Asym 40 Roll Top ~ Green

I have been working on making a modern hiking backpack on and off for years. It’s not too complicated in theory, roll top and some outside pockets, blah blah blah. But the longer you sit with a project the more complicated it becomes. After many prototypes and years of testing different versions of frameless roll top backpacks this was the first version I’ve felt deserved to be made. Once deciding on the benefits of the asymmetrical front pocket and figuring out how to run one piece of replaceable elastic cord through the entire front system this project took off. Many small things have changed in the samples of this bag in the past 6 months. Easiest was the heights and slopes of the front pocket to allow for a water bottle to be secure but accessible without taking the pack off, then adding a single ax or trekking poll loop that tucks away in the front. The tuck away loop inspired the tuck away 1.5” hip belt, and with the hip belt I added a few inches in overall height to the bag. The difficult part was the shoulder straps. After many years of making shoulder straps I know everyone’s bodies are shaped different, but on this bag I wanted to find what was most comfortable since with a frameless pack weight is carried on the shoulders. For the past 4 months I have had 2 versions of this bag at my studio full of 25 pounds of bricks. Whenever someone stopped by I would have them compare bags and pick the most comfortable. Every 2 weeks I would take the losing bag apart and remake the shoulder straps, close but slightly different to the winning bag, thinner, wider, more angled, closer together, further apart. After months of this process I am happy with the strap configuration on this bag and ready for it to be in the hands of paying customers. It’s not the lightest frameless hiking pack but it is durable, simple, repairable, and multi functional. There is a removable stiff foam back panel. Put the foam in and you get a stiff bag ready for heavier loads. Take the foam out and it becomes a smaller bag useful for day hikes and everyday chores. That aspect was very important in the design. It extends the use of this bag from only overnight hiking trips. It can be used on trips where you fly somewhere as your main carry on bag stuffed full, then emptied out in a hotel and used for short or long day hikes. It can be used on a long hiking trip, be emptied out in your tent and used as a summit pack. After all these considerations were finalized the last task was to make a small and large version of the pattern for different torso sizes. This allows people to choose a bag that will sit on their hips if they want to use the hip belt for heavy carries. Finally after years of thinking and sampling I am happy to introduce a bag that will be around many years hopefully be a useful addition to the collection of things that you bring outdoors. The main compartment is 35 liters and the outside pockets add another 5 or more liters. The top is closed with two plastic snaps. There is a single nylon strap that goes over the top of the pack for holding extra things on top like a bear canister or sleeping mat. Inside there is also a small zipper pocket to keep little things accessible but safe inside the pack.

Handmade in house in the USA

Construction time ~ 6.5 hours