Posted: 11/8/2012 8:34:00 AM EDT
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Yeah, kinda swiped the design from Dan McHale, but the thing is good so far!
It's made with nylon webbing, plastic hardware, and 1000D cordura. Not quite happy with how it turned out, as far as being so mismatched, but I can make another one. I sewed this by hand... meaning needle and a spool of thread and with thimble.. It took about 12-18 hours to sew it I think, not quite sure.. 
Has anyone else done this? It's probably going to be the first of many I make as I want to perfect the idea I have for this pack,, but the first one I made may be worth sharing. Hell, maybe someone else wants to try it and I could potentially help out Gotta add... I got a lot of the hardware for the straps from MOLLE II straps I cannibalized. The waistbelt is currently made from a GI sleeping pad. Using aluminum for the pack stays. I haven't hiked anything huge with this, but hiked about 4 miles and the pack seemed to work pretty well! |
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Great job!!! I wish I had the patience to attempt something like that! I'd love to see what you could do with a sewing machine. You have talent. You'd be surprised how much BETTER hand-sewing is The ONE reason for the use of the sewing machine? Speed...as in, factories can turn out goods quicker using sewing machines = profit ALL the work I do is hand-sewn - not thought about making a pack though (well, not a nylon one at least - always keep meaning to make up a canvas & leather retro backpack: one day I will...) NICE WORK op Did you make templates? Any pics of the different stages of assembly? What grade thread did you use? |
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Great job!!! I wish I had the patience to attempt something like that! I'd love to see what you could do with a sewing machine. You have talent. You'd be surprised how much BETTER hand-sewing is The ONE reason for the use of the sewing machine? Speed...as in, factories can turn out goods quicker using sewing machines = profit ALL the work I do is hand-sewn - not thought about making a pack though (well, not a nylon one at least - always keep meaning to make up a canvas & leather retro backpack: one day I will...) NICE WORK op Did you make templates? Any pics of the different stages of assembly? What grade thread did you use? I actually didn't make any templates. Most of this was plans i drew out on graphing paper. I went through a multitude of different designs and made the pack before, but took it apart when I wasn't happy with how I made the back padding. Unfortunately, I did not save the pictures I took during assembly, as far as I know. It's actually not even complete just yet and I'm toying with replacing the triglides on the sides with ladder locks. To me, it'd make a bit more sense for compression of the pack. As far as thread goes... I ordered a spool of artificial sinew, split the length of sinew into 5 different strands, then used that. Most seams are double stitched with it, so it's actually tough as hell. When I originally made it and took it apart, I ended up cutting into the cordura when the sinew wouldn't cut on a few spots. Few more pics... 
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Great job!!! I wish I had the patience to attempt something like that! I'd love to see what you could do with a sewing machine. You have talent. You'd be surprised how much BETTER hand-sewing is The ONE reason for the use of the sewing machine? Speed...as in, factories can turn out goods quicker using sewing machines = profit ALL the work I do is hand-sewn - not thought about making a pack though (well, not a nylon one at least - always keep meaning to make up a canvas & leather retro backpack: one day I will...) NICE WORK op Did you make templates? Any pics of the different stages of assembly? What grade thread did you use? Can you elaborate on this? |
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Where did you get the background or inspiration for this project? I would attempt something much less ambitious if I even knew where to start. Ditto! 
OP: Mad props for ingenuity and learning how to roll our own! Dan McHale of McHale packs gets the credit for the inspiration and bulk of the design. The pack layout really does seem almost perfect I took this one apart to make one out of Foliage grey Cordura. It's in the beginning stages of production, so with any luck i won't forget to show how i made it fromt he ground up. |
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Great job!!! I wish I had the patience to attempt something like that! I'd love to see what you could do with a sewing machine. You have talent. You'd be surprised how much BETTER hand-sewing is The ONE reason for the use of the sewing machine? Speed...as in, factories can turn out goods quicker using sewing machines = profit ALL the work I do is hand-sewn - not thought about making a pack though (well, not a nylon one at least - always keep meaning to make up a canvas & leather retro backpack: one day I will...) NICE WORK op Did you make templates? Any pics of the different stages of assembly? What grade thread did you use? Can you elaborate on this? I wouldnt say that. A machine allows you to have a uniform stitch length, instead of constantly varying distances between each stitch. |
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Great job!!! I wish I had the patience to attempt something like that! I'd love to see what you could do with a sewing machine. You have talent. You'd be surprised how much BETTER hand-sewing is The ONE reason for the use of the sewing machine? Speed...as in, factories can turn out goods quicker using sewing machines = profit ALL the work I do is hand-sewn - not thought about making a pack though (well, not a nylon one at least - always keep meaning to make up a canvas & leather retro backpack: one day I will...) NICE WORK op Did you make templates? Any pics of the different stages of assembly? What grade thread did you use? Can you elaborate on this? I wouldnt say that. A machine allows you to have a uniform stitch length, instead of constantly varying distances between each stitch. Very true. Some fabrics are also nearly impossible to handsew it seems like (silnylon!) |
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snip I wouldnt say that. A machine allows you to have a uniform stitch length, instead of constantly varying distances between each stitch. This is what I was thinking. The only thing I hand sew is leather, and I have mark out every hole before I stitch. I just don't have the patience 
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you know how much yote 1000d and 550 d( its that or 750 cant recall) im sitting on and aint doing shit with..... 
IM me ,,if you wanna work something out.. great job by the way...hows it feel loaded up for you? It was actually great. The only problem I encountered was getting a bit sweaty, but I fixed that problem for the most part by removing some unnecessary padding in the back. I might be interested in that cordura... Might not be until the new year, but I have a plan for a plate carrier I want to make Also, I ended up running about a mile in the pack without it shifting around all over and throwing me off balance. |
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I do... reading that made me realize there is a place that I can save my back from sweating even more. The padding actually goes down to the bottom where the waistbelt is. That makes it very difficult for the pack to allow your back to get air. It shouldn't be too difficult to remove a few inches of the padding and allow for more air.
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| I know your hand sewing, but a machine would have made it super easy to throw in two pleats to make a valley :) I'd look into getting a machine, some of the old singers are great, usually cheap, built to sew much heavier fabric than todays machines, and should work for you for awhile. Something like the Singer 99, it had a super long production run, and parts are plentiful. |