Berghaus Vulcan Mod

[Twodogs]

A lot of the gear we carry mainly for a bit more comfort and is bulky not so much heavy , RVOPs do a mod to there Berghaus Vulcan so you can fit a PLCE side pouch on the front of your pack ,
After asking about PLCE zips on the forum my mate Neil ( Nolightweight ) managed to pop into Anchor at Ripley and pick up a PLCE zip , buckles and some straping , Cheers Mate .

Some heavy duty thread and sore thumbs later its done

Twodogs

 

[Twodogs]

Darn posted it in the wrong area ,,

can a mod move it to kit chatter please
Twodogs

 

[decorum]

Nice one . I've been looking at something like this myself - using a medic pouch is a good idea .

 

[Ahjno]

Darn posted it in the wrong area ,,

can a mod move it to kit chatter please
Twodogs

Sorted.
I was thinking about such an adjustment myself the other day for my Lowe Alpine. It has MOLLE loops, so I might figure out a system to use these

Nice job BTW

 

[Shewie]

That's clever, a seriously big pack now fella

 

[welshwhit]

Thats a great mod!

I like that!

Drew

 

[MartinK9]

Great Mod, will help on your next solo trip as well.

 

[Twodogs]

Thats the plan mate , I wont have to have a block of jarlsberg straped to the lid for a week now ..lol
Twodogs

 

[johnboy]

Hi,

Nice job... Here's the RVOPS mod on my Vulcan... for comparison... Yours is as good...better in fact as you've added the fastex clips for a PLCE pouch to clip into....

With Standard PLCE side pouch in place

Showing the Zips...

It's a good mod turning a monster bergen into a gargantuan bergen.... I've used it with all 3 outer pockets and a reasonable load in it this winter on a trip above the snowline and it was a beast to carry. The only minor inconvinence I found with the 3rd pocket attached was getting acess to my Ice axe but it was manageable...

I'd like to do a couple of mods to mine.

1. Add in a small internal pocket like the old Cyclops Roc and Crusader had as that was very useful....

2. Suss out a way of getting the lid to compress down when the bergen is less than full. I tend to use it with the pockets a lot as it's handier dipping into those than the main sac. Berghaus in their wisdom have sor of fixed the amount of compression you can get with the closure straps. one fix I've been doing is rolling the lid up and using the fastex clips on the roll mat straps on top to clip the lid closed... More adjustment on the main straps would be better.

 

[Twodogs]

All true comments Johnboy
an internal pouch would be very usefull and the zip on the lid on the other side, stops kit dropping out if you forget to close the zip .
Twodogs

 

[Shewie]

Is the additional pouch to take the polish tent then Twodogs ?

 

[lou1661]

2. Suss out a way of getting the lid to compress down when the bergen is less than full. I tend to use it with the pockets a lot as it's handier dipping into those than the main sac. Berghaus in their wisdom have sor of fixed the amount of compression you can get with the closure straps. one fix I've been doing is rolling the lid up and using the fastex clips on the roll mat straps on top to clip the lid closed... More adjustment on the main straps would be better.

Hi Johnboy,
Im not sure if i read this right but i pass the straps through the ice axe loops which takes up quite a bit of the fabric.

Cheers
Lou

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Very impressive mods!!

just be careful you don't overload your pack!
light gear in the rear pouch only!

Hi Johnboy,
Im not sure if i read this right but i pass the straps through the ice axe loops which takes up quite a bit of the fabric.

gah!..this is on of the great mysteries of PLCE .
There is only one Ice axe loop, on the left near the base, the other two loops you are using exactly the right way, to adjust the lid straps. in much the same way as you did on the SAS/Para sack.

 

[johnboy]

Hi Johnboy,
Im not sure if i read this right but i pass the straps through the ice axe loops which takes up quite a bit of the fabric.

Cheers
Lou

Hi,

That does work but if you've got an ice axe on board and I often do then it's a bit of a faff..

I concur with Twodogs the lid pocket zip on the front is a PITA at the back would be much better....

Other minor mods I've done are...

1. Add a loop of cord onto the shoulder strap to stop my camelbak hose flapping all over
the show...

2. Added a bit of orange plastic to one of the side pocket zips so I know which pocket is which and what kit is where especially important if you unzip the side pockets from the main bergen

 

[Tengu]

Im planning on putting a wee BCB rucksack on my cyclops Roc.

(and a rocket pack converted to a bum bag on the lid)

 

[John Fenna]

An option for carrying an ice axe is to slot it behind one of the side pockets and strap its head to the side patch.....easy to get at and secure...used to do this with the old Cyclops.

 

[johnboy]

An option for carrying an ice axe is to slot it behind one of the side pockets and strap its head to the side patch.....easy to get at and secure...used to do this with the old Cyclops.

True, But I find with my Axe the adze is always rubbing your shoulder.

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Hi here's a Mod I've been toying with whilst I've been off sick I have an OG short back PLCE Bergen. I thought an extendable and or removable lid would be quite handy!

Here is the finished Bergen, with the lid extended upwards (a medium ALICE pack for size comparison it's about 35 litres):

and yes, you can fit a crazy amount of kit in it, and, NO, I'm never going to carry that much nor would i suggest you do, just useful in some situations.

I'd just filled it with cushions and sleeping bags for the photo's and it does wobble if heavy kit is high up, probably fine for sleep mats or clothing but forget keeping a water bottles in the top!

now with the lid removed:

note the 4 small 1/2" QR clips rather than 2 or 3 1" clips. this allows the lid to be attached to the side pouch yoke.

Here with the side pouch yoke

and some more detail:

No actual sewing done to the yoke, just an extra female buckle added to each lower shoulder adjusting strap, these clip around the loop(by the main lid clip) and the resulting hole is big enough to feed the yoke waist strap through.


I tried it the other day...
...not really that comfy, but it was never designed that way, OK for a quick grab bag but I wouldn't want to wear it all day.
As most people do I keep my money keys ect in the top pocket of my bag when off the track so it's a useful thing if you're leaving the bulk of your kit in your car and taking your essentials in to a shop or cafe.
p.s. my wife hates it!

 

[drewdunnrespect]

if you removed the little pocket from the front would the origonal posters mod be feasable on a plce standerd issue 120litre bergen

drew

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Yes, I've seen several variatons.

It's a popular mod but don't want the oportunity to do myself in!
125l is a lot of kit to carry!
During my Mountain leadership course (which included a 3 day expedition in the lakes in winter) I didn't even carry my standard side pockets. just the main sack.

I like the Idea of extending the pack upwards though in case i want to carry long items.