So I was trying to find a new light weight pack option for this year, and I was having a very hard time finding exactly what I wanted. Instead of spending several hundred dollars for something that wasn't perfect, I just decided to make it myself. So, my goal was to create a hunting pack that was lighter than any off the shelf option, specifically I wanted frame and bag to be below 3.5 lbs. My constraints were that it needed to hold winter gear and 5 days of food, carry 80 lbs, and all the fun typical desires such as water resistant, etc etc etc.
I decided to use Robic 210d since ripstop by the roll was having a pretty good sale on it at the time. Some of my other bags are made with it and I have come to really like the material. I designed the shape of what I wanted the final product to be in solidworks and used that to create a cut guide with seam allowances, notches, etc.
After a couple days of sewing, I finally have a product to test! I used the kifaru ultra light frame to mate my bag to mainly because of its versatility and ease for bag mounting options as well as its a light weight frame that doesn't depend on any features on the bag to maintain its load carrying capabilities.
The bag and frame together came in at 3lbs 4 ounces. I don't know of any off the shelf setup that is this light and can haul as much weight as this can, and if there is I guess ill have to make a new bag. My base weight with my rifle, tripod, and late season gear is now at 26.5 lbs. I could shave some weight by leaving optics, tripod, etc behind depending on the hunt.
I can say there will be lots of changes in revision 2, but I am pretty satisfied with this prototype. Now to load test until failure.
Let me know what you guys think!
View attachment 101062View attachment 101063View attachment 101064View attachment 101065View attachment 101066View attachment 101067