Frost river isle royal mod and question

[zpyder]

Hello all

For my birthday last year I bought myself a frost river isle royale jr.

I'm a keen photographer and enjoy travelling, but found camera bags to not offer enough non-camera storage. I wanted a simple bag that I could modify the inside to suite my needs. I did this by getting a removable camera bag insert to go inside the isle royale. When I'm doing photography I have padding for the camera, and when I'm hiking or walking into town I can take that out and use the bag for other stuff.

One thing I wasn't keen on though was how despite being relatively expandable, the top opening wasn't too secure. As a result I had a tailor stitch a drawer string closure into the top. It's amazing how much stuff I can now cram into the bag.

My question is, those flappy bits on the side, I assume they are meant so that if you overfill the bag you can use those to protect the contents from water etc? Or have I got it completely wrong? If my assumption is correct, I'm not sure why frost river hadn't thought of the drawer string option, as it seems much more effective than two small flaps?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Twodogs]

useful mod
I like that

Twodogs

 

[Dave]

I might steal that idea.

 

[Herbalist1]

Yes - that is what the flaps are for - to be tied together with a cord thru the two holes. Frost River do use a draw cord on some of their other bags so guess they have a reason why they don't use it on the Isle Royal range. That said, I do like that mod and could be tempted to do the same with mine. If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost to get that professionally done by a tailor? I wouldn't want to attempt this myself and mess up an expensive bag!

 

[Twodogs]

Have a chat with Bilmo he would do that mod for you I think

Twodogs

 

[Herbalist1]

I'm sure he could and do a fantastic job too. But I was hoping to get a rough estimate on how much a tailor/seamstress might charge. I've got two bags - Isle Royal and Isle Royale Jr. they are lovely bags but it has to be said, not the lightest so if I could avoid postage charges that would be good!

 

[zpyder]

You'll have to bear with me, it was last year and I actually got my sister to take it to the tailors as I was at work that week. I've messaged her to see if she can remember how much it cost.

One thing I'd say though is be very specific with what you want. The tailor did a good job but not quite what I expected...

First off, originally the drawstring section she sewed in was massive. It was actually longer in length than the depth of the bag. Secondly she actually doubled the fabric up. I am assuming this was to make it more robust, but the canvas is already quite heavy without adding unnecessary fabric. That was minor though and probably for the best.

I actually ended up cutting the middle out of the drawstring fabric and stitching the two end pieces back together myself to shorten it, as it was too much hassle to get back to the tailor.

Also worth noting that she had to send it off to be stitched as she needed to use a much more heavy duty machine than she had.

 

[zpyder]

My dodgy hand stitching, triple stitched to make sure it doesn't come undone!

I'd be tempted to cut the flaps off now I know what they're for, as they're a bit redundant. However I guess they might be useful for extra security on occasion!

My sister just replied, it was about £20-30 apparently!

 

[Herbalist1]

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
Ah ok, so she'd have had to figure in the postage anyway.
Thanks for the advice about the problem you had - that's useful.
Sounds like Bilmo may well be the best option after all and a good job would be guarenteed. Might not be just at the moment though, as Xmas is coming and spare cash will be ... well, not so spare!

Cheers again for sharing such a useful mod.

 

[Herbalist1]

Crossed emails.
thanks again for info on cost.

I'd leave the flaps unless they are really bothering you. If you ever wanted to re-sell the bag, it might be easier as is and would probably hold its value better. Any subsequent owner could then easily return the bag to original condition if they wanted. Lots of folk don't like to buy modified items. That said, if you're absolutely sure you'll never sell it (but folks circumstances do change), then do what suits you best - after all you are the one using it and sometimes small things can be annoying.

 

[bilmo-p5]

My question is, those flappy bits on the side, I assume they are meant so that if you overfill the bag you can use those to protect the contents from water etc? Or have I got it completely wrong? If my assumption is correct, I'm not sure why frost river hadn't thought of the drawer string option, as it seems much more effective than two small flaps?

I think the idea is that you don't over fill the main body of the pack. Filling it to level with the top will enable you to lace the two flaps together across the top and the over-wide lid will keep the elements out. The drawcord sleeve is an easy mod and adds a little to the internal capacity, but if you need it as well as all the Isle Royale's external gear stowages, you could really do with a larger pack.

 

[Herbalist1]

Hi Bilmo,
so in your opinion, is the fact that the straps on the lid are much longer than needed to fasten the lid over the full pack due to the expectation that people will use that capacity to carry a bedroll/sleeping mat under the lid flap? that would make sense and is what I do.

i liked the idea of a draw cord not to increase the pack capacity but to allow a more water tight closure in foul weather (i.e. A waxed cotton draw closure addition) - I've noticed that sometimes closing the bag none to carefully (when in a hurry) and if the bag isn't very full, it can gape between the little flaps and the lid/flap and so let water in.

 

[zpyder]

The drawstring for me was more of a security thing than capacity extension, which just turned out to be an added bonus in a few rare instances.

I found that without the drawstring, and the bag as tightly fastened as possible, it was still relatively easy for someone to reach into the bag from under the lid and lift out my gear. I don't make it a habit to walk around dodgy areas busy with pickpockets, but at the same time it's not worth the risk when carrying £5000 of equipment in your bag!

Criminals aside, I also found that if you found yourself "upended", smaller items might just fall out of the bag, which the drawstring closure helps prevent, as well as keeping the elements out better.

I used to use a Lowe pro bag when out with my camera, but aside from screaming "camera equipment inside" I also found it a bit limiting in how much none camera gear I could store in the bag.