Throughout development, I have been referring to this project as "The Adventurer's Day Pack," which is I suppose as good as any, and suits the final product very well. However, that name really describes the category of product it belongs to, rather than the finished product itself. Somewhere along the line, I also nicknamed it "The Bookshelf," which is very fitting, but not particularly marketable... Another name up for consideration is "The Mule," which doesn't really tell you what the product is. At this point, I believe I will stick with calling it the first in my line of Adventurer's Day Pack's (as I do plan to return to some of my other pack designs and develop them further), and use that as a placeholder while I do further market research to choose between the two sub-imprint names (or a possible third that I haven't thought of yet).
So, without further ado... I give you the finished beta of the first Adventurer's Day Pack!
I made this backpack because, in the Live Action Role Play community I belong to, we often have events where most of the players are hiking for most of the day and have to carry our own supplies. Because our clothes and gear have to fit into the medieval setting, we often end up carrying much less water than we need, or have to keep our water jugs in simple tote bags or sacks that are uncomfortable to carry for a long period of time, or get left behind when we have to continue on unexpectedly. So this pack was designed an built to address this problem by providing a cost-effective bag that could not only carry a day's worth of water while leaving one's hands free, but was comfortable enough that people would be less tempted to leave it on the ground after they had gotten what they needed out of it.
I had hoped to make something that also completely concealed the water vessel, which this version of the pack does not, but with this particular design that's not much of a problem... I can easily add a flap that covers the main storage compartment, or make simple slip covers for plastic bottles, but the main achievement is that the structure of the pack is sturdy and rigid enough that one could easily carry more period-looking glass bottles or jugs without any major risk of breaking them.
As I move forward with this design, I plan to experiment with different fabric panel shapes and strategies, so as to eliminate gaps (which will increase utility for carrying small items and reduce risk of tangling in dense foliage). I may also look into the possibility of making solid shelves, to increase load stability. My main priority, though, will be seeking a better way to join the corners of the shelves: currently, I'm using stock copper pipe fittings and lashing any additional pieces in place, but ideally I would like to use custom-made fittings on future builds (for which I will need to acquire a TIG welder), as well as generally refining construction methods, especially with an eye to increasing longevity of the product by observing how the pack stands up to more extended wear and addressing any problems that may arise.
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