I have no idea what got into me. Maybe it was the inexpensive deal on sil-nylon I got from Oware. Maybe it was just that periodic drive to DIY. Maybe, as my wife suspects, I’m a bit loony.
Well, regardless, I decided to sew my own Super Ultra Light pack. I have a Mariposa. I have an Essence (man, that 90 dollar deal was too much to withstand). But both of those clock in above 10 oz. I wanted something that came in at around 6 oz for my SUL gear.
So I spent some time online looking at a variety of packs. I downloaded directions from thru-hiker.com, Gossamer Gear and looked at pretty much every other pack out there. In the end, I decided on something that is a unholy cross between the Fanatic Fringe Alpine Trail, the Golite Breeze and the Gossamer Gear stuff.
Here are some pictures:
It clocks in at 5.5 oz. It holds, oh lets say about 1700 ci of gear (give or take a few inches).
It sports:
1. 3 big mesh pockets (sides, front)
2. Draw String extension collar
3. Over the top compression strap
4. Silnylon sides/front and 200 cordura back/bottom
5. 2.5” wide straps w/ anti-slip fabric on the bottom
6. Haul Loop
It took about 5 hours to make, give or take some for cutting the silly slippery sil-nylon. Plugged in the Ipod and let it shuffle while I put it together. The assembly was pretty much following the Gossamer Gear G4 instructions but with my own custom pattern. Of course, for the money I spent, I could have purchased a Fanatic Fringe pack, but hey, it’s the journey my friend.
Now to try it out – hope the seams hold <grin>
