DIY: How To Make An Ultralight “Trail Chess Set”
A game of chess is a fun way to unwind after a long day of hiking, but even travel chess sets are too heavy for lightweight backpacking. Here’s how you can make your own “Ultralight Trail Chess Set” that weighs less than an ounce…
Materials & Tools:
- Chess Pieces Template (PDF)
- 12″ x 12″ piece of Tyvek*
- 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of card stock
- Quart sized ziplock baggy
- Sharpie permanent marker
- Computer printer
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Velcro Dots (optional)
* Tyvek is a synthetic fabric used in home construction and by ultralight backpackers for a ground cloth (and other things). The benefit of using Tyvek for your chess board over paper or cardboard is it can be folded without leaving creases (so your board will lie flat) and it’s tear proof and water resistant. The best source for a small piece of Tyvek like you will need for this project is from a Tyvek mailing envelope. You can get these free at the Post Office (though they are only supposed to be used for mailing stuff) or purchase at an office supply store.
Instructions:
1. Download my Chess Pieces Template (PDF) and print it out on the card stock. Cut the pieces out with scissors.
1. Print and cut out the pieces
2. Cut a 12″ x 12″ piece of Tyvek from your mailing envelope. Draw an 8″ x 8″ grid in the center with a Sharpie.
2. Draw the chess board on Tyvek
3. Color in the black squares (starting in the top right corner).
3. Color in the black squares
4. Store it in a ziplock baggy.
4. Store in a ziplock baggy
Note about wind: This chess set works best in calm conditions. When it’s windy your board and pieces can blow away. The 2″ border around the board gives you room to anchor it with rocks or other objects. To make it even more wind-proof, use Velcro Sticky-Back Hook & Loop Dot Fasteners to the attach the pieces to the board.
Trail Chess is fun for those long afternoon rest breaks
Here’s a picture from when I first made one of these while hiking the PCT. I drew the board on the bottom of my ground cloth and cut the pieces from the cover of my notebook.
PCT thru-hikers "Bull" & "Burning Man" playing my first trail chess set, while "Gazelle" watches.
Hey Eric, that’s pretty cool. But I think I’ve got you beat.
In 1977, we had a zero-weight solution. The board was drawn on an ensolite pad, which also served as seating pad and sleeping pad extension. For checkers, we played sticks versus stones. On the other side of the ensolite pad, we had a cribbage board; we used safety pins as pegs. Photo here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pct77/6072331816/
@Carl: Pretty cool! I had a feeling I probably wasn’t the first hiker to come up with an idea like this
Those long afternoon siestas sure do go by quicker with a little bit of entertainment don’t they? Hey, wasn’t there a guy who packed a lawn chair in ’77? I think I heard a story about that.
Yep. The Chairman, natch.
At first we thought he was crazy, but there were many times we wished we had a comfortable seat. And what’s another pound or two when you’re already packing 60+?
Haha! Love it.
That’s a cool idea. My girlfriend and I have been packing in a game called mancala. We bought a foldable travel sized board that packs down to 7″x4″ and weighs almost nothing. The best part is, if you lose one of the pieces, you can just replace it with a small stone!
the chess set idea and pieces you provide are both excellent. I made the chess set and it works great, complete with velcro on the board and pieces. light as a feather.
I plan to make a similar scrabble board on the opposite for waiting out storms with nerdy friends!
This is awesome. I’m going to give this one a go for sure!
If you flip the pieces over and color half red, half black with a Sharpie, you’ll have Checkers with no more weight.
I am just using my new Ipod touch. It is 3.1 oz and I use it with my kindle app, as a camera, mp3 player, games apps everything you just listed , all in 3.1 oz!!!! Love the new ipod touch.