Bushwalk Australia

I decided to build a backpack frustrated as I couldn’t find anything commercially available to meet my needs. Closest was the HMG 4400, but I didn’t like its chook food bag shape, reverse taper and colours.

I wanted a large volume,abrasion resistant, waterproof , single compartment bag capable of carrying up to 14 days of food and pack rafting equipment through rough off track terrain. Pack weight of <1.5kg with a proper harness to handle heavy loads was the target.

I based the bag shape and volume roughly on my bombproof 1993 MacPac Torre (3.5kg empty)and built a full size prototype out of some old material to check the dimensions and sort out the assembly sequence. I’m glad I did that.

Pack cloth is Xpac vx21, shoulder straps and aluminium bars are MacPac , hip belt Is Kathmandu C3 replacement.

Key features:
-roll top closure
- elastic back pocket for wet tent or rain coat or snow shovel
- loops for snow shoe attachment
- Side pockets for paddle blades
-silicone seam sealed inside before hem tape sewn on

It’s about 80 litres and weighs 1475 grams .

I like my HMG Southwest...
But I don't think DCF is the best material for a pack. Xpac, I think is a better option, but there is a stiffness with the DCF I like when it comes to packing and unpacking gear.

At 55l, there is zero need for lift loaders, but I'm thinking you'll want them for a larger pack that sits above your shoulders.

The white DCF gets dirty and washing it doesn't work. Some might see that as "look at me, I'm hard core" but I don't like that look.

One thing I really like is that's it is waterproof, at least when bushwalking in general and even swimming across creeks. It's probably not good good enough for rafting, but something to consider. Do you want to make your pack truly waterproof. I'm sure Xpac is up for it. I'd make the seems as waterproof as possible, but still pack my gear in dry packs, just to be sure for sure. I'd make it as waterproof as possible without going overboard. Pun intended.

Love to see a few pics of the end result.





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That pack looks awesome. Seam sealed, great craftsmanship, but is it seriously 80L?

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This is the 1993 Torre on a 14 day takayna traverse in November. None of my other bags could hold 2 weeks of food and a raft.

Not sure of the exact volume Crollsurf. Its styled after an extendable throat bag which was quoted as “85 to 95 litres “. Its gunna be big enough for everything I need to carry.

That looks great. Very well thought out and good build quality.
Now you have to report back when it's had its first serious bush bashh.

That looks a great pack

I am planning a similar though smaller pack ( I bought the supplies wanting to make a waterproof pack for the Milford track, but was too slow - and ironically had barely a drop of rain on the Milford!)

how did you make the seams ? is that grosgrain over the seams?

Thanks Rider. Seams were sewn, stitches then painted with thinned silicone and then bound with 1” grosgrain. I used double sided tape to hold things together.
Apparently herringbone binding tape goes around corners better than normal grosgrain and I would use that next time.

I tried welding xpac yesterday with no luck.

Well done. You’ve been planning this for a while now!

I’ve made several similar at that <1500g range, also using other manufacturers shoulder straps and waist belts, as it’s way cheaper to do this than fluff around making your own. I do a different side pocket design to accomodate packraft paddles as well as skis - the skis can slide down further behind the pockets.

I’ve never bothered binding seams on Xpac. Recently bought a fairly cheap electric hot knife which will improve seam edges. And, sadly, it isn’t heat sealable.

The lovely thing about making your own rucksack is that you know how to repair it…!

PS is that a Janome SR2100 machine? If so, that’s what I’ve been using for 40yrs!

Thanks Andrew, that’s a very nice bag you have there! I used a hot knife to cut the xpac and webbing, great tool. I haven’t had the Janome long, still working out the stitch settings, It was a local Op shop find. A bit sad though to retire my mum’s ‘56 Singer Featherweight but it doesn’t have zig zag.