I originally designed the pattern and handmade the first sample about 2 years ago in Clo3D and with each new version I’ve added more functional features - this latest version has an invisible ventilation zipper on the inside of the leg.

Some of the other features include:

• Leg Pulleys
• Integrated waistband belt
• Velcro back pockets
• Made from a water resistant nylon material 

My favourite feature is definitely the side pocket. Spent SO much time integrating the shape into the design. Really wanted to challenge myself and make a piece of outdoor gear that was vibrant and pretty while also being super functional for warmer weather climbing and hiking. 

I think one thing I may change in my next version is hiding the elastic leg pulleys inside the pants instead of outside so the pants are a little more streamlined but other than that I’m super happy with the progression. 

I know this wider leg fit isn’t for everyone but I love the airiness and freedom of movement I get when bouldering, sport climbing and hiking.

I made a video on my page recently with more info about the pants too: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbtUGx7oyDL/

Would love to hear your feedback!

Ordered Amazon grosgrain because I didn't want to wait for shipping. Ended up ripping out the strap and redoing it because it looked so bad. Pictured is the same strap with 1" grosgrain from Amazon vs. RBTR 1" grosgrain. The cheap stuff buckles a bit on concave edges.

Built this for the PCT and figured I’d share how it turned out now that the trail is done. This was not hard and my specs are below:

80” × 54” × 44”
7D inner / 10D outer (3 yards each)
16 oz of 900 FP down
13 horizontal chambers
~2.5” baffles (buy 3.5”)
Sewn footbox @ 17"
626g / 22.1 oz finished @ less than 200.00$

It worked great through April/May Sierra snow and eventually became too warm in parts of Oregon (June) and central Washington (late June / July). 80% of the time I cowboy camped.

It also compressed surprisingly well and dried quickly.

The only real issue was some feather/quill poke-through, and interestingly it only happened through the outer 10D. I never had feathers puncture through the 7D inner. I patched the few spots that needed it and kept moving.

Overall, pretty stoked with it. 22 oz finished, survived the PCT, kept me warm, and packed well in a 37L palante.

Never sewed beforehand and bought a sewing machine at a thrift store. I used ChatGPT for my how to instructions.

Now it desperately needs a wash 😂

I’ve finally gotten around to finish sewing a backpack, for which I had the fabric panels already cut and lying around for quite some time but didn’t get to it. Now that it’s done, I’m really happy about it, despite some minor flaws.

The pack it’s about 35ish litres in volume at a weight of 705g in this configuration, so without a hip belt. I couldn’t find the time to make one, so I used one of a previous pack in combination with the provisional lumbar pad. The weight doesn’t include the thumb loops, because they’re detachable and only used when I don’t have a shoulder strap pocket and a bottle holder attached to the straps.

The fabrics i used are x-pac x21 rc, a lightweight 4-way-stretch mesh, a thin 3d air mesh for the trampoline and some regular 3d mesh for straps and the lumbar pad.

The frame is made from two 12*2mm flat strips made from pultruded carbon and they’re inserted into sleeves that are made from folded nylon webbing. They’re held in place with a Velcro tie wrap, because I also haven’t gotten to make an x-shaped sleeve to replace it.

The shoulder straps are connected to the body with a single silk clip and are adjustable. Unfortunately, i made some measurement mistakes on that construction, which lead to the size range of 47-65cm back length. Lucky for me, I need a length of 48cm…
Before you ask: no the body doesn’t shift left or right because the load lifters stabilise it.

And there’s another mistake I made, the load lifters aren’t connected to the frame. This way they only work as desired, if the pack is filled high enough so the contents help push the body into the frame. Nonetheless, the frame diverts the weight onto the hip belt just as it’s intended to do, making the pack as comfortable to carry as I hoped it would.
I already tested it on an overnighter last weekended and it performed very well with ~9-10kg load.

All in all, I find it to be a successful experiment, especially because this is my first framed pack and there are not many existing packs with an x-frame construction that could serve as examples for how to construct the frame.

Made a combination chest/hip bag for fishing a couple years ago. Decided to make a mini one just for fly fishing. I have a couple different methods to carry my net, most often it's worn like a sling, but sometimes I slide it in between the fanny pack and my body, so I am experimenting with a unique carry option in the form of a pocket that unzips top and bottom. We'll see how that works out when not in use for the net, I figure that could just be an exterior pocket using just the top zip.

Might have used a bit too heavy material on a small bag like this because the seams aren't staying unfolded, but hopefully breaking it in will help there.

From worn gym bag to up-cycled fanny pack.

I wanted a quick-ish way to test colorways using fabrics I own, so that I wasn't tempted to buy more fabric for upcoming projects. I whipped up a simple pouch pattern in CLO 3D to test some colorways based on the approximate colors and basic textures of some real fabrics i had on hand.

The idea was that I can make a full-sized backpack from a colorway once I've made a pouch with the same elements.

These pouches were meant to be medium-quality, quick-and-dirty test bags, but I ended up liking them enough to develop them into usable everyday cross-body bags.

I didn't choose both colorways from the CLO model, opting for a brown, orange, and black combo for my second build.

I love the aesthetics of them, and the size is perfect for phone, keys, wallet, sunglasses, and EDC stuff like lens wipes. I can even fit a book in the main pocket.

After some wear testing, I can say that the usability is kind of bad. The snap flap that seals the main pocket is annoying to fasten, and the rear pouch is almost totally inaccessible while wearing the bag. The G-hook grips the webbing so tightly that nothing will fall out, which is nice.

A fun project overall, so I wanted to share. Happy to answer any questions!

I couldn’t find much info on making an insulated jacket so thought I would write mine up.

Pattern is mostly learn myog ultralight windproof. I essentially made the jacket 3 times for each layer. Added a chest pocket and popper at the bottom to allow for the two way zip. If I made another version I would try alter the hood to make it able to go over a climbing helmet but otherwise pretty happy with it.

Outer Ripstop I picked up in Japan otherwise all fabrics and accessories were from Adventure Xpert
Climashield Apex 167 for body and hood
Climashield Apex 133 for sleeves
Unknown lightweight windproof ripstop for outer
7D Soft Ripstop fabric for the lining

Final weight 361g

Here are my second and third MYOG projects, both using patterns from @Prickly Gorse and materials from @ Monkey Puzzle Fabrics in Aus.

First is the 8 ltr Trail Running pack and second is the 40l frameless hike pack.

A steep learning curve on both bags but very happy with the results.

The main mod on the 40l frameless was sewing the hip belt to main pack rather than removable that proved pretty tricky but turned out well. I used a 4mm core flute as the slide in frame with lightweight aluminium section top and bottom that fit snug to the centre stay. The idea was to have the most direct connection between the hip belt and load lifters which seems to have worked pretty well.

Currently working on the Prickly Gorse 25l day pack which in hindsight would have been a better second MYOG project as it is less complex but where's the fun in that!

I thought some of you might appreciate this slightly unusual backpack project.

A mate recently asked me to design and build a backpack system to carry a stainless steel keg and gas bottle. It was a fun challenge because the main problem wasn't just creating a bag large enough to fit the components — it was figuring out how to manage the weight and stresses created by carrying a full keg.

A lot of thought went into the structural side of the design. I was particularly concerned about long-term stress on seams, thread strength, and avoiding points where all the load would be concentrated in one area.

To address this, I built the back panel, base, and shoulder straps as one continuous piece of fabric rather than relying on multiple joined sections. This reduced the number of high-stress seams and created a more direct load path.

I then reinforced the structure with two lengths of mil-spec webbing running continuously from the tips of the shoulder straps, down the back panel, underneath the base, and into the bottom seam, where they were secured with bartacks.

The goal was to have the webbing carry the majority of the load rather than relying purely on fabric and stitching to handle the weight.

It was one of those projects where the finished piece looks relatively simple, but the interesting part was hidden in the construction decisions that make it strong enough to do its job.

I'd be interested to hear how others approach load paths and reinforcement when designing soft goods for unusual or heavy payloads.

I don't have a sewing machine. I made this bag with paracord and thin nylon fabric. I used the shoulder straps from my hiking backpack and designed and 3d printed the hooks. The idea was to maximize the payload I could carry in a carry-on backpack. I tested it during my trip to Japan. It looks really ugly, but it carries the load remarkably well. It is very lightweight of course.

I love these pants so much. Thanks to scraps from Seattle Fabrics. These are self drafted. A simple pattern, with a welt zipper pocket in the back, and an elastic waist. I’ve made a few iterations, but the fabric always seemed a little too heavy for summer. I took a chance on some ‘ugly’ color scraps and found the weight I was looking for. So easy and comfy.

https://reddit.com/link/1v9frla/video/keaypyam22gh1/player

What started as (and was primary) a project to make a "universal" leash accessory, to enable length adjustments and hands-free configurations, I ended up making a leash.

Because I didn't intend on making another leash, I found some 10+ y/o climbing rope on Facebook Marketplace to upcycle.

For the adjustment system itself, I'm using Dyneema rope and spliced two continuous loops; I was especially particular about overlapping the tapered ends to maintain a consistent diameter throughout the finished loops.

The idea should be self-explanatory for most but it's essentially using (two) prusik hitches to create adjustable anchors on the leash. In my testing/regular usage, I didn't have issues with the prusiks coming undone when not under tension (i.e., when it didn't have a carabiner clipped to it) but I also added cord locks to make sure they stayed "dressed".

For extra long leashes, you could clip a small bag to stuff the excess rope into. But, there are other interesting ideas/customizations that this system can be adapted to, e.g. creating a multi-dog leash.

If you end up making something similar and are using flat leashes, one tip is to fold the leash hotdog-style when you attach your prusik hitches.

Got nerdsniped by [u/nbphotography87](u/nbphotography87)’s post a few weeks ago and wanted to try my hand at making a bag like this.

Used some grab bag fabric that I think is X-Pac V15. There was print on the back that said VX15 but there’s no x-ply. Aliexpress hex mesh for the straps, Lycra mesh for the pockets, venom mesh and porthole mesh for the side/back/bottom pockets.

Vest strap pockets are sized for 500ml soft flasks. My first time making vest straps, kinda just winged the pattern but they turned out pretty well!

Total weight is 260g or 9.3oz. I’d estimate the capacity at 25L.

Thought I'd round off the weekend with a simple Ebook case on my new Jack H2 machine.

Made from ecopak, and 220d gridstop. I've never worked with these materials before, and I like how robust the ecopak is. No padding or wadding inside it.

As usual, having trouble with the binding but I don't have a binding foot.

Ecopak is expensive, the place I got it from only sells it in 0.5m lengths, so I don't want to waste it!

Any comments appreciated

This is my first bag project, and first time using a binder attachment. I have never made anything with depth from a single panel before, and I’m sure there is a better way to handle the corners but at least the shape is what I was looking for and they are actually fairly even when the bags are full. 5ish liters for the big one, and 4ish for the smaller one. No pattern, built with the goal of minimizing seams, to minimize seam sealing.

ecopak 450, with a water resistant ykk zipper. Not 100% water proof, but good enough to keep lunch dry on a class 3 run and avoids the maintenance and reliability issues with waterproof zippers. Definitely overkill from a fabric perspective, but they should stand up to bushwhacking nicely when strapped to the outside of a pack and are still pretty light. I still need to add a daisy chain to the perimeter for lashing. Bonus pic of the prototype with a beverage holder attachment.

Would you grab these frames locally to use as backpack bases in the future? Or would these not work well?? I guess I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole lol..