For slow travelers, it’s very likely that you and your backpack are going to be involved in a long term, intimate relationship so you might as well invest time in customizing your backpack and making it uniquely yours.
Write your details
Using a permanent marker, inscribe your name, email, phone number and address. If it gets lost, you never know, but someone might find it and take the effort to get it back to you.
Slice off the extra straps
You can take a lesson from the obsessive ultra-light mountain climbers. Do you really need that extra 50 cm of nylon webbing for your waist belt? Do you really need those ice axe loops hanging from the bottom? Do you have a use and idea for every single bit of nylon hanging off the pack?
Modern packs are over-engineered, and you’d be amazed at the amount of weight and tangle-straps you can remove with a sharp pair of scissors. Use a lighter to melt the plastic to keep it from fraying.
Be careful not to cut anything critical!
Fold-stitch the carrying handles
Nowadays, many packs have a handle between the shoulder straps and the top, and this grip handle is important for moving the pack around. Flat nylon webbing can be harsh on the hand, but if you fold it in half, you’ll find it’s much easier to grip. Just stitch it to keep it folded.
If you want to be really fancy, find a plastic tube to slip over the handle- your fingers will be happy!
Photo by keepwaddling1
Sew on a patch, and make it a pocket
It seems that after a certain point you’ll have more patches than places to put them, but one simple thing to remember is that sewing three quarters of a patch onto a backpack panel can reveal a small, unexpected new pocket!
Rectangular patches work best. You can even add a bit of velcro to keep things inside secure.
Shine on with reflecto-strips
One of the most dangerous situations you may encounter on your adventures will involve motor-vehicles manned by distracted [often insane] drivers.
Like joggers and bicyclists, you will be much safer on the road if you have some high-reflective strips or cord visible on strategic places.
You can sew a panel of reflective material onto your pack or even facing forward on your shoulder straps.
At some outdoor equipment stores, you can get special reflective cord designed for tent guy lines; this works well and can be used for many different purposes.
Stash some cash
Have a careful look at the design of your pack. Can you open any internal frame-pockets or slice open the storm flaps protecting the zippers? You might be able to use this as a place to hide a few rolled-up bills.
Make interlacing zipper pulls
There seems to be an almost infinite variety of zipper pulls: some with bells, thermometers, whistles, compasses… But I’d put all those fancy gadgets-on-a-string somewhere safe and secure inside a pocket and replace the zipper pulls with loops simple cord. Not only is it more discreet, but you can tangle them easily to make a slightly more secure closure.
If you have twin holes for a small padlock built into the zipper, you can also put a piece of string or a paper clip through as a temporary make-shift lock. Obviously, this will not prevent theft, but it can stall the process a little longer.
Photo by Bekathwia
Find a permanent home for a large plastic bag
A plastic sheet is considered a useful survival tool by outdoor experts. After all, you really can’t seek shelter from rain under a Swiss Army knife.
One afternoon monsoon downpour while you are packing your sketchbook and laptop computer, and you’ll wish you had kept a plastic bag in your pack.
Rain covers are good options but tend to be heavier and less versatile.
Find a place, maybe inside the internal frameworks, and line it with a plastic bag to protect your gear.
Tattoo it
Why wait for someone else to embroider the perfect patch for your backpack?
You can tattoo your own design, with the help of a permanent marker or some paint. It will wear down over time, but nylon will hold the ink pretty well.
If you are heading into tiger-country, you can draw false eyes on it to scare off tigers stalking from behind.
If you are going into clear- skied wilderness, you can mark some star constellations on it. If you are joining a large group, you can write your name. If you are going into a unsettled zone, you can mark your flag or affiliation.
You can write key phrases in a foreign language, or just draw pretty pictures.
Your imagination is the limit.
Community Connection
Ever wondered what fellow travelers carry in their backpacks? Check out Matador Goods’ What’s In Your Backpack? series.
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9 Comments... join the discussion!
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Those are some great ideas to not only customize our backpacks, but also to make them more functional. I can’t even tell you how many times the plastic bag technique has come in handy for me. Thanks for an awesome post!
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Customization also acts like an anti-theft device. It’s easier to recognize your stuff and makes it look not nearly as shiny-new-nice.
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First off, great piece!
Also, which part of southern India are you working on?
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One of my favorites is a must for daypacks. I usually opt for the $15 school daypack from Walmart, then take superglue and reinforce the shoulder straps where they connect with the top of the pack. I’ve found that even extremely durable packs tend to be exceptionally weak here. The superglue bonds in a way that you’ll be hard pressed to beat with even the most thorough needlework. It’s relatively clean, hard to spot, and a great way to enhance your bag. It’s also great for on the go mending in case of tears, knife cuts, etc.
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I actually use those ice pick hooks on the bottom of my pack (but of course not for ice picks.) I use 2 carabiner clips to attach my sleeping bag so that a) I have more room in my pack and b) that weight is directly on my hips. I have a small collection of patches collecting dust, so maybe my pretty blue bag could use some accessorizing.
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I used to decorate my bag with pins, but, naturally, they kept popping off. Maybe I should move on to patches…
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I once saw a man walking through Vancouver with a backpack covered with places he’s been and dates he was there. It was pretty neat, and it looked like he had been to ALOT of places.
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Two days before I leave Miami for a month plus around Nicaragua, I’m dragging my pack out of the trunk to catch a plane and it breaks. Sure I had it to full, but then there was room right? The beauty of BABYPINS! So I get home and have to find a pack quick, but have a bad taste for the gourmet. I did three months out of my high school backpack around Israel and Egypt so I know how to streamline. This time though was a diving trip so I was carrying my gear. (Later found that alI told I was hauling avg. 100lbs., but the diving is what I wanted.) So my solution is my happiest yet. Went to a local military resale and bought one of their duffels with backpacking straps ($30). Bleached it so the bag looked like it had been @ the world underneath a pack of elephants. (To give the appearance of a seasoned traveler with nothing to offer). My friend had brought one of those reusable grocery bags which we always loaded with lunch, water, and a book. I’ve taken scissors to the old pack and sewn all the comfort padding onto the military. Feels great, looks good, and WON’T fail. It’s topload to, so know sticky fingers. I’ll post a pic on my couchsurfing sight. Good Times!
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