Back in full service, sort of...

 Thursday after work I picked up my Kelty backpack from the tailor shop.  I could not wait to get home and put the pack back on the frame, load it full of gear, and head out for a weekend of backpacking.  Last time you saw my pack was at the tailor shop being stripped down for zipper repairs and some sewing work.

 The owner of the Tailor shop and I discussed how to fix the broken zippers.  She first ball parked that it would cost her at least one hundred dollars and about two months to get the right zippers in stock.  The idea of Velcro came up and that did not settle well with me.  I then came up with Velcro and also a toggle and loop system as a backup.  We both agreed that new zippers were not feasible and that she would look into something that may work.

 What she came up with was heavy duty buttons.  Now for all those non-backpackers out there, your side pouches are where you keep your needed items while on the trail.  Things that go into your exterior pockets would be first aid kit, water bottle, poncho, trail mix, sun glasses, sunscreen, and anything that you need to get at right away.  Being diabetic I need lots of glucose tablets, meters, needles, batteries, and insulin where I can get to them fast so lots of pockets on the side works better.

 The tailor just did a few buttons on each pocket so I could give them a test run before we went crazy with the snaps and find out that they don't work.  She also sewed a few inches of pocket at the bottom just as backup and to make me comfortable.

Above is probably the only button I found in the wrong spot.  It is really too close to the stitching to easily open and close.  Now that I have a feal for the buttons the pack goes back to the tailor to get fitted with more snap buttons.  I could not have been happier with the final result.  The total so far is just ove twenty dollars and that includes the snap buttons and the sewing work.

Look at that diabetic in the woods.  In this picture the right side is a cliff that the boys were climbing up and down during our lunch break until they almost stepped on a couple of rattle snakes sun bathing on a rock.  That really got them excited.  I know alot of people are saying to themselves that I should just buy a new pack.  First, this was my fathers pack and when I take it camping it just reminds me of him.  Second, did you not see how freaking big this sucker is?  I would easily put it at 6,500 cubic inches and then some.  Then the quality of canvas, belt, and straps (lets don't talk about the zipper quality) are not easy to come across or cheap.  They would be considered military grade in todays packs and ALICE packs of this size run a pretty penny.

Now I have used the pack with the broken zippers for the past 5 years without any issues.  With the world of diabetes changing to more computers and equipment I opt to cary more backup supplies for any emergency that may arise.  Also I am not a spring chicken any more and as a leader there is backup food and water for the entire group that needs a pack.  Then maybe I just like to take too much crap while out backpacking.  Who knows.

Backpack repairs

 What you see here is my fathers 1980's model Kelty backpack.  I think he purchased it when he and my brother backpacked The Absaroka Range in Montana in 1982.  He told me when he purchased this pack, it was the largest pack they sold.  My father brought two of everything into the woods and he had a large frame as well, so carrying this large pack was no chore to him.

 I inherited this pack in 1999 and have used it since then.  Now over time there has been items that need some maintenance.  The zippers have not fared as well as the rest of the pack.  I decided to drop the pack off at a friendly tailor to see if they could repair it at a comfortable price.

 The first thing the tailor wanted to do was replace the zippers with Velcro.  I was not too hot on that idea but once she told me the zippers were going to cost me a pretty penny we went back and reviewed the areas Velcro could work.

 I am real nervous that the tailor might not be able to replace some of these zippers or just that something might not go right and my pride possession from my father might not be able to make it into the woods again.  Now this pack is so large that having six broken zippers has not slowed me down one bit.  I am not sure of the size but extra large does not do it justice.  The canvas on this thing is just amazingly thick but also not too heavy.  It has that waxy feel to it as well and repels moisture if a quick rainstorm hits and I can't get my poncho out in time.

 From the picture above you can see my fathers handy work of making a modified waist belt.  In the 80's waist belts were no more than just 2 inch wide webbing with a metal buckle on it.  My father the engineer he was and an FAA instructor took a bunch of padding sown into some heavy duty canvas and a flight buckle and made the most awesome waist belt I have ever had on.  I added the blue zip ties to keep my fishing pole strapped to the side of the frame.  I am not the engineer my father was.

 What is nice about an external frame pack is that first of all they vent air to your back very well and you can adjust and modify them.  See in the picture above the bare frame.  The tailors first question was, when she saw the pack that could we remove the metal.  I took two minutes and with the slide of two pins the cover slid right off.

 When I got back to work I thought if the zipper replacement did go wrong I still could have a pack made to fit my frame.  I could even just buy a new pack that fits this frame.  The results will be back in less than 2 weeks.

In the end this is a 30 year old pack that has been from Texas to Wyoming and all places in between.  Now there are newer and fancier packs, but when I wear this pack it just takes me back to when I was on the trails with my dad.