I’ve been thinking of getting a Storm Cag for a while but think I may try making one by adapting something already in the closet. I bought an oversized Kokatat goretex hooded paddling anorak a few years ago – super cheap clearance on Sierra Trading Post, probably because of the godawful color, a sickly early iteration of their “mango” that is less “fruity” and more the shade of dog pee on a snow bank. Ugly but highly visible. I’ve got a good sized bolt of that vomitous grey green and tan digital desert camo goretex fabric and am thinking I could sew a cockpit skirt of that to the anorak, maybe adding some gores to the side seam to make it more capacious. Would not be as lightweight and packable as the original Cag, since the fabrics are more taslan weight than taffeta.
Sigh. Another project for the sewing basket (in which is already buried the pattern and rand to make the neoprene tuilik I have yet to get around to.)
@Overstreet
I exaggerated a bit - yes, hurricanes are well predicted these days and areas of likely storm surges are known. But I say that with conditions. Until the water gets higher than it has before - and prior experience can’t predict it well - like happened in Hackensack in Hurricane Sandy. And similar issues in inland watersheds - like inner portions of Vermont or the the small town of Upper Jay in the Adirondacks from Lee. We are talking areas well inland that could not have practically envisioned well what happened because it was unprecedented.
IMO, an overabundance of snow has one likeable factor compared to water. It tends to stay put, so you can go out after the storm and move it out of your way. Even in high winds it’ll will only go so far, and stay there once it has found a perfect place to block a highway. So no one I know in winter lives without at least flashlights and food and an ability to put a lot of water in jugs.
Water won’t stay still. It can create a heck of a lot more damage than snow to houses, cars etc in a given time period. They have had ridiculous amounts of snow around Lake Erie, something like five feet in a single storm. But if there is long lasting damage from that, especially with roof rakes being common, it is going to be from water. Pipes they couldn’t drain or other water stuff.
I would be silly to say I am going to be happy about moving large amounts of snow indefinitely. At some point it will get old, or physically too challenging. I can share with neighbors like now, or pay someone. If I live long enough it will be a retirement home and moving the stuff will officially be someone else’s problem.
IMO, an overabundance of snow has one likeable factor compared to water. It tends to stay put, so you can go out after the storm and move it out of your way. Even in high winds it’ll will only go so far, and stay there once it has found a perfect place to block a highway. So no one I know in winter lives without at least flashlights and food and an ability to put a lot of water in jugs.
I think you’ve summed it up quite nicely, @Celia. Only thing I’d add is four good snowtires. They make a major difference.
Wanted to get my car washed today but both local car washes are frozen. On a positive note, a warm up into the 20s is forecast to arrive Sunday, with somewhat higher temps next week. Will be approaching the east coast on Monday. Maybe the car wash joints will thaw out soon.
@Rookie IMO yes to snow tires. Their relative importance can change by location and driving needs, paved versus dirt roads etc. Around me a lot of folks spend enough time in civilization to believe in all season tires. I usually don’t.
Remember when everyone switched to snow tires for the winter?
Tires have really improved since I was a kid. Use to hear people with chains coming down the road.
All season Michelins I have on my Dooley let me go through snow 3’ deep. Much of it has to do with clearance under the vehicle.
I spent a while trusting multi-season tires because of having 4 wheel drive. Not all wheel drive so it really was 4 wheel all the time. But I had a year where I was driving a lot of difficult places, major winter with long uphill driveways from hell, and just couldn’t afford to get stuck. So I went back to snow tires that winter.
Never regretted it, and kept up the habit. For the few times a year they were absolutely crucial, the better traction made all the diff in the world.
I am not using them right now because I got into a new car with supposedly real 4 season tires on it. Different wheel size so I couldn’t put on my snows on. I don’t have challenging driveways at this point in my life, so I am attempting to trust them.
They are decidedly better than the usual lower level all season tires, I admit. But I am noticing a difference in grab when it gets really cold, like now, between these tires and a proper snow tire that stays softer. Good chance I will go back to my snow tires next Thanksgiving.
I have great faith in Michelins performance. Not cheap but I get over 50,000 on my Dooley. I also think a dedicated Michelin snow tires would be better than their all season I have. Like I said before I had solid 3’ of snow I drove through to my yard. Even in my six wheel pickup I was pushing snow with the front bumper no plow. It went right through it.
Well Paddledog, I think the weight of your truck helps you find traction. I agree with you that premium tires can be worth it. I’ve had Dunlops on a couple vehicles that impressed me. Rolls Royce now uses tires with sound absorption inside. Celia, it’s cool that you notice the difference in cold weather; true snow tires are made with a softer compound that lets the tires squirm and flex and grip and act like tires…that’s why they come with a recommendation to not be used above some temp like 50F because in principle if it’s hot out and you drive really fast you could overheat them. I always wanted to get real snow tires for our Subaru but never did. I’m not thrilled about storing an extra set of wheels and tires either.
Of course in the south we put all terrain tires on our pick ups that have a more aggressive tread and are good with mud. Like true mudders these ATs tread on the sidewall too. There are AT tires and “at” street tires. They are not the same.
@TomL said:
Well Paddledog, I think the weight of your truck helps you find traction. I agree with you that premium tires can be worth it. I’ve had Dunlops on a couple vehicles that impressed me. Rolls Royce now uses tires with sound absorption inside. Celia, it’s cool that you notice the difference in cold weather; true snow tires are made with a softer compound that lets the tires squirm and flex and grip and act like tires…that’s why they come with a recommendation to not be used above some temp like 50F because in principle if it’s hot out and you drive really fast you could overheat them. I always wanted to get real snow tires for our Subaru but never did. I’m not thrilled about storing an extra set of wheels and tires either.
then you need to buy rims or dismount and remount which is costly too.
then you need to buy rims or dismount and remount which is costly too.
Life is good up here. I pay $40 to have my tires switched from summer to winter, then $40 again in the spring to switch back.
And they store the tires I’m not using at no charge (so long as the tires were purchased from them).
@TomL I have never gotten the extra wheels, it takes a decent number of remounts to be worth the cost of four rims. And I feel like whatever slight higher cost by three years of this, it is worth it for additional security driving. My current car has safety sense and collision avoidance etc, which is so far impressing me. Its radar functions better than I do in situations like sun glare to see a problem ahead. But none of that stuff makes a car safe unless the tires are good and the lights are all working.
then you need to buy rims or dismount and remount which is costly too.
Life is good up here. I pay $40 to have my tires switched from summer to winter, then $40 again in the spring to switch back.
And they store the tires I’m not using at no charge (so long as the tires were purchased from them).
then you need to buy rims or dismount and remount which is costly too.
Life is good up here. I pay $40 to have my tires switched from summer to winter, then $40 again in the spring to switch back.
And they store the tires I’m not using at no charge (so long as the tires were purchased from them).
Four tires? Yikes
My error. Just checked my app and the charge is $48. Tire rotation is free if the tires were purchased there. They’re also my mechanics. Good company to do business with.
Yeah, four snow tires if you are going to bother at all. If only the front wheels have snows on them, what you have is a solid front end that will stop and a rear end that will be more likely to skid and spin you out of control. That was true even with four wheel drive. With the current all wheel drive, which is usually running really at 2 wheel drive with the rear skidding being handled by the automatic traction control feature ( you see that light flash on your dash a lot more in slushy stuff than usual) , the diff between a secure front end and a rear end with less grippy tires is even more dangerous.
If you are not going to get four snow tires, in most newer cars you are better off staying with all seasons that are the same all around, and driving more carefully.
Later add - there are older habits left around from those of us who started out driving rear wheel vehicles. Arguments for two or four snow tires were different. So was the utility of a couple of sandbags over each wheel in the trunk. But if there are any rear wheel drive vehicles left out there, they are few and far between.
Rookie, I also tend to buy tires from the place that does other work if possible, to get either the one free or free rotation for life deal. Just have to watch the specials to catch the timing.
I like the idea of just paying to have your tires swapped twice per year…I need to check the cost at our local tire shops. Sometimes it’s easy to find a second set of wheels on Craigslist for pretty cheap…I see an extra set of 4 wheels for a 4Runner for $100 locally. We recently sold our vehicle that had an extra set of wheels and I really appreciate getting some “stuff” out of the garage.
Hey Celia, in general I think the new safety electronics are all good. Radar based cruise control and collision avoidance are purely good. I have a couple friends that work on future autonomous vehicles and one of them told me about one pitfall…in the winter on a snow covered road you will often follow the tracks of previous vehicles but sometimes these tracks are not actually in the lanes, so your vehicle may get a glimpse of the centerline and then steer the vehicle to where the lane is…right out of the tracks you’ve been following! This happened to my friend. Maybe best to deactivate some of the electronics in certain conditions. Almost certainly best to always stay alert and not assume that your vehicle is smarter than you are.
