MYOG pack cover

[Bluegum Mic]

Well it was a quiet night in our house hold so I decided to do some DIY. I've got several pack covers including a silnylon one but I wanted one that was a little more versatile. Id seen the jacks r better/just Jeffs pack cover and based it on this. This can be used as a silnylon ground sheet for sitting on, pack cover and gear hammock.

I simply took 5cm squares from each corner, folded the fabric 2.5cm and pinned it and made a channel.


I then triple sewed the channels


And voila.


Feed the shock cord through with a toggle to tighten.



My pack was pretty empty but you get the idea. It fits really well and total time to cut fabric, pin, sew and feed shock cord was about 50mins.

I will on another day add four grossgrain loops with reinforcement (the cut out squares) to each corner for stringing it up as a gear hammock

All packed away and finished for the day

[Wingnut]

Wow! Looks great!

[HitchHiking]

very nice eh. Thoses stitches look great

[Nuts]

Hey, great idea, a few uses, looks like you did a top job. Couple of problems iv'e noticed with pack covers are that they invariably blow off and/or the bottom fills with water, maybe a grommet hole in the base?
Good one, you'll be making yer first pack in no time

[photohiker]

Nice project, and looks good too.

You don't roll your seams, or is that just the first pass?

[Bluegum Mic]

I was being lazy. Normally I would roll them but the edges were finished well so from a fraying perspective i was happy just to fold n stitch. I actually didn't think it was going to work out so well considering I was in my tired haze. Its simply a triple stitched hem.

[photohiker]

Normally I would roll them but the edges were finished well so from a fraying perspective i was happy just to fold n stitch.

Cool. The sil doesn't look like its about to fray. Nice straight stitching there.

[Onestepmore]

That's great Mic. Can you remember the dimensions of the square? I know this will change depending on pack size, but just as a starter guide?
And did you end up adding the loops to suspend it as a gear loft? When I was thinking about this they could also be used as a couple of peg points if you wanted to use it as a mat under a hammock and it was windy.

[Bluegum Mic]

Thanks I can't recall the dimensions as I made it specific to that pack. I simply took a tape measure and ran it from just over the top and curved it with the pack to just under the bottom. I then added allowance for the channels/seams and for it to come a little further over. I did the same with the width. I then simply did a rectangle of fabric to those dimensions and gave the 4 corners 5cm cut outs.
I haven't done the corners yet (which is totally lazy) but I've found it was easy to string up via the elastic when I hang it. I must do it as you are correct it would make a great weather shield for your undercover etc. I'll pull it out of my pack and finish it as I'm getting geared up for some serious myog...a cuben pack. Watch this space =D

[dunamis]

Hey there, I just upgraded my pack to a 90L and my old pack cover doesn't quite fit so I'm looking to sew a silnylon one. Where did you buy your material from?

[north-north-west]

Hey there, I just upgraded my pack to a 90L and my old pack cover doesn't quite fit so I'm looking to sew a silnylon one. Where did you buy your material from?

TierGear supply the stuff.
I'm wondering whether Tyvek might not be a better go. I want to make a basic cheap cover, but it needs to be pretty hardwearing for all the scrub-bashing I do. Cuben's too expensive for me.

[Bluegum Mic]

Hi Dunamis. I bought this originally from bearpawwd but I agree with NNW. Now theirs a local option I would grab it from simon at tier gear. Ive purchased from him and he's fantastic. Which reminds me I need to grab a whole heap of stuff off him to start my cuben pack =D
Oh and the pack cover is still going strong.

[GPSGuided]

Nice product there BM! May I ask, where did you source the silnylon? Availability of material is always a major barrier to MYOG.

[Bluegum Mic]

Thanks GPS. As discussed above I purchased it from bearpawwd.com (bearpawwildernessdesigns). However simon on the forums here has tier gear and I'll be buying my fabric from him from now on. With the aussie dollar not so great, the cost of postage from the states is killer for odds n ends in fabric. Its nice to have simon supplying here locally

[GPSGuided]

Thanks for the tip BM! I must have missed the earlier discussion. With AliExpress, DX.com and other sites for cheap parts, knowing where one can source premium material would complete the picture for future MYOG projects. Nice.

One question on the cut of this pack cover. Did you consider cutting more rounded corners to produce a tighter fit around the corners?

[Bluegum Mic]

Ive made a rounded "normal" one before but this was designed as a mulifunction piece ie cinch and its a pack cover, release and its ground mat. I also use it from all four corners as a gear hammock to hang my pack/gear from my hammocks suspension to keep things off the ground. You can purchase these from cottage manufacturers. I just made one and posted it here. Its really been a great piece of kit and easy to make. I also find its lack of round edge doesnt affect its performance as a pack cover ie it cinches the same as my rounded edge traditional pack covers.

[Bluegum Mic]

Hey there, I just upgraded my pack to a 90L and my old pack cover doesn't quite fit so I'm looking to sew a silnylon one. Where did you buy your material from?

TierGear supply the stuff.
I'm wondering whether Tyvek might not be a better go. I want to make a basic cheap cover, but it needs to be pretty hardwearing for all the scrub-bashing I do. Cuben's too expensive for me.

NNW were you thinking of using the homewrap or the softer 1443r type. The homewrap would probably be the tougher (or so it feels). Ive got off cuts of both lurking in my cupboards I can shoot your way. Not enough for a ground sheet but likely enough for a pack cover if you fancy. I've got some of zpacks cuben hybrid sat in the cupboard ready to make a pack. I'm also going to make a pack cover from it for my other packs as its pretty burly stuff.

[GPSGuided]

Thank BM. I now understand your design's functions. Makes sense.

[north-north-west]

Hey there, I just upgraded my pack to a 90L and my old pack cover doesn't quite fit so I'm looking to sew a silnylon one. Where did you buy your material from?

TierGear supply the stuff.
I'm wondering whether Tyvek might not be a better go. I want to make a basic cheap cover, but it needs to be pretty hardwearing for all the scrub-bashing I do. Cuben's too expensive for me.

NNW were you thinking of using the homewrap or the softer 1443r type. The homewrap would probably be the tougher (or so it feels). Ive got off cuts of both lurking in my cupboards I can shoot your way. Not enough for a ground sheet but likely enough for a pack cover if you fancy. I've got some of zpacks cuben hybrid sat in the cupboard ready to make a pack. I'm also going to make a pack cover from it for my other packs as its pretty burly stuff.

The tougher the better. That's very kind of you, Mic.

[simonm]

Just thought I would point out, since I have already been mentioned as a source for silnylon, that I will also be adding 70D 1.9oz silnylon primarily for use on tent floors but it may also provide a more robust pack cover - unfortunately it will be offered in black only.