Cuben Seat Bag

[Adam Alphabet]

A cuben fiber Seat Bag I made. I had been using a cuben hybrid version that I made for a few years and after 1000's of miles and trips of all sorts all over the place it was time for an update. I had absolutely no issues with the previous bag and it is still good to ride so I was confident in my construction and design techniques.

On this version I modified the length of the bottom stiffener panel and moved the wings back a bit for additional support over my initial versions. I also added a built in SPOT pocket as I have been using one in this position for a while in a separate pocket which was kind of clunky. It's also imo pointless to have a separate bag for a single use item. The seat bag came out pretty light at (215g or 7.58oz). There is still one more mod I could/may do to get the weight down a bit, which would get it right around 200g which would be neat, we'll see.

The bag is built to be ridden and not babied. In the construction I took precautions where needed to ensure the bag would not be 'disposable' but was also very careful to not overbuild anything. What would be the point when using light weight material and then adding a bunch or extra 'in case'. While cuben may not be for everyone it has proven it's worth in the backpacking world for years, I thought I would share my versions of some bags with the bikepacking world.

This bag survived it's initial test of 4 rugged days in the Chilcotins a couple weeks ago which involved some bush whacking and off trail travel. I'm really happy with how it turned out and expect a number of years of good use.

I plan on doing a 'Personal setup' in the coming week or so, so mounted pictures will be there.
Thanks for looking.

[REV]

 

Nice work

[Yagi]

Addy - you gots skillz man.  I always admire your work.  I'm still diggin' my Porcelain Rocket bags, and your stuff looks on par with Scotty's.  Keep up the good work.  What size would you say the seat pack is?  I use Scott's Booster Rocket for comparison - same?  Smaller?

What kind of thread and needle are you using for the cuben stitching?  Just standard stuff?  I might start dabbling in the craftsman process... just curious.  It's always nice to learn from the journeyman threadsters.

Thanks,
Steve

[Adam Alphabet]

Thanks a tonne for the huge compliment Steve. I actually know Scott and in my opinion he is by far, the best craftsman in the game and a great person to boot. Everything he makes is pretty much perfect. I'm continuing to improve with each project which is one of my goals with all this myog stuff, so thank you.

From seeing his old Booster Rocket a couple years ago I think mine was a touch smaller. My bag measures 6" from top to bottom when you look at it from the side. Some of the other brands seat bags I've seen are HUGE when loaded. I have an old Carousel Design Works bag that I found too big for most applications, so I made mine smaller. For single track smaller is better imo, for road touring ime, it matters less.

For cuben if I had a bit lighter thread and needles I would use them, but I didn't want to wait on an order. I've been using white v92 (tex90, from sailrite) and the ever confusing Coats and Clark UV resistant outdoor thread which apparently no one on the internet knows what size it is, but when looking it's definitely lighter than the v92. For all of this stuff I've been using size 18 needles with a long stitch length to reduce the perforations. I also cut all the material on the bias (diagonal). While this uses more material the material is better able to take the load at the seams. So yeah, pretty standard.

Get into it. Everyone starts the same, with figuring out their machines and sewing stuff sacks. From there sky's the limit. And you'll be super stoked and satisfied when you go on rides with your own bags. It's fulfilling.

[Yagi]

Get into it. Everyone starts the same, with figuring out their machines and sewing stuff sacks. From there sky's the limit. And you'll be super stoked and satisfied when you go on rides with your own bags. It's fulfilling.

I would totally get into it if I knew Scott's bags were ever going to fail... but, there's no sign of that anytime soon.  I know Scott, too (through the telephone only, and some vicarious situations where I was living through him in his big Austrailian trip), and he is a great, genuine guy.  Because of his great-guy-full-ness, I'm completely cool giving him my money for his outstanding craftmanship.  Who knows - maybe someday we'll see your stuff up there for sale with his, eh?

At this point, I'm just trying to get a handle on threading the sewing machine I've got.  When my grandmother died, I picked up her Singer 337 (I think) and have been tinkering here and there.  This one time, I actually hemmed the cuffs back together on a long-sleeved shirt I've got.  Talk about fulfilling!  I was stoked.  My wife just laughed.  But, my mother and mother-in-law were both super proud.  Thanks for the encouragement!

What's next in Addy's book of making stuff?

[Adam Alphabet]

...Who knows - maybe someday we'll see your stuff up there for sale with his, eh?
...This one time, I actually hemmed the cuffs back together on a long-sleeved shirt I've got.
...Thanks for the encouragement!
What's next in Addy's book of making stuff?

Haha, probably not. I'm quite happy being a hobbyist, who knows though.

That's where it all starts. A simple frame bag is not too difficult once you learn your machine. There are tonnes of tutorials online for zippers, etc. Just get a little material and go for it. The people on these forums are helpful. Also backpackinglight.com has an excellent myog forum. Hammock forums has some too.

I spent all day on a different type of myog today. Once it's done and in use I'll post some pics. Design conceptualization and construction are quite easily transferable to other 'mediums'.  I'm pumped on how things are going.