Another Bindle Concept: Custom lightweight backpacks and rucksacks.
If – like me – you are staying at home in these uncertain times, keeping busy is a necessity and healthy practice. Since I am looking for some practice project and I need a new laptop bag, I figured I’d put 2 and 2 together and make just that.
I have a 13in laptop, so I went for the smallest laptop bag I can fit it in. What do you think?
The back panel is probably the most interesting part of that pack. Since it is an ultralight children’s pack, I added a shoulder strap’s height adjustment option to let the pack grow with the owner.
The back panel also contains a padding sleeve with a hook and loop tape closure to be able to add a foam pad and some more structure is required.
The daisy chains will be taking some serious load when the pack is full and skis are hanging on its sides. So the daisy chains will need to hold under strain. The achieve that, the pack’s fabric is carefully strengthened along the daisy chain. In the following pictures, the daisy chain is blending with a folded seam. It also is the point where the padding sleeve is sewn into the back panel, which backs the fabric without any specific weight penalty. Nonetheless, the seam is sealed and hidden with a strip of VX21 RC, which also adds strength to the bartacks, totaling the layers of fabrics to 3 behind the webbing.
The rest of the back panel is relatively simple. Thee is a thin layer of closed-cell foam and 3D mesh on the lower part, decorated with a mountain-top pattern.
The shoulder straps lower attachment is a standard load-bearing triangle and webbing designed to use with a nylon ladder-lock buckle. A lightweight hip belt is also important, since the pack loaded with skis would have an unusually low center of gravity. I added a removable gear loop on the hip belt
There you have it! These were the most important details of the pack’s back panel.
Since you read it until the end, here are a couple of bonus pictures that did not make the cut.
Have a great day!
When a friend asked me to design a pack for his young son, I knew I had to give it a try. Little did I know that I would be designing an ultralight Ski Touring pack for a young outdoor aficionado! I mean, what a responsibility!
I wanted to experiment with the ski attachment options and figured I could design the side compression straps with the option to run them across the pack. My original intent was to either hang one ski on each side of the pack attached with the compression straps in a standard configuration or secure the pair to the front of the pack with one side of the compression straps reaching to the other side. Eventually, the choice would befell the future owner of the pack.
Apart from this little experiment, we designed the rest of the pack together, and settled on two front daisy chains and a relatively big zipper pocket. There are also some low-profile side pockets on each side for commodity, but since the main idea is to carry skis on the sides, the pockets are not a main feature. I just find that the weight penalty is small enough to warrant the extra functionality when you need it. Here are some more photos of the complete pack body.
The idea for the shoulder straps was to make a set of test straps first and try the fit, since I was not very confident fitting straps to a child on the first try. Since children grow fast, I wanted the pack to grow with him. Otherwise the pack won’t be useful for very long.
In order to keep this simple and as lightweight as I could, I thought the shoulder straps could attach to a daisy chain instead of being permanently sewed onto the back panel. That way I can add additional daisy chains to allow for higher attachment points and I can make new straps when these ones get too small.
The weight penalty of the adjustable height shoulder straps is not negligible in this weight category, but can be later reduced when adjustment are no longer necessary. A set of “grown-up” straps can be permanents attached to the higher daisy chain and the attachment hardware and webbing can be completely cut-off then. In this scenario, the horizontal daisy chains would remain.
The shoulder straps themselves are actually quite small. In the pictures, these are test straps, which will eventually get replaced after a couple of trips, and are just a way for me to figure out how the wearer wears the pack. The construction is similar to my usual straps except these do not have an S-shape but rather a J-shape.
I can’t wait to see the pack getting some mileage.
I have already covered all of the techniques I used to build the Winter Pack in other posts so I will not dwell on the details too much. The pack is relatively simple in terms of features, it has an almost vertical daisy chain, a side zipper pocket, a roll-top closure and a padded back. Plus some quality of life details.
For most of my builds, I design the front (1) and back (2) panels first, then I sew on the side panels (3, 4) to the front panel. The last pieces of the puzzle are to set the height of the roll-top with multiple parts if required, and only after that do I sew on a wide panel for the roll-top across the 3 front and side sawn panels.
The bottom panel itself is more often than not the last thing I put together, and stitch it to the front and side panels before finishing the pack by attaching the completed back panel (2,5,6).
I wanted a decent back padding for this pack since I might have to carry pointy or uncompressible gear (water bottles, alcohol stove) and not a lot of temporary padding. I went for an inversed T-shaped pad with 8mm closed cell foam topped with 3D mesh. All directly sewed on the back panel to keep every light and water resistant. To avoid wasting a lot of mesh, I decided to stitch two parts together with a flat-felled seam. The foam itself ended up being a three parts piece.
To secure the shoulder straps, I usually embed the ends in between separate panels (2, 5). I also use the same technique to add the load-lifters and the roll-top compression strap (2,5,6). The smaller pieces of the back panel will define the height of the last roll-top piece (7).
The shoulder straps are just my usual design, with an outer shell out of Cordura and 3D mesh inside. I always add daisy chains to to the full length of the shoulder straps to attach the chest strap, or smaller equipment. For this build, I went with ladder-lock buckles instead of Lineloc buckles since weight was not a huge concern.
There isn’t much else to talk about really. The front panel is very lean, with just the daisy chain attached to the main fabric without reinforcements (if the daisy chain was planned to attach heavy equipment, I would back the VX07 fabric to avoid future tear outs.
The pocket itself is just a flat pocket sewn onto on side panel. Since I am right handed, the most logical side to put the pocket on was on the right side (when wearing the pack) so I can slide the bag on one shoulder and access the pocket while walking.
That’s it! I did not cover the side compression straps since there is really nothing special about it. Enjoy!
I thought I’d make something nice for myself and since I wanted a functional day pack for winter hiking, I went right ahead and built one. What’s so special about a winter pack might you ask? Well, I might need to carry warmer layers although not necessarily wearing them so that’s a bag that can hold its volume. I like to hang gloves off of the exterior of the pack so I’ll need something for that. I would often carry a hiking pole (sometimes two) so attachments are a must. If it’s a warm day and I do not have much to carry, I would prefer a pack that can be compressed down to a low profile. I’ll need a simple hip belt if I’m scurrying through some annoying terrain and don’t want the pack to move around. And… that’s it. More of less. Ah yes, and I want some quick access pocket so I can grab a snack on the way to the top. So I made that!
There you have it, my perfect winter pack. Here are more pictures, I wouldn’t want you to have too much to read before getting to the good stuff.
In the end, the bag volume can almost pretty much double if I loosen the compression strap and use some of the additional volume the the roll-top offers. I don’t have great pictures of this, but the following snapshots should help see the difference between the compressed and non-compressed volumes. The roll-top can be extended some more to really double the volume.
Stay tuned for some behind the scene pictures!
I’m looking forward to a new year of making packs. And what better way to kick it off than to publish a random selection of the behind the scene pictures I shot while building Santa’s pack. Now I need a new project I guess 😁
Here we are, pack is finished and ready to be gift wrapped. I think words speak less than pictures, so I will now paste some pictures! Unfortunately, I had little time to take snapshots before wrapping it up and leaving for vacation. But stay tuned, since I do have a mountain of behind the scene pictures coming up.
Thank you for the great support this year! See you in 2020! 🍾
Given that my goal here was to make a good looking day-pack which can double as hiking backpack for a Christmas gift, I did not go overboard with the design and details, and stayed within the realm of lightweight and simple designs with more generic features. I opted for the lean front instead of a cargo pocket I was considering in the design to keep the day-pack feeling, and made use of the front zipper pocket idea to keep in line with daily commuting habits and needs. I know you are curious, so without further due, here is a picture of the (almost) final pack.
The finished pack ended up a bit fatter on the bottom side than the pattern it was based on (you will see some differences with the Skinny pack) but I kept it in line with the overall slimness/tallness of the original design. To get a bit more volume out of it, I also extended the maximum capacity of the pack with a higher roll-top, which brings the typical volume of this pack to about 25 to 30 liters. Another key difference is the much bulkier side pockets, which are clearly highlighting the hiking side of the design.
To counter the risk of water pooling in the side pockets due to how waterproof the X-Pac fabrics are, I finished the bottom-most side of the pockets with a strong mesh which acts as both a water drain, and a more stretchable fabric for the pockets themselves. The same design with only the VX-07 fabric would not allow a bottle to sit all the way down the pocket. This one does.
The back of the pack follows my most recent padding concept, with a high quality 8mm closed-cell foam pad coupled with a 3D mesh to offer a decent level of comfort and good breathability. This construction only covers the center part of the back panel. I find that the weight-to-support ratio of this construction is a good balance, and although this does not really qualify as ultra-light, I would probably consider this on most of my personal upcoming hiking and trekking packs.
The dimensions and V-shape of the padding are meant to follow the human torso’s shape, and I find that sweat mostly accumulates following the vertebrae, which is where the 3D mesh will make the most difference. I also consciously pack bags to avoid sharp edges anywhere my bones protrude (shoulder blades, pelvis) and found that this configuration give me adequate protection for my back without sacrificing too much weight.
If there is one construction stage I enjoy the least, it’s making the shoulder straps. I’ve been through many different concepts and iterations, and never quite liked the result or the process enough to make it my standard approach. That is, until recently, when I decided to completely avoid padding the straps with any kind of foam and rely on a better profile to spread the weight on one’s shoulders.
I designed curved straps which rely only on 3D mesh, and present a bit of a wider profile to compensate the lack of foam padding. Depending on the expected pack load and the fabric used, I usually add a daisy-chain webbing all along the strap, or only at both ends for the load lifters and accessory loops. The reason I mention load is that I found with loads higher than 6 kilograms the fabric’s normal stretch and the 3D mesh limited padding will be hampered by the webbing, which then tends to dig into one’s shoulders, effectively removing the benefit of a wider shoulder strap. If the webbing does not cover the shoulders, the fabric’s stretch will help spread loads more evenly.
The reason for me to ditch the foam was mainly due to how cumbersome and over-complicated it is to build strap with high-quality closed-cell foam. I have used Evazote EV50 in different thicknesses (mainly 4mm and 8mm) and always preferred building the straps as a sleeve (seams on the inside) for comfort as well as robustness. The major drawback of this method is that inserting the foam a posteriori never really yields perfect aesthetic (at least, I’m not skilled enough to make it look good). On one hand, EV50 tends to be very “sticky” and making the whole inserting process quite annoying. On the other hand, the sawing machine I use has limited clearance below the foot, and the stack of 3D mesh, 8mm EV50, fabric and webbing is just too much for a household machine to handle.
Now enough with the text, and on to the pictures! I have limited pictures of the final pack because I was running out of time and had to eventually gift it away, but I do have a significant amount of behind the scene pictures, which hopefully will be as satisfying to you as these are to me. Stayed tunes for the next post.
Although I’ve had limited time to work on new designs in the last months, I still had one goal for Christmas! Make Santa’s carrying sack . So I got my hand on some bright red X-Pac VX-21 which I knew was going to do the trick, and had some white VX-07 on hand for the smaller details!
The first step to designing a new pack is – for me – always about sketching a few ideas on a piece of paper to get a feel of what I could do and whether or not I will achieve what I set out to do. I started out with the shape and curves of the Skinny, but wanted to get more volume out of it, so I bumped the dimensions a bit and especially worked on extending the roll-top. I was hoping I could bring in different features that would make this pack first and foremost a day-pack, but also make sure this would still be a suitable choice for a hike. So I considered a bunch of options such as a cargo pocket, daisy chains for attachments, lightweight but decent back padding, among other things. I drew a few options and quickly settled on one look. You’ll see it when I post the project pictures.
Note – Keep in mind that the dimensions written here are just bread crumbs I left myself before even starting, and I more often than not readjust them while cutting things out. So don’t take these too seriously.
Stay tuned!
I had a ton of fun doing this project. I have to say, working with X-Pac X10 was harder than I expected. The 360g/sqm fabric is extremely stiff, but the look and feel of that fabric is totally worth the effort. I wouldn’t try to do anything too complicated with it though.
The design itself worked great, and I am very pleased with the result. The only flaw I have found so far is that the the lowest compression strap has a tendency to slip below the bulky content I stuff in the secondary compartment, which – in itself – is not a problem, but weakens the overall strength of the secondary compartment held mostly by Velcro. I was hoping that using the front flap’s daisy chains to weave the strap through would help, but I think the strap is just to low on the pack. If I was to do it again, that would be the only thing I change: move the lowest compression strap above the shoulder straps’ attachment.
This pack feels like a tank with proper reinforcements where abrasion often takes place and layers above layers of Cordura on top of the natural stiffness of the main compartment. This combination makes for an extremely sturdy pack, and I don’t feel like having to be kind to it anytime soon.