Field Biologist Term of the Day: Hacking

There is no technology involved in this variety of hacking. In fact, it may be completely absent if one is in the field and far from any sort of connection to the world. In this case, it has to do with the inevitable breakdown of gear. Duct tape (the good kind) is our best friend. Tent poles cracked, duct tape with maybe a stick to stabilize. Hole in a shoe or article of clothing, duct tape. Our field gear can be difficult/costly to replace and in the field impossible even if it is required to function.

This term can also be tied into re-purposing, which is what prompted this post. I am in the process of preparing for the field season and replacing or adding gear as necessary. One requirement is to have a decent set of rain gear. Purchasing a "cheap" set from the regular big box store is not always the best choice. I picked the mid-range set, from a company that I have purchased some things from before. The problem with these is they do not expect you to be doing any kind of hard work in them. I always do a squat test to see if any of my pants will be able to tolerate the constant kneeling/squatting required to look at subjects on the ground. This pair split mid first squat. The jacket of the set is nice but the pants obviously are not a good choice. My solution, make a dry bag/pack liner out of the pants. Cut, trim, and duct tape the seams. Now I have a bag to keep my clothes or other choice items dry without having to make an additional purchase. This only needs to last a season or even part of one since I am working in a rather arid environment. It may become a duct tape bag, and that is okay, too.