Finished weight: 14.7 oz.
I decided to make this pack after realizing that the MLD Burn and Gossamer Gear Murmur weren't quite what I wanted, but I wanted a pack that size and liked some features about both packs. What I wanted from the Burn was a durable fabric, webbing closure over the extension collar, and webbing on the shoulder strap to add an adjustable sternum strap and shoulder pouch. What I wanted from the Murmur were the shoulder straps, removable 3/4" webbing waist belt, back pad sleeve, and the volume.
I didn't want to pay for the Dyneema X fabric used on the Burn, so I decided to make this pack out of Xpac WX20 from Dimension Polyant. They said it was gray when I ordered it, but it's more of a Silver/White/Gray color, which is fine with me. It was very nice to work with and does feel quite durable. The crunchy/stiff feel of it is kind of interesting to have on a pack when you're used to very drapable nylon, but I am quite pleased with it.
The extension collar is 70D ripstop nylon.
The back sleeve and front pocket are both made from Lycra Mesh from Quest Outfitters, and I decided to use the Leno Mesh for the bottle pockets, because I've heard it is very durable stuff, and I tend to scrape bottle pockets a lot when I'm hiking.
The under side of the shoulder straps are 4mm Foam Ventilated Mesh from Rockywoods. It's fairly heavy stuff, but really comfortable on my shoulders. I think I would continue to use it on future packs.
I like having pockets either on my hip belt or shoulder straps, and since I made this pack with 3/4" webbing as the hip belt, I decided to make a shoulder pouch for it. I might make another pouch, but I made this one fairly large, so I might only need one. The pouch adds .7 oz. to the pack.
I made the pouch out of 70D ripstop nylon and added a velcro strip to the front and a velcro tab at the top so it can be folded over. I also added a drawcord to cinch it closed for more closure options.
The whole pack didn't come out as light as I was hoping, but I figured it would end up weighing slightly more than my 10 oz. goal because of the materials I chose. However, I think it's going to end up being a pretty durable pack, which is what I wanted, and it's nice having all the features that I wanted for a pack this size.
After realizing how addicting making my own pack is, I might have to make my own version of the Mariposa Plus that I have. Maybe in a month or so I'll be posting another MYOG pack.
