MYOG Jay Ham SUL pack

Nice job on the pack. I have a pad that looks like yours, (3/4 "Washington") but it is one pieced and I have to roll it. I used to put it inside my Golite Gust in a cylinder shape. How do you get your pad folded to fit the pocket? I was thinking of cutting it into sections as I have seen posted at Gossamer Gear. I would like to carry it inside my pack, but folded. Is that what you have done? I would like to combine it with a z-rest to get more cushioning.

Howdy,

The pad is torso length and is scored to fold, i bought it from gossamer gear, the gg torsolight pad which comes pre cut and is great but is only on the torso so i use a short peice of closed cell foam to go under my legs when its a bit chilly!

If you can cut it youself great, its a slit cut around halfway through the pad to enable it to bend into three sections, but the 3rd section is slightly wider to bend over the other two sections, hope this makes sense!!
or you can purchase one, not expensive, $18.

Check them out –
http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/nightlight_torso.html

Very nice work! May I ask what you used to pad the shoulder straps and hipbelt?

I hope your pack gives you many miles of enjoyable service!

Michael

the pack i made using Jay's dimensions (i didn't wait for the article, nor have i read it, not being a member)was very small. I used silnylon and it was very light, 3.5oz. But i could hardly fit my gear, food & water in it for an over night (i'm fat, >320lbs, so i eat a lot of food, sub 5lbs base + 1 liter of water)Just out of curiosity did you use his exact dimensions, with 1/2 seam allowance? If not what dimensions did you use? Maybe i cut my fabric wrong. I did make it a tad shorter than he calls for, i was using fabric scraps and didn't have enough, but that shouldn't have made it so narrow

Hi,

For the pack straps padding I used 6mm closed cell foam which seems to feel fine.

For the dimensions I followed the jam ham instructions but for using 3/8 seem allowance which may give the bag a slightly bigger volume (but I don’t remember jay stating an allowance for the pack), and longer straps to take in account the back pad, it came out still only at around 30ltrs not including the pockets.

It might be a squeeze, when we tested it with winter kit for a couple of days it was tight and we shared the gear, but we used slightly deeper pockets and had a extra pocket, the water and tarp and small extras was stored in the outer pockets, also our sleep pad is on the back which freed up allot of room in the main compartment, because jay hams hasn’t got these so you might find it a tad small fitting gear in.

I think i would make the pack longer next time tho, im a tad over 6feet and it does feel like it could be a bit short on my torso but nothing major and prob fine without the hip belt, if your taller it clould be to short!

These are the dimensions we used with 3/8" seem allowance and added 4" to the straps.

Pack front panel (30”x11”)
Pack side panels (30”x6”)
Pack shoulder straps (3.5”x16”)
Pack back panel (2 pieces; 10”x11” and 27”x11”)
Pack side panel pockets (9”x10”) with 1.5" pleat folds
(Jay Hams pocket was (7"x9")

could the pad be stored outside, like yours, with shock cord instead of Lycra? That would cut weight a good bit, the lycra I've seen is very (from an ultralighter's perspective) heavy.

Yer you could put the pad on the outside of the pack rolled up, you would prob only need a couple of shock cord straps on the side with the pad rolled up would work fine especially if you have just 1 pocket, that would free the other side up!

–could the pad be stored outside, like yours, with shock cord instead of Lycra?–

That's how I attach my pad to my Whisper when its a little full inside. It has some handy little loops for threading shock cord, I just thread it on the side next to my back and slide the pad underneath. It holds well and is comfortable enough. The only downside I've found is that the shoulder straps on the Whisper don't seem like they were designed with this in mind and almost come up short (if I used the supplied padding hardly any would actually be on my shoulders).

Adam

Yes you could,

iv seen that a few times on those packs.

When making the pack because the pad is thick I would have to make the straps longer, I found if I used the original measurements I would have hardly any on my shoulders to, so I extended them to the thickness of the pad, but its a good idea useing shock cord, prob lighter than lycra, and more durable, easily replaced to!

you could prod use a woven elastic instead as its flat rather than round cord, this would lie flat against the pad and maybe be more comftable!

Your pack is absolutely stunning!