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To cut or not to cut

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To cut or not to cut

Postby Lonnie » 04 10, 2018 •  [Post 1]

I watched a video of Aron Snyder cutting off straps on his pack that he did not need. He was cutting weight off of his pack and getting rid of straps that he did not need. I am going to try it. My goal this year is to cut weight on all my gear. I do travel on foot about 10 miles a day. So every bit I can cut would help. As Aron says ounces turns into pounds and pounds turns into pain. What do you guys think.
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Fridaythe13th » 04 10, 2018 •  [Post 2]

I agree. What I start with in and on my pack at day 1 is not what I end up with the last day. I know a guy that just carries a small fanny pack and makes it work.
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Navesgane » 04 10, 2018 •  [Post 3]

A few things to consider; if you ever want to sell it, you may be limited to only people your size.
The double folds on the ends of straps help in keeping them from coming out of the buckle or tag stays. If you do cut them I would sew or have someone sew new folds.
It may limit the amount of clothing/insulation you can comfortably wear.
It also may not be covered by a warranty and the company might not take it back if you cut something off. Other than that, Id say go for it.
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Elkduds » 04 10, 2018 •  [Post 4]

How many ounces could you save by trimming straps? Most of us would be better off losing weight from our bodies than cutting apart gear. Me included.
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Swede » 04 10, 2018 •  [Post 5]

Over the years I have made modifications to my car and truck engines to gain horsepower and improve fuel economy. In the end I found no gain and ended up paying too much for too little. I have learned that the engineers know a lot more than I do and you have to get up real early to outsmart them. Probably the same is true with packs.
What you end up with is not an EXO or ??? pack, but a Lonnie Pack. Is the gain worth the cost?
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Brendan » 04 11, 2018 •  [Post 6]

Better be sure it's what you want to do. Keep in mind Aron is the chief designer / tester for Kifaru, spends hundreds of days in the field each year so he knows what he's doing, but also gets all his packs and shelters for free and his job is to test pretty much every configuration possible...
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Tigger » 04 11, 2018 •  [Post 7]

Some of those straps are used for when you have to put a load on the pack (for instance, you shoot a bull and want to carry out the horns, backstraps, a shed antler, a piece of garbage, etc back to camp/truck. You will need those straps to keep that load from moving all over. I wouldn't do it as the potential savings in weight is miniscule compared to the pain of having what you need.

Coming from a guy who just goes down the store room and grabs another if he needs it and has it sewn on, replacing one is going to be a pain.
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby pointysticks » 04 11, 2018 •  [Post 8]

i wouldnt.

Aron can go into the sew room and get it put back..you? not so much.
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 04 11, 2018 •  [Post 9]

Another vote for "no". Many of the straps on the newer packs are longer than seemingly needed (for normal operation/config) for a designed purpose. Minimizing the ability to expand your pack out or up when needed is not a good thing :).
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Brendan » 04 11, 2018 •  [Post 10]

I won't say "Never".

Take the Kifaru Guide Lid. It has straps and an internal sleeve to store those straps and buckles so you can remove it and use it as a day pack. On one of mine I cut those straps and buckles off, as well as the sleeve, because I didn't ever intend on using it for anything except a lid attached to the pack. Simplified (and lightened) the design for me. And, it was just the lid, not a whole pack...

Just better know exactly what each piece is for and accept you're losing resale value if you ever do it.
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Indian Summer » 04 11, 2018 •  [Post 11]

To me the question is like...... should I chop 3 inches off my pant legs and wear my boot soles halfway down to make my hunt more enjoyable or successful?

Um no.... don’t cut pieces off of your pack. I can think of better ways to lose 8 ounces and remember pounds might equal pain but pounds that aren’t riding right on your back are also pain.
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Lefty » 04 12, 2018 •  [Post 12]

No

You have the wrong pack for that day.
Last week my wife was looking for a new pack.
I don't carry enough junk or items to fill all those pockets.


My Day pack , I carry what I need to spend the night , and to pack out.
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby >>>---WW----> » 04 12, 2018 •  [Post 13]

What ever yanks your crank!! If you intend to customize the pack and intend to keep it until death do us part, I suppose cutting straps is fine. You might cut 2-3 ounces of weight if you are lucky. However if you intend to sell it sometime, the next buyer may not like your alterations! :roll:
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Kentrek » 04 12, 2018 •  [Post 14]

Dont cut your straps...the only thing for certain is you have no idea how youl end up configuring a pack on a trip...much better ways to save weight out there
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Lefty » 04 13, 2018 •  [Post 15]

We're getting ready for a hike later this morning. I realized my wife's Camelback I did shorten the binges and straps.
the stras were too long and they flopped around and snagged on brush.

Maybe an ounce was saved. The extra dangling strap and cord were the problem.
I got to thinking. I also shortened side straps on my backpack for the same reason.
I used an old tinners soldering gun to seal the ends of the cuts .
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby >>>---WW----> » 04 13, 2018 •  [Post 16]

Most GOOD packs will have keepers on the straps so you can roll up the excess and wrap the keeper around them. If not, just roll them up and put a piece of tape around them.

Unless you are one of those ultra lite gram weenies, you wont save enough weight by cutting the straps off to amount to a hill of beans!
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Re: To cut or not to cut

Postby Lonnie » 04 19, 2018 •  [Post 17]

So I did cut some straps that were not needed. I cut a total of 6 that were to long for my skinny but. The straps came out to 2 oz for all six that were shortened. I do not think that this is enough weight to worry about cutting straps now that I have done it. I used synthetic thread to sew the ends back so that the keepers would not fall off or get lost. If you think about doing this you will find that it is not easy to put a needle threw the thick straps and do a clean job. It does take a lot of time to do a good job and not end up with a product that will fail in the field. To do this all over again I would just leave the straps long. I would probably just use black electrical tape to pin them up. I do not intend to ever sell the pack. So customizing it to my needs is for me. I do think taking a look at all your gear and trying to cut weight in all your gear is important.
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