Lightened External Frame

[Scott Nelson]

After reading Roger Caffin's articles about the virtues of an "H" frame, I was happy to find a garage sale Jansport pack that I could hack up with no guilt if the project failed. I was able to eliminate three of the cross bars and with a new simple bag and hipbelt, it weighs 3 lbs. 4 oz. I am thinking this will be good on trails for winter and in summer when I have to use a bear can. I may go back and make a smaller bag for summer.

[Anonymous]

I hope this thread is not too dead to respond to. I am intrigued with making a low weight modified jansport frame. I have been playing with it off and on over several months. Although I picked up an armed belt version identical to the one you used, I have focused on a child's size Jansport before tackling the larger version you have. I plan to increased the forward bend of the bottom vertical and use a waist belt with a flexible connection on the sides so to concentrate the weight there but allow flexibility.

I'm interested in how your version worked out nearly 4 years later. I'll add my email address to my profile.
Regards,
Paul

[Luke Schmidt]

I've thought about this basic idea a couple times myself, especially given Dave's success with the Paradox packs.

I did take apart a couple old external frames so I could weigh the components. The pack bags could be lightened up but the heavies part is the frame, lots of metal there. If I ever do it I'll probably modify a kid's pack to fit me or take and adult pack and cut the frame down to should height. I don't think I'll ever need a frame that high.

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