Cuben Pack Bag – 2.54 ounces
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Cuben Fiber Pack Bag for a Winter Hike.
Finished Pack Bag weighs 2.54 ounces.I start each pack with a full size mock-up.
I am using a type of Cuben Fiber with a 4-way cord pattern. This fiber is really strong and still only weighs 0.49 ounces per squard yard.
This is the finished "pouch" for my Snow Shoes.
Lots of small parts go into a pack.
This is the packs front pocket with the "pouch" for the Snow Shoes sewn on to it.
Side panels for the pack.
The finished pack bag is 6" x 13.5" x20". The front pocket is 13.5" x18" x 2". The roll top is 12" tall.
The pack with stuff in it and with the Snow Shoes attached.
Cuben packs small and the Cuben Pack Bag weighs 2.54 ounces.
pj – Robert – Phil:
Thanks for the nice comments.I have a great computer(s) (3 – Apples) but don't have a Cad / Cam program. I would rather make a full size mock-up and attach all the loops, straps, hardware, etc and tape or glue them where I think I want them. Then I decide how and when to sew them on the pack panels. I try and figure out where and when to sew stuff together so it will be as strong as possible.
This Cuben Fiber is the strongest I have worked with so far. I have 3 other Cuben products that are even stronger. The price for stronger fiber is extra weight. I have never had a problem with the lighter Cuben fiber. One of the packs I used on my GA Hike was made out of the very light stuff and some of same material this pack uses. The only pack I have owned that tore in a spot was from me doing a swan dive downhill after tripping over a hidden tree root. I fell on my side – on the pack – and ripped a tear in it about 7" long. My pack liner was OK and kept everything in my pack from falling out. I did put some duct tape on the tear and went on.
The real test will come on a long hike and may answer pj's question "Thru-Hike durability". I will have a back up for my Cuben items if I need or want to change stuff out. I will go to a smaller pack as soon as I am able to drop some of the cold weather gear.
Robert,
The frame doesn't morph into a tent – yet. I am still working on the frame but it will turn into a way to hold one of my trekking poles with my Gorillapod wrapped around the top of it holding my camera.
External Frame for the Cuben Pack Bag
Thanks "e" for your nice comments and questions.
Question from "e":I have previously read the thread and looked at the pictures when you developed the External frame. I forget why you still use it. Was it primarily for ventilation? It was my understanding that external frames are most advantageous when hauling big (heavy) loads. Are there more advantages I am not aware of?
Reply:
I have always liked the external frame for the reasons you stated and a few more.
Ventilation for me is first on the list but I think the way the External Frame carries a pack bag is also just better. With the right frame I can just change pack bags for the type of hiking I am going to be doing.
For back ventilation I believe that if I can move my pack bag a couple inches or so away from my back the "Highly Engineered Fabric" in the garment on my back will be able to do what I expected and paid for it to do. When you put a Internal Frame Pack or Pad Supported Pack on your back, you all but kill the fabric's ability to breath and deal with your sweat / heat. I will say that several pack makers have started to design ways to allow some venting to take place between their packs and your back. I am not sure how good their ideas are working. It is a step in the right direction. There was a time that garments were tested and the review would talk about how well they worked under a pack or didn't and most didn't. Now most reviews have removed comments about the item while wearing a pack.
For an External Frame to work in todays 'Light Pack" world it has to be very light. My lightest External Frame so far was about 7 ounces. It was great for a pack weight of about 15 pounds total. The problem at that time was my pack weight was not that low. I also wanted the frame to work for cold weather hiking when the weight and pack volume goes up.
I have tried a lot of different materials and designs. They all work but were not what I am looking for.
The frame in the pictures is a work in progress. This frame has a lot of new ideas but is not made with the lightest materials. It is a design "test" mule. After some testing I will decide what worked and what didn't and then make a new version out of lighter materials.
I can make a pack bag out of different Cuben Fiber that weigh from less than 1 ounce (G6 size) to 2.5 to 3 ounce like the bag in this thread. If you look at all the black loops, webbing, hardware etc. on the pack bag – they alone add up to a little over 1 ounce.
My External Frame goal is for a frame that weighs around 1 pound and that "could" carry as much as 20 to 25 pounds if necessary. The External Frame pictured here is about 1.75 pounds. It has no Titanium in it but the next version will. When I am able to combine a good design with Titanium and Carbon Fiber Composts I will get to my one pound goal.
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