Pack Fit and Adjustment

[mule]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mule47/
Here is a link to my Flickr page. On it you will see how I modified several things. Please, as you look at the photos notice that the pack is not very full. All I have in it is two down quilts in the pack back and a down jacket in the lid. If it were fuller the lid would look even better.
I cut off a triangular wedge from the back of the lid, shortening the zipper but making a better transition toward the back of the pack, making it look better and better fit the pack. I also added skirts on each side. The skirts really helped, they have bungee cord to hole them on the pack better, too. I will now carry the lid on the pack most or the time.
On the Talon, it once was orange, still is underneath, but I made a new talon cover and added it and a zipper to cover the orange. I now have the orange talon with zipper and sewn in inside pocket with zipper on left, and a second compartment with zipper on the right, all accessible completely. The new Marine Camo part of the talon has way more pleating in it so if the orange talon underneath is full, there will still be room in the top camp pocket.
I also made a set of ¾ straps that plug into the buckles to make shoulder straps for a day pack. If you turn the talon upside down with the buckles that attach to the bottom load shelf, it works better on your shoulders and use the ones that are horizontal for the bottom attachment points of the shoulder straps.
I also sewed on the talon vertical tabs with buckles to bring either the roll top or the zippered lid down tight without using the center compression straps.
On the pack bag, I added two female buckles to the places where the handles attach so I would not have to use them to attach the lid.
Just my preferences completely. There was nothing wrong with the pack but that's me, modify darn near everything I have.

[copper1]

Mule, your additions look good. I've been trying to figure out how, if I bought the pack, I would add buckles to hold the front of the the lid without repurposing any compression straps, as well as attaching the over the top straps to the top of the talon. Both needed when strapping a heavy load to the frame or in the bag.Think elk quarters. Thanks for the pics and the ideas!

[ktimm]

Actually you can probably take extra strapping from load sling and add a buckle and run up to lid ....I have not tried it but it should work.

We can add a center top buckle on talons as needed , similar to pack bag
connection for over the top straps

[ktimm]

Another option is to take and add a buckle on the end of a compression strap after the talon connection. I have done that as a brief test. So essentially the compression strap connects as normal to a talon and then redirects to lid