Thursday, February 22, 2018

The Fannypackinator v1.0 - A Useful Failure

I find that simple cross body bags, like the Nicgid I'm currently rocking does most jobs well. It's practical and low profile.

There are some times, however, when the cross body nature of the bag gets annoying. Say I'm taking a hike, or doing something that requires more mobility, like fishing. In these circumstances, the stability of a backpack or sling bag wins the day.

Solutions to this first-world-problem range from simply transferring my stuff to the appropriate bag, to continuing my search for the perfect one size fits all bag that clearly doesn't exist.

The other day I came up with another solution, and thanks to the sewing kick I'm on, I was able to prototype it.

The idea is to create a little harness for my shoulder bag that turns into a fanny pack. Yes, the dreaded fanny pack. Although, this is more lumbar pack than 1980's fashion accessory.

Turning my bag into a lumbar pack would give me the hands free flexibility I'm after. Hikers and fisherman have already proven the value of this format. As a bonus, I could use the same harness for attaching the bag to my bike or another bag altogether.

The Fannypackinator® consists of two nylon webbing straps to support the bag and one to hold the bag and straps in place:

Here's the finished product with a belt in place for demonstration purposes:

And the project was officially a bust. The straps fit into place, which is progress. However, the generously sized belt loops cause the whole setup to hang too far away from the belt. The result is saggy mess, versus tightly fitted arrangement I saw in my mind's eye.

I think the solution is probably to sew the loops in place. However, before I start sewing stuff I can't easily un-sew, I'm going to take some time to think more about the problem.

My dreams of a rocking a fanny pack will have to wait another day. But oh, when that day comes, will it be sweet!

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