Sabre 45 PLCE belt modification

[gregorach]

Mentioned this in another thread and a couple of people showed interest, so here it is... This is a work in progress, and it hasn't been field-tested yet, but I think the idea is a good one.

I've thought for a long time that it would be handy to have a rucksack with a detachable belt that you can carry some kit on. I quite like being able to keep, say, my brew kit in a belt pouch so that you can carry it with you on shorter walks without having to carry a pack. Then of course there's what everyone seems to call a "possibles pouch" - some bits and bobs of handy kit you really wouldn't ever want to be without. A lot of my camping tends to involve getting to a base camp somewhere and then exploring around it rather than through-hiking, so I'd like to be able to assemble the whole lot into one comfotable pack, then ditch the main pack at base camp and just use belt kit or a daysack.

Obviously, the Sabre 45 really caught my eye because of the detachable side pouches you can use as a daypack. My initial thought was just to use a PLCE belt with a couple of pouches worn below the belt for the pack, but that wasn't really comfortable - I needed to wear the belt too low and the pack too high - and the PLCE belt was causing abrasion to the pack belt. Plus, as I'm sure other Sabre 45 owners will attest, the belt on that pack isn't up to much anyway (although I believe the new model is much better in this regard).

So I hit on the idea of modifying the pack to attach to the PLCE belt. I took two webbing loops with fastex buckles (cut from the PLCE hip pad) and sewed them to the bottom of the back of the pack, spaced for the two metal loops on the edge of the belt:





The belt (with hip protector) attaches thusly:





So far, it seems to work OK - it's very comfortable, and seems to transfer weight pretty well. I guess I won't know for sure until I've done a decent hike with a decent load though...

Loaded up, it looks like this from the back:





And this from the front:





So far, the only obvious problem is that it's just too camo... Maybe I'll spray paint it all Hot Pink.

[davef]

Na purple n sparkley........




with sequins..........




and fluffy bits

[Ogri the trog]

That looks good Gregorach,
And much neater than my lash-up hotch-potch of dangley bits.
Can you remove the Sabre without taking off the rig - or is that just me trying to maintain a useless feature of the '58 rig.

Anyone else done similar on a low budget?

Ogri the trog

[gregorach]

Can you remove the Sabre without taking off the rig

Yeah, but it's a bit awkward and fiddly. Easier if you don't thread the buckles through the loops on the edge of the belt, but then it's not quite as securely connected. I'm not sure which is more necessary - I guess it's the sort of thing you need to live with a while.

[Shambling Shaman]

Anyone else done similar on a low budget?

I spend hours on ebay looking for pouches and the like, I keept my 58' from my RAF days and still like it. Got a Trauma Pouch (not web tex) that holds my jet boil lovely.

My partner Debbie worries about the time I spend on line looking a packs / pouches. She has been known to say "Cant you look at porn like normal bloks?"

[Mantic]

Nice idea. Me, I'd sew in a few elastic loops to all the straps to tidy them out of the way (some guys cut them - that's a waste, others gaffa them - that's a mess). A couple of loops on the sholder strap could be used to hold down the hose / bit valve for a flexible water bottle (which you store in / on the top of the pack), though velcro might be better.

Also, consider an elasticated chest strap - very easy to make and you've got the webbing attachment points for it.

It's not too camo - just roll it in the mud a bit, that'll take the edge off it a bit.

[Batfink]

My partner Debbie worries about the time I spend on line looking a packs / pouches. She has been known to say "Cant you look at porn like normal bloks?"

Thank God somebody else's wife makes remarks like that - I was beginning to think it was just me!

Anyways, very nice system there Gregorach - I may well consider something similar for my Wyvern daysack!

[RAPPLEBY2000]

that's sort of what my kit is like.

i can wear pouches on my rucksack waisdt belt, or on a seperate belt.

i use Arktis pouches (which have been adapted).

paint advice, go to your local toy shop and ask for paint that you can use on plastics.

i would opt for a grey green, or dust colour. just cause it won't look so military.

[Spacemonkey]

If anyone is interested, Silvermans do PLCE poughes in olive green for the non cammo look.

http://www.silvermans.co.uk

Look under products/webbing. Can't link directly to them, but they are about 5 pages in.

[havingagiraffe]

it's just too camo...

Dude, where's my bag?

[Nicklas Odh]

There is one way of not doing it too military, since the big country due west have decided that the war of choice nowadays is not "in Northern Europe" (freely from "Between Iraq and a hard place") there is a choice of going yellow or what they use to refer to as "coyote brown" what we on this side of the big lake would call dark khaki. Even the new camo pattern HlHYTRAJMFRPMJR or something similar has such a colour that it looks like it has no colour at all but grey.

Just buy whatever you like, hey camo is fashion nowaydays. When girls walk around in pink woodland tights bought at H&M you can surely wear your old kit, "borrowed" from the Army. After all, military stuff is usually great stuff made to be used and misused without breaking.