First backpack help

[Joost D]

Hi All,

My wife is joining me next year for her first hiking trip. We’ll be going to France (Britanny) and hike along the coast.

I’ve made her a quilt and now it’s time for a backpack 😊

Thus far I like this guide very much for a general idea (I don’t think my wife wants her water bottle in her straps..)

Some questions. I want the pack as comfortable as possible. So I was thinking a wrap around hip belt with lumbar pad. Are there any good plans, or could you stir me in to the good direction on materials and general sewing techniques.

Same goos for straps. For cushy straps should I use just foam or also 3d mesh? And how is the preferred way of creating them.

For fabric I was thinking of a cheaper Ripstop for prototyping and if i/she likes the design maybe in the future I will make one out of xpax.

Would one of these work?

https://www.extremtextil.de/en/nylon-210den-pu-coated-130g-sqm.html

https://www.adventurexpert.com/product/210d-pu-diamond-ripstop-polyester/

She’ll be carrying between 7-9kg. Would a simple frame be beneficial? Maybe 2 carbon rods or a sheet from pe or even foam.

Any suggestion are very welcome. Thanks in advance!

[Matt]

Just a few thoughts, Joost.

• I’d keep matters as simple as possible. At a max of 9kgs, a hip belt should be enough support.  You can insert a sleeping pad inside for more structure, if desired.  A frame?  IMO, unnecessary and complicating.
• Again, at 9kgs, foam shoulder straps and mesh is unnecessarily duplicative.  I’d go with one or the other.
• I applaud less-expensive prototypes.  But ripstop will be more difficult to work with than a stiffer fabric in my experience, i.e. xpac, DCH, etc.  What is your sanity and time worth?  Sometimes, more expensive fabrics are worth the cost to me if it spares me from (additional) frustration.

Food for thought.

[Jerry Adams]

those are good points, let me throw out a couple more at the risk of contradiction.  It’s good to get a number of ideas even if contradictory – you can decide what works best for your next iteration of pack making.

200D fabric works pretty good.  Cheap.  Plenty strong enough.

200D fabric + foam + 3D mesh for straps and hip belt

3D mesh without foam for the back

I just sew the 3D mesh on with unfinished edges.  no seam or anything, doesn’t unravel.  As you’re sewing, it tends to shift relative the fabric underneath.  I sew the 3D mesh to the fabric with a few hand stitches which makes it easier to keep aligned.  Maybe practice once with a scrap piece.  In the course of cutting out pieces for a pack, there are always scrap pieces.

My last pack I did with Dyneema from RSBTR.  It weighs a little less.  It’s stiffer – a little harder to manipulate to finish the last seams (sort of like painting yourself into a corner) – stiffer is better for a pack because it tends to collapse less when using hip belt.

It’s hard to get my machine to sew through foam + fabric + 3D mesh.  My last pack I just sewed fabric + 3D mesh to create a tube, then inserted the foam, then did some hand stitches through fabric+foam+3D to keep the foam from moving around.

I just made a hip belt by first making a circular belt of foam+fabric+3D, then hand stitched that to the pack.

This last pack – 1/4 inch foam – machine couldn’t sew through it.  Previous pack – 1/8 inch foam – machine was able to sew through it.  I didn’t really consciously select the thicker foam for the last pack – next time I’ll use 1/8 inch. 1/4 inch is a little more comfortable.

Stop before you’re totally addicted to MYOG : )

[Joost D]

Stop before you’re totally addicted to MYOG : )

Haha to late ;) When I’m done with 1 project i’m already planning a new one. Never thought sewing is this much fun!

Great tips thanks.

I already saw soms good plans here and on reddit. I’m combining it to see if I can create a pattern to start with.

[James Dick]

I highly recommend the Bagbuff online video course.  RSBTR sells the full size patterns and you can buy them directly from Bagbuff, but the course will walk you through the assembly steps.   The course is detailed enough that with a little creativity you don’t need to buy the pattern.   I did buy the pattern, heavily modified it for one pack and haven’t used it since.

I made a daypack as a prototype, scaled it up to a full size pack, used it on one trip, cut it apart to make another.  You won’t save any money but it’s fun making it exactly like you want.  My kids have the most awesome day packs in the scout troop.

[Jerry Adams]

My far out idea is to just make the pack a cylinder.  You can make a box bottom, or have a circular bottom piece.  Roll top – I use velcro to close it, then roll it, then have a strap.

I put my tent poles on the outside to pull the pack somewhat flat.

This is sort of far out though.  Simple.  I think maybe this works for me but not broadly applicable.

I am prejudiced against pockets – I just put stuff like water bottle inside pack at top.

There’s a BPL article about it, several iterations ago but I haven’t evolved much from that.

[Paul E]

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/myog-my-modified-g4-backpack-project-very-long-post/ I did a really long write up with photos on my first pack build. Perhaps it may help? Good luck :)

[Joost D]

Thanks!

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