DIY braces for activewear

About simple DIY braces for comfort while doing active outdoor stuff.

Introduction to DIY braces

I agonised about the title for this post on DIY braces. It strays away from my normal theme of DIY backpacking gear. However, at least they are all DIY braces and at least one is for fishing which usually involves walking and backpacking to get to my favourite fishing places with my fishing gear.

I report on a series of DIY braces for a wide range of activewear clothing, from thick protective chainsaw chaps to lycra fishing tights that are also protective (sun protection) in their own way. They all provide great comfort by keeping the garment up and preventing the straps from slipping off the shoulders or the crutch sinking ‘fashionable’ down near one’s knees during vigorous activities.

I can’t be certain where the idea started. Probably, because I could never use a belt effectively to hold up my pants. I constantly needed to keep pulling up my pants while bushwalking, skiing and doing farm work. Some of my walking/skiing friends suggest that I have unusual physiology (inadequate bum muscles) that doesn’t hold my pants up.

Anyway, I think it all started while while resort skiing, I used insulated ski pants with integrated braces. These provide great support, but the straps kept slipping off my shoulders with the movement of my upper body. If I crossed the straps over, I found that the shoulder slipping problem was greatly reduced. “Yes, they look daggy, but who cares if they work and my bulky insulated ski jacket normally covers them.”

Subsequently, I added DIY braces to other clothing and refined and simplified the designs as they evolved. Crossing the straps over when the garment is on is quite difficult if there is no stretch in them, so body contortion was involved. I started by using Velcro release connectors to manage this issue. Then, a somewhat embarrassing time later, I found that stretch and release features were entirely unnecessary, as seen in the story of my braces evolution.

Fishing tights fitted with lightweight DIY braces. While surf fishing, tights give great protection from the sun and substantial protection from biting March flies. However, the action of the waves constantly pulls the tights downwards. So I thought that braces would be a solution to this problem. Commercial braces abound online, but I did not like the sharp looking clips and complexity of the adjustment buckles. I wanted something light and simple that could just go into the washing machine with all my other ultralight adventure clothing.

This was my first DIY braces project where I fitted lightweight polyester fabric braces to my fishing tights. These braces had a stretchy nylon strip, made of pantyhose fabric, fitted into the back strap and Velcro connectors where the front straps attach to the tights. The design feature with the front straps merging with a single strap at the back meant that the straps stayed on the shoulders fairly well. However, I later found that the design could be simplified. The strap stretch or the connector features were not essential for a good functional design.

DIY braces for farm work pants. I usually wear tracksuit pants while doing farm work. I like a nice loose fit and quite thick fabric. Right or wrong, I think this protects me from bites from frisky Tiger Snakes that make themselves at home at my place.

The DIY braces fitted to these pants were again made with doubled-over light polyester tent fabric. Each strap was hot cut and welded together along the adjoining edges. They were then sewn with zig-zag stitches. As for the ski pants, the brace straps were designed to cross over to prevent slipping off the shoulder. They do not need a stretch component or any velcro release.

Without needing stretch strap/s or removable strap connectors, these simple braces could be easily deployed in the crossed configuration. This was achieved by simply crossing over the straps before putting the pants on. Then the straps crossed over when they were lifted onto the shoulders. “I am a bit embarrassed to admit that it took me so long to find this simple way of crossing the straps, without contortion, stretch strap/s or removable connectors. But better late than never!”

DIY braces for chainsaw chaps. Chainsaw chaps provides great leg protection, but I found that they slipped down regardless of how tightly I tightened the belt. I made DIY braces for the chaps from thick elastic strap that was sewn onto the front of the chaps. Then I sewed on a single polyester strap between the middle of the elastic strap and one side of the belt of the chaps near the belt clip that will be located at the middle of the wearer’s back. With this arrangement, the straps still could slip of my shoulders sometimes while chainsawing. Consequently, I added a chest strap of nylon pantyhose fabric that was tied across the front straps at about chest height.

Using knots to attach the pantyhose strap to the elastic straps allowed the height of the chest strap to be easily adjusted up or down. “With the chest strap in place I could cut wood all day long without my chaps falling down.”

Conclusion

All these DIY braces are light and simple and will hold up tights, pants and chaps during vigorous activity. Hitching up clothing against the relentless action of gravity or putting strap back onto shoulders will no longer be a repeated chore. “I guess that they would be helpful even if you had a properly developed set of bum muscles.

TIm