Steamy backpack / messenger bag? Looking for... or creation aids.

[Morganville]

So I have a terrible set of shoulders that are always in pain especially when I carry around my cheap-o messenger bag with all my school books. I switched to a macbook air because of its weight as well though I still am suffering.

I'm looking for more of a backpack sort of thing and I'd really like it to be steamy. Leather preferably though I don't have anything against canvas.

I also am interested in seeing if anyone has made their own backpacks or messenger bags and tips and tricks on how to make my own.

I have never worked with leather before and while I do have experience in sewing by hand I think I should invest in a machine sometime soon.... 

[Professor J. Cogsworthy]

What do you think is wrong about your current bag?
Knowing that will help you pick a design for the new one.

[Rev. Jade]

I really like canvas ALICE packs, though they aren't very "steamy."

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

They will last forever though, and because it has two straps like a regular backpack, it will distribute the weight more evenly on your shoulders which might help with the pain.
If you do some digging, you can find them in other colors and I think I've seen a couple with brass hardware.

[Sir Henry]

Presumably the difference between a messenger bag and a backpack is that the latter has two straps, thus balancing the weight and not throwing your back off to one side. I've been using a backpack for my shopping ever since I slipped a disc and my back's now stronger than ever (good for posture too).

Googling 'backpack pattern' comes up with loads of designs on sites like http://www.sewingsupport.com/sewing-how-to/free-patterns-and-projects/bags/backpacks.html. I'd suggest finding a pattern you like the look of and will be strong enough to hold what you need, then add your own mods to it.

Good luck.

[Capt. Dirigible]

I would think the best way to make a back pack look steamy would be to make it look like a rocket pack!

[von Corax]

Personally, I think that ALICE pack, in either olive or dunn canvas with brass or bronze-tone hardware, could look quite steamy on the back of an appropriate suit of clothes.

[Maets]

I would think the best way to make a back pack look steamy would be to make it look like a rocket pack!

Did someone say rocket pack/back pack?  A little small for books, but would hold a bottle of wine and lunch.

[lrichards]

If you can afford it Saddleback stuff looks pretty 'steamy' to me.

Masai Warrior Spear vs. Saddleback Leather Backpack. Test of strength and product demo

[escherblacksmith]

depending on how deep you want to go into leatherworking and the time therein, you may want to consider getting something close, and modifying.  As to your back issues, you may want to consider a bag (or mod of a bag), that would allow you to strap the lower portion across the hips.  This then will allow part of the weight to rest on the hips. 

1860s external frame packs (from wikipedia)


I'd actually recommend you start with canvas . . . less weight, and easier to work with while you are sorting out what you want to do.

[akumabito]

Try looking at pics of a Tornister pack. There are a few on eBay, but for silly money. Original WWII items tend to fetch a LOT more than either pre- or post-war models. The design is pretty simple: a wooden box with straps, covered either in canvas, leather of fur. Should be fairly easy to replicate.

[Wormster]

Cheap (ish) Swiss army backpack:

http://www.armynavydeals.com/asp/products_details.asp?SKU=bbgswis01&catid=2048&ItemName=Swiss%20Backpack

no need to modify!

[The Mysterious Mr Murphy]

http://duluthpack.com/outdoor-gear/hunt-fish/scout-pack-backpack.html

Canvas and leather, old school design.

Packs like these were still common up to the 60s.

http://duluthpack.com/outdoor-gear/canoe-kayak/canoe-packs/rutstrum-gear-cruiser-pack.html

Another more heavy-duty related pack.

If you go the surplus route:

http://www.armynavydeals.com/asp/products_details.asp?SKU=bbgital01&catid=2049&ItemName=Italian%20Backpacks%20-%20Vintage

The "rubberized nylon" is not exactly steampunk-ish, and can be hard to work with, i've had a few rubberized nylon issue bags.

[Seamus]

I've been using a leather/canvas postmans bag from Territory Ahead for years and it's held up well. I got mine as a gift-they aren't the cheapest but they are built well.

[Captain Lyerly]

Best rucksack for the purpose around these days -

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/54122?page=waxed-cotton-continental-rucksack



Comfortable, padded straps, brass and leather all over the place, a hidden hip belt, ventilated back to keep you cool... mine has been with me in thick and thin, deserts and forests and cities, at least four continents... you can't go wrong.


Chas.

[Kryss LaBryn]

To this day my right shoulder is about an inch lower than the left, due to my insistence in wearing my school bag over only the one shoulder, so good on you for realizing how bad for one's back that is and looking for a two-strapped solution!

There are some actual leather backpacks out there; I have one (somewhere), very basic model: two straps, draw-string and flap enclosure, outside pocket at the back, might have had an inner zippered pocket as well. It was made of pieced-together scraps, and I've seen them since, at a getting-rid-of-other-stores'-inventory warehouse place in the early-to-mid noughts, so you may still be able to find them. Not particularly Steamy offhand, as I recall, but they are (lined) leather. And a quick look at leather backpacks on eBay shows quite a few styles for $10 or so that could be steamed up quite easily.

If you're still looking for a messenger bag, CBC Radio has a nice-looking one for sale:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://www.cbcshop.ca/cbc-style/cbc-retro/retro-cbc-mobile-reporting-bag-tan-brown.html

It's about $40.

If you do go with a single-strap messenger bag idea, I'd really strongly recommend that you alternate which shoulder you're carrying it on. Like go to school/work with it over the one, and come home with it over the other. But really, two straps (with a waist strap, as others have mentioned here) is the way to go. I can testify firsthand that the damage one does to onesself by carrying heavy bags over only one shoulder will stay with you for the rest of your life! Plus it makes it bloody awkward to turn half-finished garments inside-out to adjust the fit of the shoulders.

[jemamus]

I would think the best way to make a back pack look steamy would be to make it look like a rocket pack!

YES YES YES!!! rocketpack backpack, you might get some very strange looks around campus, but hey it's an institute of higher learning, they are supposed to be open to that sort of thing.  Just tell them it's  a non functioning prototype!

[Otto Von Pifka]

give a look at the surplus backpacks and bags from  www.sportsmansguide.com

they have a few cheap possibilities

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/used-swedish-rucksack-with-frame-olive-drab.aspx?a=641201

good luck!

[Capt. Dirigible]

I would think the best way to make a back pack look steamy would be to make it look like a rocket pack!

YES YES YES!!! rocketpack backpack, you might get some very strange looks around campus, but hey it's an institute of higher learning, they are supposed to be open to that sort of thing.  Just tell them it's  a non functioning prototype!

I was think, maybe a vintage military style  backpack..with a couple of, tubes..like  document carriers or wine carriers attached to the back like a couple of jets. They could be used for carrying  water or wine bottles..a folding umbrella..even ducuments or art work or anything long you didn't want to fold or bend

Speaking of steampunk backpacks...check this one out!

[jemamus]

wow I kinda want that one for my everyday carry pack...I'm using a UTG tactical side pack now from a military surplus.

[Captain Braid]

So I have a terrible set of shoulders that are always in pain especially when I carry around my cheap-o messenger bag with all my school books. I switched to a macbook air because of its weight as well though I still am suffering.

I think we have all missed this most important item, your suffering, in the attempts to provide a solution.
May I suggest that you clarify, is this pain directly on/in your shoulders joints or the muscles or even your spine?

If, as I suspect, your Avatar photo is a direct representation of you, then part of your issue maybe that you do not have the "padding" that we of older generations have developed over the years. If this is the case then you could get away by utilising a Foam pad and Sheepskin wrap on the strapping.
Failing that adapting a messenger bag to sit  "Sam Browne" style with the majority of the weight carried on the hips will reduce the strain on your shoulders.

[Wisconsin Platt]

If you can afford it Saddleback stuff looks pretty 'steamy' to me.

Oh, aye, it looks steamy.  And carries that look all the through to its weight.  I dearly love my Messenger bag (which can convert to backpack) but I added a couple of pounds to my load when I started to use it.  Saddleback is not the option you want to lighten your load.  Unless you were packing a steamertrunk before.

[citizen_erased]

To this day my right shoulder is about an inch lower than the left, due to my insistence in wearing my school bag over only the one shoulder, so good on you for realizing how bad for one's back that is and looking for a two-strapped solution!

I`m kind of afraid that`s what`s happening to my shoulders as well - I carry a bag filled with food and books, and another bag with my laptop and a bunch of cables, both one-strap, both on the same shoulder, every day since mid-February.

So this thread is giving me some good inspiration as to the type of backpacks I should probably be looking for, thanks everyone!

[Sir Henry]

In terms of relieving back pain, it would probably be best to make/get a backpack without the half-sized pocket on the back. The side pockets are fine, but the further from the back that you have any weight, the more it pulls back and down. Ideally you want as much of the weight as close to the back as possible so that it puts pressure down onto the hips and legs, rather than the back having to pull forward at the same time. For the same reason it's a good idea, if you're making a voluminous pack, to have a divider (removable if possible) to split it into front and back compartments. That way you can keep heavy objects (laptop, books, clockwork recording devices, etc.) next to your back and lighter objects (lunch, plushy kraken, miniaturised airships, etc.) further away. Any cavorite should be sewn into the frame.

And for those of you who insist on using single shoulder bags, for the sake of your back, carry an equivalent weight (concrete, log, family pet, etc.) on the other shoulder to prevent the crippling pain in later years.