10.5 oz Cuben Fiber / Xpac Backpack

Okay, I have a question. When are you going to start taking orders?

Your packs are really sweet. Congrats.

And I'm serious about the taking orders thing. ;-)

Chris,

You continue to amaze all in the MYOG community. ;-)

I am impressed by the ingenuity of the sock pocket in your hip belt design. Have you taken it out for a test run yet? How stable is the hip belt? When I tried something similar in my pack shoulder straps they tended to roll around and I had to revert to ccf padding. ;-(

I think your combination and contrast of materials is very impressive.

Great work!

Party On,

Newton

Your packs are incredible!

What if you made this a drybag pack! That would be incredible! You're almost there, the cuben is only attached at one point! Throw some arrow shafts in there and you have a killer drybag!!!

Please make one!

EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!

Chris, I'm glad to starting working with cuben! It gets better and better. I'm really digging this one

So I unboxed my sewing machine and its been very very fun. Let's just say I have a lot of stuffsacks right now :D.

I have a quick, stupid question for you or any skilled sewer for that matter. On your spade shaped xpac piece…how do you sew curves like that? I imagine you cut the 2 exact spade shaped pieces, with room for the seam tolerance. But then what? Do you start it like a stuff sack and sew the seams from the inside and then flip it inside out so that the rightside of the fabric is facing out? My other big question is does anyone have tips for sewing curves. Such as the curve in the spade, or the end of the hipbelt. I have a hard enough time making sure I have a straight even stitch. Do you all just work slowly, and pull the fabric at an angle as it feeds underneath the foot? Are you guys using a clear foot? Thanks

You have mastered the curves! I avoid them because I don't know if I could do them. I know I couldn't do them as well as you. Really adds to the look.

Douglas – My wife would be more then happy to see me make a pack that was not going to stay here and take up space, and I would love to have an excuse to have to make more packs, so orders will be taken at anytime ;-)

Newton – I was wearing it around last night and did not have any issue with the socks rolling around. I wanted to make the pocket for the socks big enough so that I could just fold a sock in half so it would be as flat as possible. Plus with the xpac connection piece, inside the cuben pocket, attached to the webbing and to the backpack acts like a compression strap and does a good job of keeping the sock in place.

Tyler – Your wish is my command… My original thought for this pack was to make a dry bag pack out of the cuben. I will have to revisit this idea and see what I can come up with.

Konrad – Glad to hear you got that puppy unboxed; you can never have enough stuff sacks! As for your question, yes I cut 2 of the same spade shapes out and put the right sides (the green sides) facing each other. I then sew them around the boarder like you would with a stuff sack. I then turn the piece inside out and run an iron over it to flatten out the edges. I then sew in my webbing and any buckles and then I sew another line on the out side edge of the fabric. As for sewing curves, just go slow, sometimes it is just a stitch at a time on aggressive curves. I also try and find a point on the front of my sewing machine foot and keep the edge of the fabric lined up with that. The curve on the spade was no where near as hard as the curve on the hipbelt, I got a little carried away with that idea. Curves are addictive though, once you start it is hard to stop! The foot I use is just a regular metal foot that came standard on my singer.

Daryl – Don’t avoid the curves! Squish them under your machines foot and stomp down on that pedal and show them whose boss!

Christopher – I'll add my compliments onto the heaps of praise you've already received. good stuff.

Also, could you describe the materials and process of making your shoulder straps? I like the design, and want to come up with a light, clean and relatively simple shoulder strap design or method for some upcoming projects. I've only made two so far, but I think packs are really a gratifying thing to make because they are so customizable and you can grind one out in a day.

thanks,

Matt

Christopher,

You should seriously consider getting an industrial machine if you haven't already and start selling these packs! You've obviously got the knack for gear-building.

Oh, I found your photography site – excellent work! I see how your photographic eye applies to gear design as well.

I second the request for more detail on shoulder strap materials–what mesh did you use and what edging?

This is terrific work.

Sure I'll be more then happy to show you guys how I put them together. Let me get some photos together when I get home and I will post something later this evening.

This is definitely my favorite pack of yours so far. I really like the simplicity of this one, yet you have some great useful details. I love the loops for shock cord to lash things and/or compression. Its the small well thought out details like that in your project that always gets my attention.

Seriously, these are great. I just started the MYOG journey with a fleece jacket for my dog (complete with seam on the side so it doesn't rub with his backpack) and am really anxious to start working with nylon and then even lighter fabrics. Is there any advice you would offer a brand new sewer starting their first backpack? Like the seams you were talking about with Konrad, could you explain that more fully? I was trying to picture exactly what was being discussed but couldn't. Thanks in advance and awesome products!

Hey Chris and anyone else out there here is my step by step process for sewing the spade and triangle strap connections together.

Step 1: Cut 2 of the same pieces out.

Step 2:Put the 2 pieces with the right side facing each other.

Step 3: Run a line up each side, try and stay as true to the curve as possible.

Step 4:Turn it right side out, you can run an iron over it if it will not stay flat.

Step 5:I get my other pieces ready, such as webbing and ladderlocs.

Step 6: I thread the webbing through the ladder and make sure the ends of the webbing are even. I then insert the webbing into the small hole and run a line to hold it in place.

Step 7: I change out the thread to a heavier thread in a complimentary color and run a stitch around the outside. Try and keep this one as nice as possible because everyone is going to be able to see it. There never perfect though…

Step 8: The final step, just add a zig-zag stitch over the first line you stitched in step 6.

and that is it, I use the same steps on my bigger pieces as well. Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any questions

Chris

Chris,

Awesome instruction, seriously, you are going to save me, (and I'm sure others) a great deal of trouble and wasted material. I was actually sitting in the fabric store today contemplating how to sew these, and now my questions are answered. Just wondering, was it difficult sewing the giant spade and then flipping it inside out? It looks like that would have been complicated. Thanks for the enlightenment though, these processes may seem simplistic to pros, but to those of us who have no experience, the are truly helpful.

Chris

It can get tricky when you try and fit a bigger section of material through a small section. You have to make sure you don't get the fabric balled up when you are trying to work it through, I sometimes use the bottom round end of a sharpie to help push the fabric through. Just get some cheap fabric to try it out first and get some practice.

Chris

Chris ,
Very innovative and simplistic design that's all function uses one piece of cloth for the front and sides of the pack and pocket. Less seams than traditional 4 sided pack design . I going to build one out of X pack and thru hiker grid stop. Love the pocket beaver tail closer.

One teak to the design to keep the pack water proof you could add a top flap pocket or just a round disc like a stuff sack.

Thank you very much for sharing.
Terry

What weight thread did you use for the main back panel to pack body seams?

I am having difficulty with heavier threads and contemplating using standard weight 100% polyester Gutermann for a Cuben pack. Is this a mistake?

Also are you finishing these seams with grosgrain internally?

John,

This is an older “thread”, no pun intended. ;-)

Terry’s post directly above yours is dated 1/31/2011.

You can email Chris directly here.

You can also use the PM system on BPL by clicking on Chris’s avatar and then clicking on the PM link on his bio info page.

Chris is a really good guy and readily helps out with answers to MYOG questions.

I hope this helps.

Party On,

Newton

Hey John,

For that pack I used Gutermann heavy duty thread or Gutermann upholstery thread. You can by all means use standard thread, but I just don't know how strong the seams would be or how long they would last. What kind of problems are you having with the thicker thread? I do use grossgrain on the inside seams, another thing I do to make the seams stronger is double my seam allowances and fold the edges of the cuben over to double up the cuben at the seam. Let me know if you have any other questions.

When I use the thicker thread the stitch doesn't pull up into the fabric. When I tighten the thread tension all the way to the highest tension to correct the stitch gets better, but the bobbin thread is still somewhat flat on the lower surface and I can feel where the top thread comes over the bottom thread rather than pulling the stitch back into the fabric.

I practiced making shoulder straps tonight and simply stitched the wrong sides together and then turned inside out. The stitching was very week due to small seam allowance and no grosgrain. My next plan is to stitch right side out and wrap with grosgrain.

John,

"I am having difficulty with heavier threads and contemplating using standard weight 100% polyester Gutermann for a Cuben pack".

"When I use the thicker thread the stitch doesn't pull up into the fabric. When I tighten the thread tension all the way to the highest tension to correct the stitch gets better, but the bobbin thread is still somewhat flat on the lower surface and I can feel where the top thread comes over the bottom thread rather than pulling the stitch back into the fabric".

What size sewing needle are you using in your machine?

I've experienced some difficulty with the heavier weight threads and a sewing machine needle sized too small. The heavier thread was "abrading" itself on the material because the hole being made by the needle was not large enough. At slower speeds the problem wasn't as pronounced as it was at higher speeds.

It sounds like you are adjusting the thread tension on the top side. Are you adjusting the bobbin's thread tension also?

If you have a manual for your machine it may give you the instructions for adjusting the bobbin thread tension. It is something of a balancing act getting the thread tension adjusted correctly on the top and bottom.

Sewing machine manuals are available online and some can be viewed and or downloaded for free. Just Google your sewing machine's make and model.

I hope this helps. ;-)

Party On,

Newton

Standard home machines generally shouldn't use anything higher than a V-69 thread. Industrials, on the other hand, can generally run V-92 or even V-138.

Yeah like Newton said try adjusting your bobbins tensions and use a bigger needle like size 16 at least. The machine I used to build that pack was a $150 Singer home machine that I got form JoAnn Fabrics so my machine was just a standard home machine. It sounds like you have a tension issue and just need to tweak around with it until you get it dialed in.

Did your sewing machine come with a basting stitch bobbin case? These have a black portion instead of being all chromed. The spring is set up to be looser that the standard case. This allows me to run the larger diameter thread, and have some tension adjustment.

This is a regular one