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Nothing life-changing, but pretty good!

Very cool!

Depends on what you mean by "easy". Easy to learn? Usually, though this one's got a steeper learning curve than most due to the fact that your feet/pedals are on a different segment of the frame and move relative to the rest of your body. If we're talking the energy it takes to ride/the efficiency, recumbents tend to be more efficient on flat ground due to aerodynamics but have a reputation for being slower at climbing.

Footskins.

In my limited experience and from my more extensive research, it's more a situation of selective enforcement. Are you technically allowed to camp? No, but as long as you're out of the way and not bothering anybody, nobody's likely to bother you. The biggest tip I read was to set up late and pack up early; If you're lounging around in camp at 10 in the morning, people are likely to notice and be annoyed--and that leads to the cops being called. If you're up bright and early and packed up at dawn, even those who notice your presence are less likely to mind.

Mostly, but solar is "mostly" for stationary applications, as well. Once I figured out the best way to rely on the 3D printed parts for their compressional strength rather than tensile strength in this application (by socketing them into the tubing rather than the other way around), they worked beautifully and were entirely adequate to requirements.

It's 7.4kg/16.3lbs, including wheels. Around the time I made this video, many airlines evidently altered their policies to make traveling with bikes easier, even if they're "oversized", which is great! I'm currently following the project of a friend who's building a lightweight, folding two-wheel recumbent with the intent of making it possible to fly with. He's not publishing the process (yet) but it's pretty neat. He also built a flight case for his Maxarya Ray 2X using the same "Polygal" twin-wall polycarbonate that I used for this project.

@@TheRamblingShepherd If you are in the States look for a product at sign & plastic shops called Ultra Foam. It is a 2 sided plastic sheet with a foam inner core & appears to be more dent resistant than the fluted plastic. It is also very light & nicer to work with.

@@daytriker Interesting stuff. The "lite" version is about 37% lighter by area than the panels I'm currently using...though it's also almost exactly 37% thinner, so volumetrically it's almost exactly the same density. On the one hand, this would save about 1.7lbs on the overall weight and get you about a 1/4" reduction on every dimension, which is cool...on the other hand, it's hard to say how the strength compares to the thicker material I used. It's worth noting that the material I used was "polygal" twin wall polycarbonate, which is a LOT stronger and stiffer than standard yard sign type corrugated plastic, which I believe is polyethylene? You can easily stand on this stuff without crushing or denting it. One nice thing about the trailer is that all of the panels can be removed and replaced if I ever want to--maybe I'll check out some of that ultra foam next time I'm stateside.

@@TheRamblingShepherd I just checked the Ultraboard website & the product most suitable is called Ultraboard Plus. It is available in 1/4" thickness increments up to 3" thick. From the samples I received, 1/2" thick would be more than adequate strength. Unfortunately, trying to receive a few sheets in Canada & I might as well have been on the moon.

What would the benefits be of a longer tow bar, or of hitching to the axle instead of the rack, in your estimation? Bike trailers that hitch to the rear axle either have to be asymmetrical or have a hinged "wishbone" hitch. The wishbone wouldn't be at all suitable here, but the asymmetrical tongue wouldn't be much better. For most bicycles, the hub makes sense as an attachment point because bicycle wheels are quite tall, so it's difficult to keep the trailer's center of mass low while going over the rear wheel. In spite of this, some trailers--like those made by Aevon, the Burly Travoy, and a few others--spend a lot of mass and complexity going over the rear wheel to provide extra maneuverability. Since the Brompton's rear wheel is so short, hitching the trailer above it is quite easy. This gives a better pivot range in either direction than a hub hitch for tight manuvering. Why would one need a longer tongue? On trailers for automobiles, tongues are long because a short tongue wouldn't allow a tight enough turning radius before your rear bumper ran into the leading edge of the trailer. On most bike trailers, tongues are long because they have to stretch all the way up to the hub on a very wide wheel. On the brompton, though, the radius of the wheel is only 8 inches and I don't even have to go that far since I'm hitching to the rack instead of the hub. I don't have to worry about turn radius, since the back of a bicycle isn't wide like the back of a car; I can jackknife over past 90 degrees with no issue. The only real benefit to a longer tongue in this instance is that I've read it's preferable to have your hitch point ahead of, rather than behind, your rear contact patch...but automobile trailers and the aforementioned wishbone-yoke trailers like the Bob Yak pivot behind the entire wheel, let alone the contact patch, with little issue. On top of all this, having the tongue as short as possible makes the whole unit lighter, more compact, and puts less torque on tongue, making everything more durable. I think a lot of the tradeoffs with other trailers are based on the desire to be interoperable with whatever bike the consumer already owns, and because tall bike wheels present unique challenges. Since this trailer is designed specifically for one and only one bicycle with very short wheels, none of those compromises are necessary. Think of it more as like the kingpin and 5th wheel on a Semi, rather than a conventional hitch.

It's a skipulk.com "clipper" model with their cover designed for it. A cover that will keep things solidly held down is pretty critical. Fins are very useful. If there's any sideslope, the pulk's going to want to slide down it, and fins are the only thing that will help it track straight. The fins on this one can be folded up for flat terrain, which is nice, but I'd rather always have them than never. I don't have a brake and am unfamiliar with how those tend to work, but in concept it could be useful. In situations like where I'm describing how tough day 4 was, the slope was very steep on descent and I had to take off my skis and let the pulk slide down ahead of me; with a brake, the potential for building up unsafe levels of speed and momentum could've been mitigated. That said, with snowshoes, 'building up speed' isn't really an issue. I'm not sure a brake would be useful except on skis. If I had to do this trip over, my small, light snowshoes are the most useful bit of equipment I wish I'd brought, for the sketchy terrain bits.

I made it.

@@TheRamblingShepherd Thank you, Shepherd. I was hoping to find one pre-made, but yours is so much nicer that you've convinced me that DIY is the only way.

The knife is a Japanese hori knife specifically designed for digging. Obviously its blade isn't razor-sharp, but it's not supposed to be; it's essentially a sharper-than-average trowel. I have a small Mora for tasks where a keen edge is needed.

@@TheRamblingShepherd Interesting, I've heard of these knives but didn't know that's what you had. I haven't used a hori before and I'm not sold on it as a bush crafting tool. I'd have to use one myself. How do you like it for chopping wood and doing other camp craft?

@@danmorgan3685 I think you could baton with it reasonably well, and chop in a pinch. You can see me cutting reeds with it in the video. Digging is really its key role, though. If I needed to shave a featherstick, I'd use my finer knife.

@@TheRamblingShepherd I may yet need to get one of these knives to try it out.

Sorry, yeah--maintaining it at that URL was getting expensive, so it's now at www.etsy.com/shop/ShepherdCartography

Thanks! First time I heard it was John McCutcheon performing it live in a tiny theater, accompanied only by a Tibetan singing bowl. Check out his rendition on his "Celebration of Pete Seeger" album--truly magical.

Footwear by footskins.