1,800 cu in day bag for hunting with Challenge Ultra 200

Nice work!
One of these day I’d like try my hand at the MYOG game. I don’t hunt but I would really like to design and build a splitboard specific pac as there really aren’t a lot of UL offerings for packs with the feature set I would like.

That looks outstanding.  Nice work!

Thanks guys. Nicholas- yes, definitely get into MYOG. Sewing takes patience and experience to get right, but like any skill you learn by doing. Start with basic items like stuff sacks and work your way up. Once you get a basic level of proficiency, it’s cool what you can create. Also, it allows you to modify existing gear to better suit your needs.

I weighed the bag and it came in at 220g (7.75 oz). It’s interesting that dropping down to Ultra 100 from 200 only saves 0.5 oz/yd (3.0 oz vs 3.5 oz) so a fair amount of the fabric weight is the Mylar backing, the 45 degree crossply yarn in the 100, etc.

Sweet.  And good looking!

I really like MYOG posts like this one that show stages of the construction process. And when the builders talk about oops moments along the way. As someone who has lots of oops moments in my sewing, it’s very reassuring.

Philip, the pack looks great! The way the orange loops pop against the gray is such a nice color contrast and  I bet makes them that much easier to locate and clip into. What do you use the vertical loop along the lip of the water bottle pocket for?

Thanks for sharing.

Greg- the vertical gear loop on the bottle pocket is an anchor point for when I want to cinch the roll-top of the bag down along the sides rather than clip it to itself, or if I run a top lid. On standard SO packs you just use one of the normal gear loops, but it ends up pulling the loop at a 90-degree angle to the loop’s intended pull direction. So I just gave myself an optional spot for vertical strap pulls.

Cheers

That looks great! What an awesome idea for the SO platform!

Believe me, every time I sew one of these I send pics to Kevin at SO and prod him gently to make something comparable. He hasn’t bitten yet, but I think I’m wearing him down, haha.

Looks great Philip!

Very nice. I agree they need a mid size pack.
thom

Pro quality work. Excellent design too.

Wow, great pictures and a nice looking pack. The orange and gray is a nice combo. I really appreciate the 4-sided assembly picture because it helps to understand how a bathtub “floor” for a backpack is made. I’ve been thinking of trying a 4-sided pack instead of the 2-panel packs I’ve made where you have 2 pieces for the pack body instead of 4. I’ve also been thinking of trying a pack where it’s really one big piece for the back, bottom and front and then 2 separate pieces for the sides. I am not sure what all the advantages and disadvantages are.

Piper, my experience has been that the main benefit of a 4-sided assembly is that it allows you to sew all of the pockets and webbing into the seams instead of onto the middle of a panel, and the seam spreads out the stress load. My first MYOG pack was just one piece of fabric that I sewed 2 bottle pockets and front mesh pocket directly onto. I sewed it into a cylinder (with the single seam running up the back between the shoulder straps), and rolled the bottom and squared it off (like making a flat-bottom stuff sack). Granted, I was using a lightweight nylon ripstop, but over time, the weight of the bottles in the side pockets started to create stitch elongation where the pockets were attached to the main bag, eventually leading to holes there. If I were to do a one or two piece pack construction now, I’d use a more durable fabric and/or add a strip of reinforcing fabric to the back side of anything I’m not sewing into a seam.

I’ve made four backpacks at this point and consider myself very much a novice still. Philip’s construction is exponentially better than mine.

I would be happy to post some of my design scribbles if anyone wants to copy aspects or the complete bag. The only slightly tricky bit is the oddly-shaped outer zippered pocket.

I’m glad folks are getting some DIY inspiration from this. Cheers.