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PVC Alice Compatable Backpack Frame Version 1.0

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122K views 197 replies 74 participants last post by  AndrewAu.  
#1 ·
Made this for no other reason than to do it. The standard Alice frame puts the kidney belt to high for my personal prefrence, so i made the frame a few inches longer. I will be modifing this till i get it right, Probably going to use the oven to give some of the pieces contour to get the ergonomics right.

The materials per frame cost around $3.00, 1/2 PVC pipe, T's and elbows. I have a pile of Alice straps, packs, pads and frames.

This is mocked up with a large, will probably use a medium when all is said and done! The "T" shape will make a nice shelf to starp up a tarp and sleeping bag underneth a med pack!

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#5 ·
Not to be nay-sayer, but other than you being bored I have to ask why? PVC? Really? I've done more than my share of marching across BFE with an loaded Alice pack on my back to say with some level of knowledge that there is a reason the frame is made of aluminum tubing - light weight and strength. Love them or hate them those frames will take a whole lot of abuse.

While I can certainly understand the issue you have with the placement of the kdney belt, I share your sentiments on that one, why not simply either modify the mounts or lengthen the frame to your personal preference?

PVC may be cheap, and I have seen a whole lot of imaginative thinking for is use, but I would really have to caution against this being one of them.

First it isn't saving you any weight to speak of.

Second in order to get any strength out of it you are using tubing that is what, 2 or 3 times the diameter of the original aluminum tubing? You have just effectively moved the center of the load you will be carrying away from where it should be - centered on you as much as possile.

Third, I have to seriously question whether or not the strength of the PVC, even with the larger diameter, is up to the tasks of supporting a full load for very long (sorry but 25lbs is nowhere near a full load for a medium Alice pack).

Lastly, you are going to have a hard time convincing me that a PVC frame is going to take half of the abuse the original aluminum tubing frame would take, especially at the temperature extremes. PVC likes to bend when it gets hot, and gets brittle when cold.

Oh, and the reason the center cross bar is rubbing you wrong is because the original frame is flat across that region - for a reason. It has to do with pounds per square inch, and how it is applied across your back. Simply adding a bend isn't going to solve your problem.

Having said all of that, this is still not a bad experiment. "A" for effort and creative thinking. Craftsmanship looks pretty good too.
 
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#7 ·
If you have to use it going east across the drylands, you'll see why I was asking about an emergency water stash... I grew up in West Texas, and I still keep a pretty close eye on easy ways to pack a bit more water....
 
#9 ·
I really like this build, not bad for a prototype. I like the base of this, keeping it upright should help with packing and keep it from getting wet and muddy. One idea for your crossbar, find an electrician freind and use his conduit bender to get the desired feel you want. Last idea, you could use some sch 80 pipe, much thicker wall = stronger.
 
#10 ·
Pakrat PVC is way way stronger that you are giving it credit, and my carry limit is 30lbs anyways so its more than strong enough! Im willing to bet you would have a hard time breaking a piece of 1/2 sch 40 12-14" long with your bare hands, aluminum on the other hand will fold up like a lawn chair. I am speaking from experience, Im a union sheetmetal worker for 13 years.

I believe I mentioned in the first post that I was doing it for no other reason than to do it!

Here is a picture of a boat i made using PVC and tarps.

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It held up fantastic on nearly a dozen float trips!
 
#12 ·
Version 1.1, ergonomincally it is much better!

I revampted the bottom of the frame, losing the "T" shape. I contoured the top 2 verticle pieces, and the 3 crossbars. Wayyyyyyyyyy more comfortable!!!!

This version I have mocked up with my sleeping bag, tarp, and a sholder bag attached to the frame. Im a bit different than most people on here, I wouldnt say im a minimilist but I definetly think less is more. This weighs right at 25 lbs and I feel would work pretty good one a 2 day hiking trip!

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#129 ·
Ive had the aluminum frame snap and get jabbed in the back.

Engineering is different than "test pilot"

And use on weekends is different than living out of it for a few months. Still, you never know until you try.
 
#14 ·
The company i work for uses PVC for Water Bottling systems and in the dairy industry for iodine teet cleaning systems, that run at or above 150psi. I have been working with this stuff for 13 years, its incredibly durable, I've personally never seen a piece get brittle and break! Even in the cold. My parents sprinkler system does explode every time it freezes!

I made the PVC bow, Launched over 1000 arrows with it, still showing no signs of failure any time soon.

I'm starting to think some of you have no idea what you are talking about.

I weigh 190lbs, I work with my hands everyday, I'm pretty damn strong and I CANNOT BREAK A 12" PIECE OF 1/2 SCH40 PVC WITH MY BARE HANDS!!!!!!! Its more than strong enough of material for a pack frame.
 
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#16 ·
DayAfterTomorrow said:
....I weigh 190lbs, I work with my hands everyday, I'm pretty damn strong and I CANNOT BREAK A 12" PIECE OF 1/2 SCH40 PVC WITH MY BARE HANDS!!!!!!! Its more than strong enough of material for a pack frame.
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Taking a fall with your backpack frame would be the test of the matter. For my own consideration, I like impact resistant materials, and PVC is better than a lot of 'em. I would use your system without hesitation for warm weather use in flat country, and it looks like it would be about as handy as it gets for such uses, but in country where an unscrupulous realtor will sell you both sides of the same acre, and the wind has icicles in it in late September, it would not be first choice for me. Nor would I use a frame of this material as a pannier frame for a packhorse. They like to roll too much, and a splintered frame that makes me put down a horse and lose what he was carrying is too much to risk.

When PVC breaks, the splinters are a bit too sharp for my taste.

As I noted earlier, good work on this one. I can see some handy apps for about three quarters of the things I do, or for special-purpose packframes for carrying a specific load. And I really enjoyed the PVC bow article.
 
#17 ·
Looks good! Very inventive indeed.

I was just throwing a probably weird idea out there.

What if you could somehow tap a fill plug onto your top support bar and a camelback fitting and nozzle towards the bottom and fill it with drinking water. I mean the frame is water tight right? It is afterall plumbing grade PVC. I know it wouldn't hold too much water but better than nothing. Granted in winter it'd be a problem but I'm just thinking out loud here...just a baseline idea to grow on.
 
#20 ·
#21 ·
It is water tight, version 1.1 is not glued together, but you could easily incorporate a fitting with a threaded plug! Where I hike and camp there is water everywhere, so for what I'm trying to do there is no need to turn the frame into a bladder.

Since so many people were saying it splinters I did some tests the other day, I cut some pieces of 1/2 PVC around 12 inches long and a 4lb single jack and beat the shyt out of the them!

If you hit the piece of pipe in the middle, away from the cut ends virtually nothing happens, it ubsords the impact very well! Much better than aluminum would!

However if you hit the cut ends of the pipe you can get it to splinted, but it takes a great deal of force! Since I have no exposed ends I'm not concerned with splintering at all! Don't take my word for it try it yourself.

I researched the PVC failures and found that most of the tests where failures occurred were at or below 0*, to get an impact failure!

Again a non issue, since I live in California, so I guess if you live in Michagan don't make one!
 
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#22 ·
I have used PVC to build a greenhouse, and it withstood high winds and a few Arizona sandstorms without damage. (Can't say the same about the paint on the truck...)



"http://www.mcnett.com/Camo-Form-Prot...Wrap-P274.aspx"

I had never heard of, or seen this type of product. Good Info!
 
#28 ·
Awesome!

I've built some things from PVC pipe. Sometimes the things that have working loads on them can come apart after a while. I usually just glue them back together. I should probably figure out how to pin the joints with stainless steel pins as a backup to the glue.
 
#29 ·
I actually don't want to use any adhesive, this way i could theroretically use the frame to make something else in a pinch. I use a tubing cutter made for copper to cut the PVC, this leaves the end ever so slightly sweged! This makes for an insanely tight fit, it's quite difficult to disassemble actually. I'm gonna hiking/camping next weekend gonna Field test this design.
 
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#33 ·
The water innside is what I was thiking also what about if your did something like in the miss of the bottom piece where the pack sits the part that is furthest from your back what about if you put a T that opened the a bigger piece of pipe and have a let's say have a 6 in long piece of 3 in as a mini resivoir? You could twist the T so its away from your back not straight up. Would keep the pack area the same size it would just add some weight to the back
 
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