Backpack Straps

Making sure your backpack fits correctly and doesn't bounce around too much is important for keeping your back happy on long trips. Because of the amount of stuff I'm taking I didn't really have the capacity within the backpack to put the sleeping bag, which means I'd have to affix it to the outside of the pack.

Sadly, I don't have the correct straps for adding a sleeping bag to the outside. It's really only designed for a tent or sleeping bag, but not both. I thought seriously about using bungee cords but I fear them cutting in to my backpack.

So this morning I went down to North Bay Canoe and Kayak and picked up 8 buckles and 20 feet of 1" nylon. This was my starting point for the day. I then wrapped a piece of nylon around the tent, added a few inches for the buckle and then a few more for the overlap. In the end my tent ones are about 1.5 feet long and my sleeping bag ones are about 2.5 feet long.

The next thing I did after cutting them in to the correct length was to burn the ends... Or rather melt them, so they won't fray and rip. You just use a lighter or match to melt the ends down just a little bit. I suggest doing this outside because it really stinks. Don't curve the ends by over burning them, or you will find it hard to run it through the buckle afterwards.

Next on to the sewing machine, I've never used one before, but after a quick tutorial I was ready to go. I had a scrap piece of nylon so I practiced on it twice and then moved on to one of the real ones.

I tried to do a box shape around the buckle end and then a criss-cross, followed my a series of spaced horizontal lines. I also dropped two rows of stitches in the end that didn't have the buckle on it. Just for fun.

So in the end, these worked out really well. The buckles cost me $1/ea and the 1" nylon was $0.18 / foot. It took about 2 hours for my to sew up 8 of them, but as I said, this is the first time I've touched a sewing machine and there was a bit of a learning curve. The last one I did took my about 8-10 minutes... The first was significantly longer :)

So I'm pretty proud of my new straps, as a computer geek it's not often I get to "make" things that you can hold up and show people lol. Fun experience, learned something new, and have something to show for it, what more do you want from a Saturday on a long weekend?