Rebuilding my old WE Tour-Jour

[Moondog55]

Simply my favourite pack but after almost 30 years it is mostly holes and repairs.
I'm thinking of dis-assemble and using the panels as a pattern to cut front and sides
Hip-belt, shoulder harness, top pocket and the back panel are in reasonable condition and I think it is simply easier to re-use those.
As I want to cut my carried weight down a little I think I may use synthetic fabric and I have some medium weight Acrylic canvas here which I can silicon after sewing or would I be better off with medium weigh Cordura and a new dry bag liner made from Silnylon?
One place I think I can save some real weight tho is the frame system which at the moment is the original Karrimor type using vertical aluminium stays and thick CCF
Perhaps this is where I can use some of that carbon fiber sleeve I used to make the tent poles or the Kevlar?
I don't think I can convert this to a roll top but if I can that would be the only modification to the original design I would make

[oysters]

One of the problems with carbon fibre for frame spars, is that if you want them to be stiff (that's ideal for weight), then you can't bend them at all. So you are stuck with straight stays...which really doesnt work that well. Al is good for the job. Though these days there are better alloys out there than probably what is in them. A good stay will be under 200grams these days.

Offtrack/scrub much? A 1000D cordura base is probably a good idea. Check out Xpac fabrics though for other areas. Dave Chenault wrote a good article on BPL recently on good fabrics for tough conditions, and details the newer xpac ones that are up to the job. I would avoid the canvas you mention...if you are going to do this spending $50 on some of the latest materials are probably worth it...you will spend many hours on the project, do it right.

Roll top is very easy! Just factor in some extra height in the tube that you are creating, about a foot should do it to preserve the volume. Then you just need to sew on some webbing tape to the top edge, at least to 50% of it, with buckles at each end.

[Moondog55]

-Thanx oysters, I've recently read that article.
I thought I might use the existing aluminium stays as the mold for the CF
I recently read about the new Klimit X-Frame airbeams and was wondering what they would be like
Could I use the existing top pocket design with a roll top? Being able to extend or detach that would be a bonus. Use has been over 90% winter snow and skiing so i can get away with a lighter fabric except on the base, although the canvas back panel is very comfortable against bare skin in summer

[ofuros]

-I recently read about the new Klimit X-Frame airbeams and was wondering what they would be like
Could I use the existing top pocket design with a roll top? Being able to extend or detach that would be a bonus. Use has been over 90% winter snow and skiing so i can get away with a lighter fabric except on the base, although the canvas back panel is very comfortable against bare skin in summer

On my last couple of outings I've been trialing a GG's airbeam in my old Miraposa to see if it's worth incorporating into
my own backpack design at a later date.
Easy to pump & adjust. Holds it's air without any trouble.
There's no air gap between pack & back so it's sweaty..then again it always is with me with every pack I have.
100g for a small size up to a massive 117g for a large !
My pack weights are usually 6 -12kg mark & it copes with these just fine.
Just an initial impression over a limited number of trips....take it with a grain of salt.

I still use the original foam pad...comes in handy as a sit pad during a meal preparation.

[oysters]

I had a klymit airframe and GG g4 (just sold them). Never used them outside the house but it did seem to work pretty well. However, its probably not the best thing to try and incorporate in the WE pack...different kettles of fish in many ways. I would stick to stays myself, otherwise its getting really complicated. Remember, with the klymit at a certain weight level it WILL collapse, its an airmat. Also, because it is a couple of inches thick, it holds the weight much further away from your back than what stays do...not ideal for heavier loads.

If you are moulding the CF from scratch to the same shape as your stays then yeah that would work fine! That would also be really cool-worth a thread with pics and explaination all by itself

[icefest]

I've thought about trying to make a couple of moulded CF things myself.

After much research I decided that the expense (resin, fibre, moulds, vacuum setup) were not worth the cost, as most home made systems are not any lighter than aluminium, as they tend to have an inadequate resin/fibre ratio and the correct alignment is hard to get perfect.

I love CF as a material, its just not very DIY friendly.

[Moondog55]

I'm not sure I'd be bothered with the vacuum set-up but I do have plenty of resin here as I buy in litre bottles and if I'm quick the Boss can bring the CF back from the US with her.
When I made the tent poles I found CF reasonably easy to work with.