Need a waterproof map pocket for the trail? I did, so I thought “How hard can this be? “ I just wanted one to hold a map, and I wanted it to stick to the tank. With a little hunting around the stores in my neighborhood, and probably in yours too, I found some items that were pretty cheap, and decided to make my own.
I checked out the grocery store, and bought a couple different kinds of one-gallon zipper bags, but they have the brand printed on the side – can’t read a map through that. Another one had a goofy texture on it that made it blurry. No good there either.
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So I went to the office supply store and found something called a “job ticket holder”. It’s much thicker than a zipper bag, and the size was better – 9×12 – and it was nice and clear.
Cool.
$6.99 for ten, so 70 cents so far.
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Now I need a way to seal it up.
Velcro! I found some self-adhesive velco at the office supply store.
$3.49 for 18 inches.
Shoulda bought black, but oh well. |
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In order for the Velcro to fit along the top edge, I had to trim about 1/4″ from the top front edge, so that the top back edge could be folded over.
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The back edge is now a little wider than the Velcro so that there is room for it to fold.
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Then I applied the velcro along the top two edges so that when I fold down the top back edge, it seals like an envelope.
Put the piece that goes on the back very close to the edge.
Leave a gap between the two halves so that it can fold over.
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Next, I needed some way of fastening it to the tank. I still had some Velcro left over, so I cut it into several pieces and stuck them to the back of the pouch. I put three along the top edge to keep the wind from catching the edge, and I put two along the bottom edge to hold it in place.
I’m not too worried about the glue on the Velcro sticking to the tank. It’s really sticky, but it does come off. |
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Here’s the finished pocket. Now I just need to line it up on the tank, peel the paper off the other half of the Velcro and put it in place. Make sure to put the “hook” side of the Velcro on the pouch and not the tank. When you’re not using the pouch, the loop side of the Velcro won’t pick up all kinds of cling-ons.
For metal tanks instead of plastic, try stick-on magnets instead of Velcro.
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So, total cost of this map pocket:
.70 for the plastic envelope + 3.49 for the Velcro + tax = $4.44
Not bad……
I still think I can get the Velcro cheaper…..
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