Homemade backpack

[finallyME]

This is a backpack I am making my almost 8 year old son. I plan to take him on a backpacking trip in September to test it out. I also plan to take him and his little brother next summer. Because I plan to take a second child, he needs to carry a little more stuff than his school bag has room for. And, I don't have the money to buy him a properly fitted pack. Also keep in mind that he is going to carry a lot of light bulky items, like his sleeping bag, sleeping mat, some clothes, his hammock, and a little water. I will be carrying the heavy, non-bulky things for him, like cooking stuff, food, etc. Hopefully the loaded pack isn't over 6-7 lbs, and definitely not over 10. With that as a pre-cursor, here is what I have done so far.

I took an old pack I had that I didn't really like and cut off the shoulder straps, waist belt, back padding, any webbing, and any hardware. Then I took a sheet of HDPE that is 1/16th of an inch thick (a little over 60 mils) and used it as a frame.
Here is the waist belt attached. With all my attachments, I simply drilled a hole and used 550 cord with knots.
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Here is the back side showing how I attached it.
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Here are the shoulder straps.
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This shows the tap I sewed on by hand.
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This shows the load lifters I sewed on by hand.
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This shows how I attached the shoulder straps to the frame with 550 cord.
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This shows the back side of the frame where the shoulder straps are attached.
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This shows how I attached the bottom end of the shoulder straps to the frame.
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Here are the load lifters attached.
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Here is the frame and suspension complete.
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This shows how it fits my son.
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The way it is now, it barely is small enough to fit my son. He will be able to grow into it in a few years, and I will probably buy him a normal pack when he hits 12 or so, at which point his baby brother will be big enough for it.
Of course, I am not finished yet. This is just the frame. I still need to put a little more padding on the back panel. Then I need to attach straps to the frame. I will also sew a bag. The idea is to put everything in a separate bag, then wrap the sleeping mat around the bag, and then strap it to the frame. I will continue to post pictures as I progress.

[Rick]

That's a pretty good set up. I'll bet he's a lot happier with that knowing dad made it for him than he ever would be with a commercial pack. Cudos to you for going the extra mile and for the thread!!!

[hunter63]

Now that is really cool. Be sure to post your progress.
LOL, The lad has the "Daaaaad do I havvvve ta be in the pic?" look on his face.

[finallyME]

Now that is really cool. Be sure to post your progress.
LOL, The lad has the "Daaaaad do I havvvve ta be in the pic?" look on his face.

Actually he was mad because his little brother did something to him (like take his toy or something). My wife made him laugh at the same time he was trying to be grumpy, hence the funny face........kids.

[pgvoutdoors]

Nice project!!! That's the kind of stuff I like to do. But, what are you going to do when momma notices her cutting board is missing?

[finallyME]

Allright, here is the finished product. I plan on taking him this weekend, so it became a priority.

Here is the side view so that you can see how it rides on him and how big it is compared to an 8 year old.
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Here is the back view. There are three horizontal straps, and one vertical strap.
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Here is the water bottle pouch that attaches to two of the horizontal straps. It has a 32 oz gatoraid bottle inside right now.
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Here it is all broken down with the bag unattached. I wanted this feature so that I can wrap a sleeping mat around the bag and then attach it to the frame.
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[Alaskan Survivalist]

That's great! Rep sent.

[your_comforting_company]

I think he liked it better without all the weight hehe.
Cool project!

[finallyME]

I put it on his sister who is a year older than him, and she said it was too heavy. All that is in the bag in the picture is his sleeping bag, and a full size quilt from his bed (I needed the bulk and a little weight). Luckily, he said it wasn't heavy. We will see this weekend how heavy it is.

[Justin Case]

That came out NICE !

[rwc1969]

Really nice!

[crashdive123]

Well done. Hope you and he have a great weekend.

[finallyME]

Here is a link to the trip report for the maiden voyage of this pack.
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ad.php?t=13464

I would say there are a few short comings. The load lifters need a little more support. I think if I raise the top horizontal strap to the very top of the plastic frame, then the lifters will be more secure and able to function properly. I also think I need to put a pad on the plastic between the belt and shoulder straps. I was planning to do that, but never got the time. It did hold what I wanted it to, and I think worked great. But, I might have to lower my hiking speed and distance to accommodate shorter legs, especially if I want to bring my 4 year old next summer.

[Faiaoga]

Right On! I am really impressed that the pack is an original design, one that your children can help make. They will probably care more about and take care of something made by Dad than something purchased from a store.

I am sure you know as much or more than I do, so I will just mention that the next step (as children get older and loads are heavier) might be to have your son make his own packframe from wood (Yukon frame, Trapper Nelson or other names). Another choice might be to purchase a kit (they used to be sold) for a modern aluminum and have him make it himself.

My own experiece is of making a wooden frame based on a description in one of Townsend Whelen books, then later assembling an aluminum frame purchased from the Himalaya Pack Company. This was in the 1960's. I thought I was really cool to be using a "mountain man" frame (I was also impressed by photos my father had from the Korean War showing the traditional pack frame used there). Asssembling my Himalayan pack frame also helped me improve my manual skills and to take pride in my work. Today, there may even be plans available for using PVC pipe or other materials to make frames but I have no direct experience.

Perhaps Scout troops and other groups can save money and practice skills by making some of their own gear.
Faiaoga

[Rick]

Several of the guys on here have built their own wooden packframe/pack. I know Hunter has some pics of his, which I'm sure he'll post.

[Echo2]

Nice work....I love these types of projects...

I'll have to dig up pics of the frame mod I did....Aluminum....put a shelf and a couple rifle tie downs on it....and a ring for a for his hiking staff.

[finallyME]

Somewhere around here I have pics of the one I made myself, with an aluminum frame. I think I made a video of it, so it is in the video section.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ackpack-part-1

[rebel]

I'd bet he learned more from that, and remember it, than a week in school. Nice job!

[Adventure Wolf]

Thanks for showing me this idea. I've never seen it before. I have an old backpack with several holes in it, so I'm going to cut it apart like you and build another bag with it. That way I can have a stand by for light duties