Securing the roll top on a Seek Outside

[BPLwiia]

I’ve used a SO Fortress 6,300 which has a top lid and lashing it down also secures the rolltop. I just got a SO Gila, want to keep it as light a possible, so I wouldn’t use a top lid with it. I’m looking at other methods to secure it.

I’m aware of two methods to secure the rolltop of a SO pack although there may be other ways. The first is to roll it then run a strap with a buckle and fasten each side along the side of the pack using a strap and gatekeeper, You can see this method here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPCMOgJ5w5M&t=84s

The other method is to roll it then use a “Y” strap with 3 gatekeepers. Two are fastened on two loops near the loadlifters and the other on a loop near the SO logo. You see this method here:

https://youtu.be/wfuQV3Ejpv0?t=36

How are you fastening down your roll top?

 

 

[Philip Tschersich]

Always the former, never the latter. I personally hate those over-the-top Y straps.

[Greg Pehrson]

If your final roll is a half-roll then you end up with the rolltop “ring” sitting flat on the top of the pack, instead of like a donut standing on end which can get caught on branches. So there’s no need for a Y-strap to hold it down, and it’s just one buckle to click–streamlined and simple. I don’t have a Seek Outside pack but I have used packs with rolltops with this method for seven or eight years, including on bushwhacks in the White Mountains of New Hampshire where the bushes whack back. Here’s a picture illustrating the method:

 

[Iago Vazquez]

I prefer the simplicity of the one clip method, as illustrated by Greg. Like Philip, I abhor the over the top strap. I understand the need for it at times, so I typically cut the strap and resew a loop with triglides at the necessary points. Clipping to the sides is alright, but again, it’s too clips, not one. Clipping to the sides also results in a more “pleasant” shape for pictures perhaps, if aesthetics is your thing… For some reason I am rather impatient about pack opening speed and simplicity :D

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