[Sharnbrook (Mike)]

Before you next go camping, to an astro-fest, out fishing, or anywhere outdoors, may I make the following suggestion.

Go to your local tireshop, and ask them for a "dead" inner tube, for which they will not charge you.

Take it home, and with a Stanley Knife or similar, cut a cross section through it, and then cut several rings of tube about 15mm wide, so that you have the equivalent of very heavy duty rubber bands, of approx 150mm diameter. I suggest cutting about 15 of these. Then, cut the remaining tube into strips. This is probably most easily accomplished with a pair of sharp scissors. (Leave those belonging to SWMBO in her sewing box, or risk the possibility of divorce.) You will have to cut round corners, but that doesn't matter, it'll stretch out straight. Cut lengths of say 3 metres minimum, longer if you can. It's worth cutting strips of 3 different widths, I suggest 5, 10 and 15mm. The resulting "bungee" is amazingly versatile and strong. It will bind tent poles together if you stretch it really tight, it can be used as shock cords between tent pegs and guy ropes, for fixing loads onto trailers, etc etc et....... the only limit is your imagination. A true example of recycling. It costs nothing apart from a few minutes of your time, and you will wonder how you ever managed without it.

I was using a couple of the "rubber bands" to keep some drawers closed at the Qld AstroFest, and Dennis spotted it, and suggested that this was a "Must Post" on IIS. So there you are.