Day Pack Build

Hard Kit is all other accoutrements that are not clothing, weapons or armour. This includes pots and tents, and flint & steel, and other things like that.

Moderators: caedmon, Greg

Post Reply
User avatar
Iodo
Thangailhir
Posts: 2112
Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2017 5:58 pm
Location: North west england UK
Contact:

Day Pack Build

Post by Iodo »

So far I've been for afternoon walks in kit which this relies on not needing to bring anything much. To be able to go on full day hikeing trips in kit I definitely needed a smallish pack, when I first started thinking about it a while ago I came up with a list of requirements:
  • Reasonably small but big enough for a pack lunch, flask and coat
    Not to heavy when empty
    Some smaller pockets both inside and out, to keep smaller items safe
    Reasonable water resistance
    Earth tone/green color scheme
    Easy to use fastenings
    Points on the outside to tie extra things to
Starting point
I didn't really want to make it from scratch, the main reason being I never managed to get hold of fabric thick enough, on Saturday I found a bag in a thrift store that seemed to match my size requirement, and almost match my looks requirement.
IMG_20180120_160353.jpg
IMG_20180120_160353.jpg (129.69 KiB) Viewed 7197 times
The downside being it was untreated cotton and not even slightly waterproof, all the leather trim was fake and nasty and it had a cheep scratchy nylon lineing
IMG_20180120_160346.jpg
IMG_20180120_160346.jpg (125.31 KiB) Viewed 7197 times
However I liked the simple design and plain webbing straps

Modifications I made
The first thing I did was strip the fake leather trim and nasty lineing out (which I kept for the paturn to remake the lineing later). While it was nothing more that a shell I took the opertunity to wax it, which darkened the fabric a lot, and gave it reasonable waterproofing (still not great because the weave is quite loose, but it seemed to help). Then I stitched a new strip of thick fabrick at the top to work as the draw string, and lined it with some grey linen I had left over from a previous project (now the inside of my bag matches my trousers :P ).
IMG_20180121_193534.jpg
IMG_20180121_193534.jpg (98.69 KiB) Viewed 7197 times
IMG_20180121_193558.jpg
IMG_20180121_193558.jpg (53.15 KiB) Viewed 7197 times
Finally, the finishing touches were to put a real leather strap buckle on the front ( made from an old belt), leather straps on the smaller pockets (which will be fastened by buttons when I find some I like) and brass eyelets for the drawstring.
IMG_20180123_200539.jpg
IMG_20180123_200539.jpg (50.98 KiB) Viewed 7197 times
IMG_20180123_200614.jpg
IMG_20180123_200614.jpg (75.14 KiB) Viewed 7197 times
And add all my stuff:
IMG_20180123_200324.jpg
IMG_20180123_200324.jpg (34.62 KiB) Viewed 7197 times
IMG_20180123_200141.jpg
IMG_20180123_200141.jpg (43.7 KiB) Viewed 7197 times
The only thing left to do is work out how to wear a pack with a cloak, both frodo and Sam seem to manage it in lotr, although I think that's movie magic, for now I think I'll stick to ether/or :mrgreen:
Gimli: It's true you don't see many Dwarf-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf-men.
Aragorn: It's the beards.
User avatar
SierraStrider
Silent Watcher over the Peaceful Lands
Posts: 289
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:54 pm
Location: California
Contact:

Re: Day Pack Build

Post by SierraStrider »

Seems like a pack of that size would fit under a cloak quite easily.

Nice design. It seems hard to make a backpack that looks appropriate, but I think you've done a good job.
User avatar
Iodo
Thangailhir
Posts: 2112
Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2017 5:58 pm
Location: North west england UK
Contact:

Re: Day Pack Build

Post by Iodo »

SierraStrider wrote:Seems like a pack of that size would fit under a cloak quite easily.

Nice design. It seems hard to make a backpack that looks appropriate, but I think you've done a good job.
Thanks :P yes I can wear it under a cloak easily and am probably being to picky when I say I'm not keen on the 'hunchback' look it gives me :mrgreen: I haven't quite decided what to do yet
At the weekend I found perfect buttons for the leather tabs and your post reminded me they existed so I sowed them on this evening: (terrible image quality, sorry)
IMG_20180129_202506.jpg
IMG_20180129_202506.jpg (78.05 KiB) Viewed 7126 times
Gimli: It's true you don't see many Dwarf-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf-men.
Aragorn: It's the beards.
Post Reply