I sewed some stuff sacks together, and it gave me enough courage to try my hand at a pack or two!

These are both made with Dyneema X, 2.2oz Coated nylon ripstop, and Leno Mesh.

They aren't anything new, and can definitely be improved.. (so can my sewing)

I just read the instructions on how to make a pack from the 5 yards to SUL article, and then sort of changed it around a teeeny bit and used different materials obviously.

I really came into this project not really know exactly what I was going to do. I basically just went for it, and therefore made a few mistakes here and there, but nothing too serious.

Here is the first pack. I Messed up on the shoulder strap border a little bit on one of the straps, but its nothing serious. The sternum strap could have definitely been put together a lot better, but it works fine. And a few other areas are a tad bit imperfect because of my bad sewing.

I used the post from Christopher Zimmer to help me with the shoulder straps on the first pack btw.







And here is the Second pack. I did the shoulder straps differently this time and put 1/2" thick foam for some super comfort. Also, I left off a lot on this pack compared to the first one, but kept the shock cord loops.







It was really fun to make these 2 packs, hopefully I can go try them out sometime soon. I wouldn't have been able to do this if it wasn't for the awesome people on these forums... so thanks!!

Edited by GiganticMermaid on 02/10/2011 20:57:28 MST.

Michael, your packs look great!

The pockets (esp on the 1st one) are just what I would want. And the thick shoulder straps on the 2nd will be worth it.

Nice job!

Thanks todd!
If I could do it all over again I would have definitely put the same pockets on the second pack.

Great Job on the packs, Nice design and craftsmanship. What is the volume? Howabout overall weight?

Edited by Mountainfitter on 02/10/2011 19:40:04 MST.

Thanks for the kind words Lawson.
I'm not sure about the volume of the packs, but I can say that they both hold all of my gear for my mid-late march start for the AT though.
The first pack weighs 15oz according to my fishing scale that I don't trust. The second pack weighs in at 11oz.

Yeah they look great. Nice and light too. Any plans for another pack? How did you like working with the Dyneema gridstop? The best way to calculate volume is Diameter x height.. This will give you a true volume figure. Now if only the commercial pack makers would use this.

Edited by Mountainfitter on 02/10/2011 20:43:19 MST.

I'll probably try another pack after the AT. I'm running low on time right now. Next project is gonna be a summer quilt, then I'll be out on the trail.

I haven't really worked with many materials, so I can't really compare the Dyneema to much else. I really liked working with it compared to the Ripstop nylon though. It was much more firm and not so slippery like the nylon. The only problem I had with the Dyneema was cutting it. I just used ordinary scissors, and they barely worked.

Totally awesome packs! I'd be happy to carry either of them!

Michael, great job on these packs, they both look really nice. Nice job on the shoulder straps as well, they look really good! On your discription on the photo of the shoulder straps I see you think you over did them a little, what did you over do?

Keep up the great work!

Micheal,

Very nice looking packs, the outside pockets will be great for the "on trail" items. Going to bookmark this now for future reference. Good Luck on the AT.
Eric

Michael,

Let me add my congratulations to you on the great job you did on these packs.

What was your total materials cost?

On the sternum straps Quest Outfitters has sternum strap sliders (item #3091 under plastic hardware) that can be installed and removed from the shoulder strap webbing without any sewing, cutting or seam ripping of the shoulder strap webbing. They will allow you to move the sternum strap up and down as needed or remove it if desired.

What is the make and model of your sewing machine?

Keep up the good work!

Party On,

Newton

Christopher - I just put too many loops on the shoulder straps, I should have spaced them out a little further in my opinion. They also don't match up at the top of the straps.. maybe I'm just picky haha.

John - Thanks! Everything cost me a little under $100 and I still have a good amount of Leno Mesh, 3D mesh, and Nylon left over. The Dyneema is basically all used up. I'll look into that sternum strap idea.. I still need to put one on the second pack.
I have an old Singer 347 that was passed down to me.

Gracias for the kind words everybody.

They both look really nice! Good luck on the AT!