DIY PVC Alice Pack Frame

[DayAfterTomorrow]

I really appreciate all the kind words and positivity, I posted this on another forum and all I got was doubters and naysayer douchbags.

I never really considered filling the frame with anything, you could if ya wanted to but you would have to disassemble it every time you wanted access, just doesn't seem practical to me.

[DayAfterTomorrow]

I live like 35 minutes from the Chain lakes trail head. When your at Grouse, look south east and look at the bitch ass mountain I climbed to get back to chain lakes before night fall. I was just up there last Aug. Have fun!!

I'm very jealous of where you live, the emigrant wilderness is fuckin gorgeous! I hiked there a few times now it's probably my favorite.

[jamoni]

Ooh, I know EXACTLY what I would put in that thing: antenna sections!
HAM nerd in the house, yo!

[NorrisUnleashed]

I live like 35 minutes from the Chain lakes trail head. When your at Grouse, look south east and look at the bitch ass mountain I climbed to get back to chain lakes before night fall. I was just up there last Aug. Have fun!!

I'm very jealous of where you live, the emigrant wilderness is fuckin gorgeous! I hiked there a few times now it's probably my favorite.

Its not that bad, Im only like an hour and fifteen from Modesto. I wish sometimes I lived anywhere near an In N' out!

[eugene]

I really appreciate all the kind words and positivity, I posted this on another forum and all I got was doubters and naysayer douchbags.

I never really considered filling the frame with anything, you could if ya wanted to but you would have to disassemble it every time you wanted access, just doesn't seem practical to me.

That's why I said replace the top elbows with t's so the top can be open to slide things in

[DayAfterTomorrow]

I really appreciate all the kind words and positivity, I posted this on another forum and all I got was doubters and naysayer douchbags.

I never really considered filling the frame with anything, you could if ya wanted to but you would have to disassemble it every time you wanted access, just doesn't seem practical to me.

That's why I said replace the top elbows with t's so the top can be open to slide things in

I see what you mean but I but if I replace the top elbows with T's I would still have to remove the pack from the frame. It just doesn't seem practical

[glaston]

I really appreciate all the kind words and positivity, I posted this on another forum and all I got was doubters and naysayer douchbags.

Let me guess. survivalistboards? I go there from time to time. a lot of idiots that only want to argue and chest thump. Not to say everyone is like that there, but you know what they say about a few bad apples...
Anyway, yeah, great job. I toyed with the idea of making a frame years back for my large alice. But in the end I just used the issue frame and eventually stopped using the alice packs altogether. But I love seeing other peoples DIY projects, and love doing my own. So great job!!
The reason the issue frame is so short is because it's designed to be compatible with the other alice gear. Like the issue web gear with the butt-pack. So it has to ride higher to stay out of the way. When the alice pack is used with the other alice gear, namely the combat rig with belt and suspenders, the bottom of the frame rides on top of the butt pack and 2 canteens positioned on each side of the butt pack. This makes it more comfortable as it takes the load off even more. So if you're not using the web gear, it is a bit too high.
How much does the PVC frame weigh in itself? More or less than the issue frame?

[DayAfterTomorrow]

How much does the PVC frame weigh in itself? More or less than the issue frame?

I haven't weighed it but if feels about the same as a standard Alice.

And yes it was on the survivalist forum, there are some cool dudes there along with the douchebags! I did learn a lot off of that forum so it's not all bad!

[DayAfterTomorrow]

How much does the PVC frame weigh in itself? More or less than the issue frame?

I haven't weighed it but if feels about the same as a standard Alice.

And yes it was on the survivalist forum, there are some cool dudes there along with the douchebags! I did learn a lot off of that forum so it's not all bad!

[Jeriah]

Very nice job!

Have you considered jamming some emergency rations into the tubing? Use something like gerbil food so you won't eat it the first time you get hungry... (Unless you're one of those people who goes nuts for gerbil food, in which case you need to find something even worse-tasting.)

Mmm...I can see a black bear smashing the shit out of a pack frame to get at the food inside. Better off keeping all foodstuffs and scented items like toothpaste in a bear canister, or at least in a bag you can hang from a tree. (I doubt you'd want to hang your whole pack from a tree, for a variety of reasons.) Black bears are the main problem in CA mountain wilderness.

if the PVC would be too weak/brittle replace it with the grey plastic electrical conduit, it has a wider safe temperature range.

Gray plastic electrical conduit, or maybe that gray PVC sprinkler pipe. That stuff has always seemed tougher than white PVC to me. Don't know the stats though.

[6UNF1GHTER]

Stellar job on thinking outside the box, on many levels man!

I'm with the crowd that is +1, as I really do like the ALICE bag (and some of the system) itself- due to it's simplicity, ruggedness and overall cost. For those reasons, it is one of my favorites.. but, the frame and suspension leaves a lot to be desired in comparison to more modern stuff. Though, it should be mentioned that : sometimes newer is not always better.

I like it.

[eugene]

Anyone have the dimensions of a standard alice pack frame, I might just have to make one.

[DayAfterTomorrow]

28lbs of gear for 3 days in a beautiful winter wonderland know as the Emigrant Wilderness! I can't wait!

[NorrisUnleashed]

Please post pictures of you trip. I want to see what the recent weather has done since august.

[pipboy]

Hi guys. this awesome thread got me out of lurker mode. i love diy projects and i have a medium alice pack with no frame. i copied DayAfterTomorrow's design as closely as possible. i didnt have an actual alice frame to model mine on so i estimated all the sizes and curves based on DayAfterTomorrow's photos. i have a bottle of pvc cement so i decided to use it on most of the joints. i didn't use it on the cross-members because it dries too fast for me to adjust the angle and get the curve facing just the right way. i figure with the entire circumference cemented together the crossmembers will be locked in place pretty well.

here we go:





i didnt have the kidney bad attached in these photos but it fits really well.

i kind of wish there was a little more space between the bottom of the pack and the shelf but i think it will still be able to fit a sleeping bag okay.

i'm also a little concerned about the placement of the center crossmember. i have it perfectly centered in the frame. it feels comfortable right now but i need to take it on a long hike and see if it starts to bother me after a while. it might be a better idea to have it a bit lower down.

i sprayed it down with a coat of black rustoleum plastic paint which is drying right now. i'll add a photo to this post once that is all dry.

now i am really interested in doing more pvc based gear.

[6UNF1GHTER]

DayAfterTomorrow
Definitely post your results when you get to it! I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out.
Oh, and I gotta ask: is that pistol in your loadout pic an old H&R .22? I've got a 949 that looks just like it..



pipboy
Nicely done! Do you have any figures on how much it cost for the PVC components for the frame? I was looking into doing the same thing,after reading this but there are no big box retailers in my city... and the only places are way overpriced. No way I could build something like that for $3.00.

Slightly off topic-
If you (or anyone else here) is looking for a neat simple and effective PVC piece of survival gear... a really good one is called the "pathfinder fishing kit" IIRC. Works, and uber cheap to build a bunch for to keep in the car, truck, pack, and donate to friends/family. Pretty much a handline sort of deal... so it takes some practice to get used to it versus pole fishing so YMMV.

[pipboy]

i bought everything at home depot. the elbow joints were $0.22 each ($0.24 with tax), the T joins were a little more maybe 30 or 40 cents (i forget exactly), and the piping was something like $1.60 for 10ft. sorry i lost the receipt. the spray paint cost more then all the pvc combined.

i would imagine the price would be fairly similar at non-chain hardware store.

oh by the way, dont get tricked into buying small chunks of pvc. homedepot sells 18" lengths for 94cents each. its a huge rip off for the exact same material. i took a 10ft length and walked it over to the molding section where they have a hacksaw setup and cut the pvc down to 5ft lengths to fit in the bed of my truck.

6UNF1GHTER: is this the fishing kit you area talking about: http://www.alpharubicon.com/primitive/p ... tspike.htm
it looks cool but i have minimal fishing experience and i am paranoid about polluted streams.


edit: one last comment: dont bother with rusteleum plastic paints. i gave it 2 or 3 hours to dry but it immediately started chipping off when i put the pack on the frame. can anyone recommend a good spray paint for pvc that wont chip off super easy?

[DayAfterTomorrow]

I put about 6 coats of paint on mine, the plastic being soft you could put 20 and it wouldn't matter, scratches are gonna happen!

[DayAfterTomorrow]

Little video of my frame/pack in action at Relief Resavoir in the Emigrant Wilderness



Pip your frame looks EPIC! Nice work!

[pipboy]

nice video! this design is really awesome. i'm gonna take it out for a day hike this weekend and see how it does. screw the naysayers!

in the future i might try to building a new one with a mounting point on the top of the frame for a 2m antenna. it might also be cool to build in nalgene bottle mounts into the side of the shelf.

[TDW586]

What I've seen other people do with set-ups like this ... (and you should totally do too) is put a GoPro/Contour camera mount on portions of the PVC. = 3rd person view camera rig. Would be a great way to document cool parts of your trips.

That is a great idea.

[eugene]

May need to roughen up the pvc with sandpaper a little to get the paint to stick well.
You may also try the textured rustoleum, it seems pretty scratch resistant on other materials, I haven't tried PVC though. It gives a powder coated look.

[Dain Bramaged]

I put about 6 coats of paint on mine, the plastic being soft you could put 20 and it wouldn't matter, scratches are gonna happen!

When I make mine, I was thinking i'd wrap/cover it in duct tape.

[pipboy]

i havent tested this at all but i was wondering what you guys think about this idea: could we strengthen the pvc frame by filling it with some material? maybe with spray foam insulation or sand?