Meet Sean Emery, or “Shug” as he’s known to a growing audience of gear addicts. This self-described juggling, unicycling, bluegrass picking and backpacking comedian has been building up a library of camping and backpacking how-to videos. All of which, I might add, are so entertaining and informative that I entirely forget about the ‘juggler, unicyclist, comic, bluegrass picker’ part. Shug shares some great hacks and DIY tips that’ll inspire you to rely a little more on yourself and a little less on gear manufacturers alone.

As luck would have it, he’s a resident of Roseville, so his insightful videos often find him adventuring in Minnesota’s northern climes.

In the video above he covers his tent hammock setup when winter camping. Way to go, Shug! Via Gear Talk.

Every winter camper knows that shoveling out the dough for a bivy sack and/or ground sheet is a necessary evil (as if the cost for an adequate sleeping bag isn’t steep enough.)

But before you go cold on the thought of blowing your budget, check out this article on how to make your own bivy. Not as comprehensive as an Instructable, but some good calls on materials, like silicone-impregnated nylon.

ASIDE: A good buddy of mine has also had luck using Tyvek (usually used for wrapping houses). Anyone out there with some DIY solutions of their own?