Ultralight IKEA-Bag Backpack
sandiegomitch.com
sandiegomitch.com
This was clearly done as a DIY project, I love it! It's definitely not worth the time/money, but isn't that the definition of a hobby?
I'm very happy for OP, I always enjoy checking out projects like this: the computer made of marbles, the big CPU made from logic gates, esoteric programming languages... More content like this, please!
That one commenter putting sunscreen on a plastic bag... talk about polishing a turd.
Some comments often miss the problem the inventor was trying to solve when they pick holes.
The most useful criticisms was the comment about the material degrading in sunlight because of uv. Useful thing to know.
Sad but true, if you don't have constructive feedback to someone's DIY project, why bother giving it? Maybe it's a great invention, or maybe it's a horrible one that is their stepping stone to that great one later on. Encouragement really helps DIYers and inventors as a whole.
This was my first sewing project, but it turned out much better than I expected.
I loaded the pack with 30 lbs to test it out before I take it on a multi day trip, and it had no problems.
I'm currently working on moving my images to a remote site so wish me luck on keeping the site up.
Feel free to share my website anywhere
I've always though it'd be pretty rad to make a backpack or bike panniers out of the blue Ikea bag. It's the idea of building your own otherwise-expensive camping gear for on the cheap. Yes, it won't function as well as something made by a proper company with years of experience, but it's yours. It's like when you were a child, and your parents wouldn't buy you the toy you wanted, so you made your own.
For anyone who has managed to miss it until now, the classic LACK Rack: https://wiki.eth0.nl/index.php/LackRack
Indeed! https://www.reddit.com/r/ikeahacks/comments/5e1k2s/my_17oz_d...
Adjustments have been made, and it should be running smooth now.
There's a "fix" though that should be good enough for a camping trip or two! Coat the bag with a powerful sunscreen. I'm not talking about those "SPF 50" spray bottles--those will wear off pretty fast. No, use Butt Paste:
Yes, it's diaper rash cream but it's 16% zinc oxide which is the primary ingredient in many sunscreen lotions/sprays. Even better, because it's a thick cream it will actually stick to that slippery blue Ikea polypropylene fabric and do a decent job at protecting it from the sun.
Still seems that economically speaking it might be cheaper to create such a backpack from a more suitable cloth instead.
In the sense that you'd be silly to pay that price for that bag, but he'd be silly to sell it to you for any less if it takes him 10 hours to make it.
...which is precisely why I made my "protective" suggestion in the first place =)
Some (most? all?) HDPE is UV stabilized and you can get HDPE garden mesh in large amounts very cheaply. With a lot of sewing work I bet they'd look tolerably good and last a long time.
I find making it from the bags an odd choice, fabric with particular chosen qualities would probably be $10-$20 a yard.
If you're spending that free time with family or friends or doing something else you value significantly, then sure, there's value to that time. If you're browsing photos on Reddit or watching TV, it's probably not that valuable if you honestly evaluate it.
Anyone who has ever burnt or messed up their dinner while cooking and still ate it will attest to the power of personal time investment.
I wasn't going to rummage through bins for broken brollies, so I bought a new one to break up, which he found immensely amusing.
I wouldn't recommend it, it worked but only if your standards are low enough.
Nice.
Public transport in my area is really awesome so it's how I get about the most, and I occasionally carry a couple of reasonably heavy items (20kg+ / 44lb+) on short trips. I'm currently using a medium-size Macpac bag for almost everything, but it has no spinal support and I tend to hunch when it's full, and on the occasions all my items go beyond 10kg I have to split everything into an extra bag.
I'm currently wondering if there are unicorn backpacks out there that are reasonably light (not ultralight), reinforced to handle 20kg+ loads, and built to last for years.
I know the military use industrial carrying frames to handle their crazy 50kg+ (110lb+) loads, and I think I'm looking for something similar to that, since that's a situation where you have to provide good support or you risk serious spinal damage, and the thing has to last for a while while it's out in the field where it can't be easily replaced. That said, I don't want to be stick out like a sore thumb carrying a massive camo-fabric sack around.
Nice work.
still, the bag looks pretty great. nice job!
1. no chest strap to help distribute the load. I see a waist strap which is nice, but chest is generally the bare minimum
2. Those seals (stiches) aren't waterproof
3. It is only as durable as the stitching
4. The reason you pay for a "real" bag is for durability. That doesn't look like it would survive narrow trails that well. I am also sceptical as to how it would hold up on flights where you are forced to gate check all your luggage.
And before someone cites the ikea rope bag: Rope bags are generally what you use when you are climbing an hour or two away from the car/camp, at most, over fairly simple terrain. Farther or more strenuous than that and you are going to want a better more hands-free way of carrying that in addition to your gear.
Like I said, this backpack is cool and a nice fashion statement. But don't rely on it.
And if cost is the issue: Keep an eye out for sites like ebags. Can usually find great discounts and coupons throughout the year to get a solid Osprey (or whatever brand you prefer. I like Osprey) for on the order of 100 bucks. And while that is expensive (it actually isn't), understand that it should be lasting you at least 2-3 years, if not more.
Regarding your first point, I find a waist strap much more important, but then again, with a few more hours of work, a chest strap could easily be added.
And this is one of those cases where there are some huge caveats.
Some people want to buy a 5 lb backpack made of 1000D nylon that will outlast them. Other people want a 5 oz backpack made of an exotic material like Cuben or silnylon that will let them achieve a baseweight of under 15 lbs.
As for dropping the straps: You are right. A light backpack doesn't need them and I even removed them from my "taking a train into the city" backpack. But considering that one of the example pictures was a "look how durable this is! It carries 25 lb of rock with no issues", it is a factor.
Hence, if your use case is that you need something that looks nice while you go to school or walk around town, this is great. If you need any form of durability because having your bag break and needing to carry stuff by hand isn't an option: this isn't.
> 1. no chest strap to help distribute the load. I see a waist strap which is nice, but chest is generally the bare minimum
UL backpacks usually don't have a lot of features, because they are built around the asumption that you optimize every single item for weight (best case by just leaving it at home). So it's not a specific property of that design, but in general for all UL packs that they leave features away that are meant for heavy load backpacking.
In fact, taking something like that on a multi-day hike is a good way to earn yourself a Darwin award.
All of which is a HUGE problem on a multi-day hike.
Understand what your gear can and can't do. I have a really nice (Patagonia) backpack that I take with me when I go into town on the weekends and to work when I don't need a laptop. It is also great for going to the gym and for multipitch climbs where we are maybe ten minutes from a car. It is durable as hell and I can tie a small static rope to it if I am going to go up a chimney.
But it is tiny and it doesn't have a particularly secure top (draw string closure with a buckle). So if it is raining, I leave it at home. And if I am more than ten or fifteen minutes away from the car, I'll take my normal hiking backpack with me so that I can actually carry supplies and extra gear.
Does that make it bad? No, not at all. But it does mean there are some huge caveats to it.
I might as well accuse you of being obsessed with calling me obsessed because you bothered to reply.
When did we reach the point as a society where actually elaborating on a point and responding to someone is "fervor" and "obsession"?
Fair enough. I just found it odd that you're repeating yourself to every single person who replied to you. Or maybe I'm the odd one for noticing? That's a possibility too.
But apparently we are both just obsessive people for having a conversation and not ignoring people
Chest straps don't distribute the load, they prevent the shoulder straps moving to the outside. It's a comfort thing (depending on where you prefer your shoulder straps to be) and not necessary at all. For hiking the waist strap is in fact the bare minimum, the primary load-bearing should be the hips, not the shoulders.
And this has limited relevance for ultralight since there should be very little load in the first place.
True waterproofing generally isn't worth it. But not having to worry about a light-moderate rain or getting too close to a river/waterfall (obviously not submerged ,but just getting sprayed) is very nice. For the heavier stuff, you should probably throw a tarp/poncho/whatever over even the waterproof bags anyway.
Although my personal feeling is that if I am caught out in a heavy enough rain that just wearing my softshell and relying on zippers isn't sufficient then I don't want to be hiking anyway and should be looking for shelter.
I found that everyone I hiked with who tried to waterproof their backpack would end up with things soaked anyway. Frequently having to open the bag in the rain means the insides inevitably get soaked, it's much harder to even semi-waterproof a much larger area than having a waterproof duffel bag for the small stuff.
Gives you a lot of flexibility too, e.g. I've crossed rivers and then just dragged the backpack over to the other side via rope.
The kids pack is 2lb, 4oz. https://www.rei.com/product/870881/rei-passage-38-pack-kids "I bought this for my 8 year old daughter's 1st backpacking trip."
And that's more than twice as heavy as his pack.
PS: Sure on it's own saving 1lb is not that big a deal. But, if you focus on saving a few ounces here and there it makes a huge difference.