This Time For Real

19x12, bottom: 13x6
I know I said I was done with this design a while ago...but I'm a liar. But here it is: this design is finished. I'm not saying it's perfect or anything, but damn is it sharp. I decided to go back to an earlier design for the front compression panels. You lose an inside pocket, but that's the price of vanity. And I think this is an all-around stronger design.

Specs:
1000 denier Cordura nylon shell, made in the US of A, por su puesto
One-piece floating liner: Top Gun 9oz acrylic-coated polyester: highly water resistant, hella durable. PCV-free
Hardware: ITW Nexus/Fastex
YKK zipper, #5 Vislon. This has sweet-ass molded plastic teeth
Removable back pad. Doubles as a document pocket
Padded shoulder strap. Fully adjustable. Radio friendly. Pad lined with 100 weight fleece from Malden Mills Industries, Inc. (This is the mill that makes Polartec/Polarfleece, by the bye)
Cross strap
Expandable using mil spec paracord
Light loop
D-rings for reflector tails (not shown) or for use as lash points
#92 polyester thread
External waterbottle holster (half shown) (not standard)
key loop
Let's see...what else... I don't know. Everything's sweet


6.5x8 inside pocket + pen holster

Ex Me

24x13, bottom: 9x15
So, here's an x-strap bag. Ah...and it turned out so-so. I'm not really a fan of the x-strap, 'cause I feel like I'm about to get decapitated when I'm wearing it, but I thought I'd make one for kicks. This bag's a bit too big for me, as I'm pretty skinny...so I'm thinkin' 21 inches is as big as I'm gonna go next time. The second shoulder strap isn't on the bag, but you can see where it goes. It needs to be moved over to the left about two inches, me thinks. That'll distribute the load a little more evenly. I like how the compression bits turned out on this bag. Pretty clean.

Leif Labs: popular with lumberjacks.

Hip Pack, Hip Pack

9x5x2--Cordura & Top Gun poly
Here's a sweet pouch I made for my friend Ashley. I'm likin' it. Notice the one-and-a-half-inch buckle on the belt: two inchers are kinda chunky...
Man, taking a picture of your own ass is harder than you think.

Bottle Holster

That's What It Is
I'm likin' this design. Minimalist and functional. That's what I'm goin' for.
Oh, if you're wondering: this is a Klean Kanteen bottle. Generally, I'm not a fan of companies that substitute their 'K's for 'C's...but the coolness of this bottle overpowers my loathing of quirky dumbness. Yeah, stainless steel.
Adjustable. And pull the purple cord to release. You can even put a can in here...just loop the shockcord over the tri-glide so it goes across the top. I should've taken a picture...

Bike Nerd Utility Belt

Don't Hit Me When I'm Riding Home From the Bar, Please
9x5x2--Cordura nylon, Top Gun poly
Here's a sweet little hip pouch for my roommate. I initially thought this size was gonna be too small, but it's starting to grow on me. I shan't be throwing away the pattern. Action shot! (Or what goes for an action shot on this blog.) Got some film noir ass shots goin' on. Check out that u-lock holster there on the belt...yeah.
Fabric Horse makes some sweet utility belts--FYI.

It's hard to get a good representation of this orange on the 'nets...but with this shot you can kinda get an appreciation for how silly-bright this fabric is.

Small Messenger Bag

This design is done. Sure, there are some minor things I can tweak, but the pattern is done. Now I can make matboard templates...finally. It takes so long to measure everything out on the fabric. Bam, bam, bam. Anyway, got this design done, the small one done (well, I might change that one a bit), hip pack most of the way done...and on to the big bag. Then I'll have a pretty sweet basic line.

Full of stuff:I'm debating on whether or not I should make the flap longer. I really like attaching the buckles to the edge of the flap--it makes more dynamic sense to me...but it feels kinda short sometimes. There's always the flap-extender piece option, but that seems kinda goofy to use... Maybe I'll offer a longer flap as a choice. We'll see. And my model-sister here. This bag's about the size of your typical bookbag. I don't have the back pad in...so it's kinda floppy.

I'm not quite set on a design for my bottle holder yet. I going to try something different next time...actually I still have to make one for the Traffic Cone bag... I really like the way it attaches to the bag, though--the loop and tri-glide: solid. You could also have a pump holster there, or a camera case...or anything smallish you want to strap to the bag. It kind of lies in that purgatorial area of coverage and exposure, though...which I haven't quite determined if I like or not. I'm sure, like most things, it offers a bit of good and wicked.
Pop! it comes out.

Close up on the strap buckle. That webbing across the buckle keeps the pad from sliding all over the place...without impeding buckle-release. Kewl. Oh, that's a Quik-Slip Keeper there from National Molding/Duraflex just below the buckle...keeping the end of the strap from waggin' all over the place. Right now I'm looking for the best places to put one. I like it there on the very end...where I think Pac also puts theirs. But, hey, they're easy to take off, so you can put it wherever...or not even use it...do thee ol' wrap and tuck. Compression strap close-up. And this is where the shoulder strap attaches to the corner of the bag. Note the bartacking there. The back pad pocket. This is the one for the previous bag...I just forgot to put these pictures on that post. Same design on this bag. About 8x10. No Velcro required. Just pops in. There's a little lip on the top that keeps the pad in there.