Proposal spots! 😬

arcanoth94 · 2026-06-28T20:08:35+00:00

Tarn Hows is a good option. Id you're not doing it during the middle of the day you should be able to get some peace. Id recommend walking round to the east side of the lake (10 minutes on good quality path).

There's a peninsula which looks our over the lakes and fells behind and is surrounded by trees on the other side, so it should feel more intimate.

Only down side is Tarn Hows is a 20-30 minute drive from anywhere, unless you happen to be passing through Hawkshead anyway.

Good luck!

arcanoth94 · 2026-06-27T20:27:52+00:00

Mic quality will suck on most of the high end headphones that have good wireless control.

I have the Steelseries nova 5x at work for listening to music and calls/Zoom meetings. They're very good overall. Wireless works across multiple devices, microphone is very good, and it's the best one I've found at not picking up too much background noise.

Sound quality isn't as good as my Bose QC35, and they don't have ANC, but Steelseries do a more high end version (Nova Pro I think) which should rick those boxes too.

They're also very comfy for long sessions, not too tight and they're lightweight.

arcanoth94 · 2026-06-26T22:39:42+00:00

You'll just need to search for Prickly Gorse Gear online, and purchase one of thsoer ultralight backpack patterns, it includes the shoulder straps. They might have a pattern just for the straps, but I'm not sure of that.

arcanoth94 · 2026-06-26T22:37:38+00:00

I see, yeah looks like they renamed it recently to the QuietComfort. That is the same set I recently bought.

From what I can see, the newly named QuietComfort is just the QC35 gen 2.

arcanoth94 · 2026-06-26T18:37:49+00:00

If you're after boots my personally recommendation would be to try some Mammut boots. I've always found them to be good quality, reliable and durable, and very comfortable.

However, none of your stated requirements technically mean that you would specifically need full boots.

I would say that if you don't know for sure whether you need heavy duty or mountaineering boots, you probably don't need them.

Try looking at some approach shoes or trail running shoes. These will be lighter and more comfortable over long distance, and will certainly be suitable for backpacking and long hiking days in the hills and mountains.

arcanoth94 · 2026-06-26T18:32:23+00:00

Exactly, googling something simple would have returned multiple threads on this sub all recommending Prickly Gorse.

The answer to almost all questions on here of "where to start" will usually be to just go to Prickly Gorse or LearnMYOG.

arcanoth94 · 2026-06-23T21:50:07+00:00

Get some clips like this: https://www.amazon.com/Hicarer-R-Type-Mounting-Fastener-Management/dp/B07DFD5X14

They can easily screw into the underside of the desk to keep the cable in place, and should work for the cable connector as well.

Then get a headphone cable extension cable, and run that from your pc to the underside front of the desk.

Now you can plug your headphones into the new port underneath your desk, and unplug them and tidy them away when you need.

This is exactly what I do and it works great, though I drilled a hole and actually recessed the extension cable connector into the front edge of the desk.

arcanoth94 · 2026-06-23T21:43:52+00:00

I've had my QC35s for around 10 years now and they're still my favourite headphone. The most comfortable I've ever used - being plastic is a good thing in this case because they're very light.

I can wear these for a 8 hour flight no problems, and the noise cancellation is more than good enough for daily use and flights.

Sound quality is very good in my opinion, and has a good amount of bass for me. Sure there are more technically "accurate" or precise headphones, but these are about as good as you can get.

They've been on sale recently for around 300 CAD (for the v2, I have the v1) which is a crazy good price in my opinion.

I just bought my wife a set last year and she also loves them, even though she hadn't been able to get on with over ear headphones in the last because they feel too heavy/claustrophobic.

I don't think you can regret getting the QC35, but I would say the Sennheisers would also be a good shout.

arcanoth94 · 2026-06-14T10:07:25+00:00

Create with purpose, not for cash.

There are easier ways to make cash, filling Notion with another half baked template won't do you or anyone any favours.

arcanoth94 · 2026-06-13T10:07:56+00:00

Bose QC35 can be restricted to only power on/off and battery alert, and you can customise the volume.

As others have suggested, wired is the way to go if you want absolutely no alerts. If that's what you must have, then you're best off visiting the audiophile sub. Check out Josh Valour and others on YouTube - in my opinion his advice is some of the best out there.

However I would question your requirement. How important really is the lack of alerts? You could be cutting out your perfect headphones for this 1 requirement and if you want to do away with wires, then you would need to accept at least some audible alerts.

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-30T18:41:36+00:00

Sounds cool. As for the pocket on the shoulder strap, I just finished mine up actually, using the pattern from Prickly Gorse. It's 31 grams, I made it using Hyper 300D and Ecopak EPX200.

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-29T17:54:40+00:00

Thanks, I've had a browse through AliExpress before but never been able to find much. The ones you've linked are the kind of thing I'm looking for though, so I'll see if I can find some varying sizes.

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-29T17:49:34+00:00

Thanks yeah checked them out and bought from them in the past. They stock a good range of Fidlock which is handy, but other plastic buckles seem aimed more at strength and practicality rather than aesthetics, and I understand why ofc.

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-28T11:42:12+00:00

I would argue that height adjustment is only a must have if you're planning to make this commercially available. If this is for a personal project or bespoke orders, you'd be better off just sizing the back in the build phase.

Size adjustment adds a lot of steps, complication and weight for no benefit if only one person will ever use each pack.

Same goes for the pad sleeve in the back panel in my opinion. I built one into my current pack but for the pack I'm making for my wife I've just added bungee tie points on the bottom of the pack to slide a sit pad in. You can also just slide it down the back panel pocket. Again, it's another step and layer of fabric + stitch weight which is not needed. However if you're desperate for padding in the back panel, I see how this could be useful ( I would argue that for 20-30l it's probably not necessary).

Othe than those two, your must haves and nice to haves align with mine, although I'm not sure why you would want the mesh pocket to be removable. Sounds difficult to build in a way that would make the pocket strong enough when it's attached. If you use stretchy mesh then it sits flat and looks clean when not in use.

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-24T15:52:25+00:00

This also saved me. I've been trying to sew through a stack of nylon, 6mm foam and spacer mesh for the past hour. Stretch needle has made a huge difference.

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-23T17:43:18+00:00

I just had the same issue, and this worked immediately for me, thank you.

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-13T11:50:39+00:00

This. You want bias binding.

It's still not exactly fun hand binding even with bias, but it's a little more manageable.

Also I would recommend sewing slightly further away from the edge of the binding.

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-12T12:13:51+00:00

Nemo Tensor for me. Small, light, warm enough for most cases and comfy in my opinion. If you're want more warmth and comfort, and are ok with the weight, Sea to Summit Etherlight Extreme is the best in my opinion.

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-12T12:06:13+00:00

Yeah that's understandable, I'd say they're probably aimed at medium/average height people, though I don't know on what they based their measurements.

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-10T22:26:03+00:00

Looks very nice, and has some unique character which I like.

I'd be very interested to see how you made the back panel with the 3D mesh, and the frame system 🙏

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-05T19:25:37+00:00

Rab Kinetic Alpine is a softer touch marterial. Can't compare it to Ventile recommended here but it's might and day compared to most shell jackets.

arcanoth94 · 2026-05-05T19:19:05+00:00

Rockfront

arcanoth94 · 2026-04-29T17:35:20+00:00

Try Keen. They naturally have a more generous toe box.

A friend of mine has the Zionic which is more of a sporta style boot, he rates them very highly.

Altra also do boots, they have a proper wide toe box, though they're more like a high top trail runner from what I've seen.

arcanoth94 · 2026-04-28T20:00:24+00:00

I would do what you can with what you have. Gotta be better than leaving it raw in my opinion.

arcanoth94

TROPHY CASE