a page does not reduce its volume, just rearranges it. :)

swjohnsey
02-21-2012, 09:15
Or just put the loose pages (trimmed as closely as you can or desire) in a bit more durable bag, thus saving all that extra weight of zip ties and cover, as you will probably end up placing it in a ziplock bag anyhow. Then dispose of the previous days page each evening. Folding a page does not reduce its volume, just rearranges it. :)

I like to save my trail guides. I mail the used pages home. Have you ever tried to put a fixed blade knife in your pocket? Think of this a a pocket knife trail guide.