The Official Pleasing Purchase Thread

[ZRX61]

A small cluster of shiny stainless goodness with magnets...

[Mr. Dazzle]

I collected my finished jacket from Hideout leathers today. It's my old Alpinestars Dyno jacket that was my first ever bike jacket when I first learned aged 17.

Kate has recut it for me as a casual jacket, taking all the baggyness out from the sleeves where the armour used to be, sharpening up the shoulders and giving it a good clean and feed. It looks great, but sadly I don't have a good photo yet.

She also snuck her logo into the zip repair.

[DefTrap]

Well done that it still fits you at all!

[KungFooBob]

PINK SHOES!

[Mr. Dazzle]

Before (April this year).



Today. Lost the bingo wings and shoulders from my dad's suit. And yes it will still do up around the middle Not just pink shoes either.

I think Kate quite like doing it, she commented on how nice old leather jackets that are well worn are.

[KungFooBob]

They've put the Aplinestars logos on backwards!

[slowsider]

Rocking that Russell Brand look

[ZRX61]

Was at the store this morning getting some fizzy pop...

They had a 12pk of Diet Pepsi for $4.99

or an 18pk of Diet Pepsi for $4.99...

[gremlin]

WINE!!!!

I'm on the Laithwaites mailing list as I've purchased one or two bottles, maybe a more, from my, now closed, Locksbottom (no sniggering at the back) store. Their 'Black Red' case is full of stonkingly good, dark, heavy reds, which is right up my vineyard. Usually £130 for 12 bottles, but currently on offer for £101, slightly cheaper if you buy two cases, which I did. Use the code 'summer30' and you get another 30% off plus a bottle of sauv. blanc and prosecco thrown in. 26 bottles of decent plonk for £125 delivered for free. What's not to like?

https://www.laithwaites.co.uk/product//M14568

[Rockburner]

Bike bling has arrived, just need the bike back from it's service now. Thank you @SSR Suspension .

FAF3ED4C-E21C-4019-B6CF-68532E64182B.jpeg

I have a pair of them to fit to the Rockster.


(if I ever get into the garage again....)

[Rockburner]

Niiiice

I have some questions....

How much?
Is white the only colour available?
How much is a camper conversion ?

White isn't the only colour, there's plenty of choice, MAN do their version of the van with another bunch of colour choices. The reason for buying a white one is that in the no cost choices it's the one I liked the most and I was trying to keep the cost of the van below a certain point, which I've managed by a decent margin. It's the 177ps auto version with lots of toys and some most people won't have come across like the retractable handbrake to allow the front seats to swivel.

The conversion will have air on the back to help with the weight, it also give me the option of upping the gross vehicle weight to 4.2t if I need to. There's no gas. Hob will be a Webasto diesel (not the fastest thing in the World), oven will be a combi for when it's plugged into shore power. Leisure batteries will be lithium with solar on the roof. Truma combi for heating and hot water. On board bathroom. Decent size storage under the bed for bikes etc.


This is the place doing the work: https://www.rhalesconversions.co.uk/

Here's a review his personal van by people that review vans:

No gas? Presumably you're using the vehicle diesel to power the oven and Truma Combi??

Is that not a slightly expensive choice? (I suppose it depends on how much use you're actually going to get out of the van).

In the van I had I fitted a 2-bottle permanent setup with external filler so I could buy 'petrol-station' gas (LPG). Far cheaper than diesel per litre, and FAR cheaper (and easier) than bottle exchanges.

[Rockburner]

That looks really good, how does it compare with 'off the shelf' camper vans? Is it cheaper or is it the choice of options?

It's more expensive but I couldn't find an off the shelf van with the inside layout I wanted.

The only thing I hesitated on is the van is available with an extra high roof but, to get the higher roof VW cut a big hole in the tin roof and put a fibreglass pod on top. I wasn't impressed with the rubber sealing strips or the way it fitted above the rear doors. The compromise in not having the extra high roof is that the mattress to ceiling height is around 35 inches. It's enough but. There will be a skylight above the bed and side windows so it won't feel cramped. When it's done I'll stick a load of pics up and you'll see why I've made the choices I did.

Having spent quite a lot of time in a high top, it's not really an issue.
Although - having said that - I was NOT using it in the UK a lot, where there are petty council beaurocrats who hate 'travellers' and thus put a lot of height restrictions on car parks.

This one was a fibreglass roof too, seemed to be sealed pretty damn well (built by Knaus).

[Pirahna]

No gas? Presumably you're using the vehicle diesel to power the oven and Truma Combi??

Is that not a slightly expensive choice? (I suppose it depends on how much use you're actually going to get out of the van).

In the van I had I fitted a 2-bottle permanent setup with external filler so I could buy 'petrol-station' gas (LPG). Far cheaper than diesel per litre, and FAR cheaper (and easier) than bottle exchanges.

The van will get plenty of use and yes, diesel is a more expensive choice over gas. There's a few of reasons for not using gas, please feel free to correct anything I've got wrong. My LPG choices are either and underslung tank or bottles. For the underslung tank different filler fittings are required depending on which country you're in. A tank will easily hold a few weeks worth of cooking and heating gas, but what if I'm away for a few months? LPG filling stations can be a long way apart to non-existent, which means bottles would be the better choice. Bottles are heavy and take up space that can be better used for storing other stuff. Ideally you'll be storing the bottles in gas locker sealed off from the rest of the van. The van will most likely be in Morocco for a bit over winter (plans subject to change). If I need to get a bottle refilled it can be a drive of many hours. There's also a chance I'll ship it to the US and Canada at some point, bottles again but with different fittings.

The van came fitted with a diesel tank as standard and diesel is available everywhere. The boiler and hob will be the diesel appliances, electric for everything else. The diesel hob is less efficient than gas, it takes a lot longer to heat up and is more like cooking on a range, hot at one end, cooler as you move down. I'll have my camping gas stove with me.

[Rockburner]

No gas? Presumably you're using the vehicle diesel to power the oven and Truma Combi??

Is that not a slightly expensive choice? (I suppose it depends on how much use you're actually going to get out of the van).

In the van I had I fitted a 2-bottle permanent setup with external filler so I could buy 'petrol-station' gas (LPG). Far cheaper than diesel per litre, and FAR cheaper (and easier) than bottle exchanges.

The van will get plenty of use and yes, diesel is a more expensive choice over gas. There's a few of reasons for not using gas, please feel free to correct anything I've got wrong. My LPG choices are either and underslung tank or bottles. For the underslung tank different filler fittings are required depending on which country you're in.

For LPG, yes there are different fittings, they fit in a little bag no larger than your hand and are very easy to fit onto the filling point every time you fill up (which isn't that often tbh). This would be the same whether your gas is held in an underslung tank, or in bottles in the gas-cupboard and plumbed in permanently. I had a 'GASIT' (IIRC) dual bottle setup in the default gas-cupboard (which was built to handle 2 bottles), iirc it was about £800 to get (including the professional fitting), and also had an external BBQ outlet fitting.

A tank will easily hold a few weeks worth of cooking and heating gas, but what if I'm away for a few months? LPG filling stations can be a long way apart to non-existent, which means bottles would be the better choice.

Depends where you are. In France/Europe there's plenty, and there's plenty of apps or online resources to find them (including prices). LPG seems to be a lot more popular in Europe.

Bottles are heavy and take up space that can be better used for storing other stuff. Ideally you'll be storing the bottles in gas locker sealed off from the rest of the van.

True - I won't deny the weight or the fact they need to take up space. that's the compromise.

The van will most likely be in Morocco for a bit over winter (plans subject to change). If I need to get a bottle refilled it can be a drive of many hours. There's also a chance I'll ship it to the US and Canada at some point, bottles again but with different fittings.

Possibly - depends how much gas you can carry - mine was 26Kg (two 13Kg bottles: lasted a good month, if not longer, with 2 of us).

The van came fitted with a diesel tank as standard and diesel is available everywhere. The boiler and hob will be the diesel appliances, electric for everything else. The diesel hob is less efficient than gas, it takes a lot longer to heat up and is more like cooking on a range, hot at one end, cooler as you move down. I'll have my camping gas stove with me.

Fair enough.


I assume you're getting a good solar setup as well - you'll need it if you're going to be cooking with elec.

[Mr. Dazzle]

My first pair of rigid gas permeable contact lenses. First CLs of any kind in fact.

Pros - Can see really well now (glasses can't properly fix my particular eye condition).
Cons - Fnnnaaarrggg! There's stuff in my eyes and I'm not allowed to rub them!

[wheelnut]

My first pair of rigid gas permeable contact lenses. First CLs of any kind in fact.

Pros - Can see really well now (glasses can't properly fix my particular eye condition).
Cons - Fnnnaaarrggg! There's stuff in my eyes and I'm not allowed to rub them!

Get some systane*, pop a drop in the lens before you put it in,

*a good alternative, and the stuff I use now after many years using systane are Tesco comfort drops.

Watch your wear times, build it up slowly. Even taking them out for 10 mins and letting your eyes rest can make a big difference.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=systane&ad ... snbztg54_e

[Mr. Dazzle]

The optician gave me some "Oté Fine 40" to put in them before wearing, also serves as storage fluid. I also have a strict "running in" regime from her.

I did an hour the first day I had them, two yesterday. I get to do three today!

I had to go to a fancy optician for these, SpecSavers et al are no use. My underlying eye problem is Kerataconus - non spherical corneas. Therefore I need non spherical lenses too, which is why I'm bothering with CLs. I.e. it's not cause I don't want to wear glasses, it's cause only CLs can truly fix my vision.

I baulked at the cost initially - £300 for the lenses plus £19pcm for ongoing cover at the optician - but so far its worth every penny. So sooooo much better than the treatment you get at the high-street brands. I've been back 4 times already to get the right fit, going back on Saturday to check again after I've had these a bit. SpecSavers told me I couldn't get lenses at all!

[weeksy]

My first pair of rigid gas permeable contact lenses. First CLs of any kind in fact.

Pros - Can see really well now (glasses can't properly fix my particular eye condition).
Cons - Fnnnaaarrggg! There's stuff in my eyes and I'm not allowed to rub them!

How exactly can a set of lenses fix something a pair of glasses can't ? I don't think it'll help me as such, but could be interesting.

[Mr. Dazzle]

My first pair of rigid gas permeable contact lenses. First CLs of any kind in fact.

Pros - Can see really well now (glasses can't properly fix my particular eye condition).
Cons - Fnnnaaarrggg! There's stuff in my eyes and I'm not allowed to rub them!

How exactly can a set of lenses fix something a pair of glasses can't ? I don't think it'll help me as such, but could be interesting.

As above - my fundamental problem is non-spherical corneas (the lens at the front of my eye).



It's not terrilble, but it means I get annoying double/ghost images on stuff, particularly on high contrast things - screen text is the classic example. My condition is very mild, some people really do have it as bad as that pic suggests. Ironically the fact that I have otherwise very good eyesight means I notice the effects of my Kerataconus more! It's annoying, more than anything else. I've also already had preventative surgery to stop it getting any worse (epithelium off cross linking to all my fellow sufferers. Don't google that if you're squeamish about eyes)

Glasses can't possibly fix that. They can mitigate, but basic optics means you can't 'adjust out' the effects caused by having non-spherical lenses. The only way to fix it properly is to make the cornea spherical again. The extreme solution is laser eye surgery, but my vision is nowhere near bad enough to warrant that and it'd probably change again anyway. The less drastic fix is to get CLs which are also non-spherical "the other way" so that the combination of CL + cornea forms a sphere again.

[Jody]

New flip flops (again)

After literally years of research I've realised that the best flip flops I can get are Birkenstocks. Yet even these will only last me about 2 months ! I guess they are not built for averages over 10,000 steps a day !