MYOG 10 liter universal Front-pack

[Daniel Oxnard]

I picked up this 10 liter Ozark trail pack and converted into a Front Pack that puts weight on hip-belt. Easily detached, and worn as an actual daypack.

I used a corrugated plastic yard sign I picked up on side of road, and a 22″ Metal U-Stake from a garage sale sign, and a piece of 3/8 inch pex pipe from lowes.

I cut open inside lining, and pulled out the foam padding. then replaced it with the structural element.

 

Pack holds a Gallon of water comfortably. Blue ties around the pex braces are the loops for carabiners to snap to.

Carabiner attached to shoulder strap, and held in place by mini ranger band.

Wire foot slips behind Hip-belt and supports pack.  Grommets through pack and backer put in to tie bracket up to avoid slipping out. Shoulder straps coiled and tied up with ranger bands

Loops for carabiner to snap to.

[Daryl and Daryl]

Daniel,

That’s about the size of the front pack that I like to use.  Has worked well for me.  Some people complain that it blocks the view of where they are walking.  Has not been a problem for me.  How about you?

[Daniel Oxnard]

@lyrad1

I have not yet taken it on a technically challenging trail . But most of the time I am looking around me when I am hiking, not straight down at my feet.  When I am looking down, it is a few feet in front of  me, and my proprioception guides my feet. If it is a really challenging spot, or rock face I have to press my chest against, I can unsnap one of the two attaching carabiners and swing pack to side.

I want to do a twenty day unsupported (no purchasing or picking up food or fuel) hike this June, and I think even weight allocation will allow that. I’m taking  my heavy All-clad skillet so I can cook over coals with good results, and my heavy  Fiskars brush axe so I don’t have to mess with stomping on dead wood ( a good way to hurt myself).

The brush axe also serves as  a good shovel, so I can make a small fire pit, and upon finishing the cooking, I can quench the coals and generate a nice batch of biochar that I can then cover with soil and leaf litter. The biochar burial will leave my campsite aesthetically unimpacted and biologically beneficially impacted!

[Daniel Oxnard]

If anyone is interested, I can put up more detailed construction technique. By the fourth pack I made, I got pretty good at it, and refined the materials and technique.

[Dustin V]

That’s a really cool idea, to build a frame to the hip-belt.  That solves the problem of the pack pulling into your chest and pulling down on the shoulder straps. I also like the idea of having a daypack available, too.

[Daniel Oxnard]

@dustinv
Regarding the day pack, if you look at the  wire frame you can see a the 1.8mm paracord tie down. If you untie this the wire frame pulls out and it does make a great daypack.

[PaulW]

Very cool idea Daniel. Please do post some more detailed directions.

[Author]

Posts