Granite Gear CHIEF patrol pack modifications

Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
1,039
Location
Yorkville, IL
So I recently purged all my Kifaru gear to fund the purchase of a bow press. I wish I didn't have to sell that stuff because I really felt like the Gen 3 Duplex fit me so well and worked for everything, but I needed some cash and I had a feeling that I could pick up a used Granite Gear CHIEF patrol pack and modify it to suit my needs. I found this pack on ebay for a pretty good deal.

So the first part of this modification was to test out the GG CHIEF patrol pack and figure out what I wanted to change. When I first got the pack I was kind of surprised how well the pack is constructed. The stitching is good, not Kifaru or Seek outside good, but it's a quality pack. The Frame is about 22 inches tall, most MIL packs are on the shorter side and this was expected. The belt was the biggest bonus of the pack. It is a little thicker than the Duplex belt and has some hdpe stiffeners in it but it is just enough and not cumbersome at all. The foam is evazote and very comfortable. The belt size is perfect for me, wraps around my hips nicely with about a half an inch of webbing left on each side of the buckle. It is a forward pull design and tightens great without slipping. The is a removable lumbar pad that I can add if I need to.

I am not a fan of the shoulder straps. They are wide and thickly padded but they are just not comfortable in the current configuration for me. Add that to the fact that the load lifters are not functional on my 21 inch torso and it was clearly the first thing that I needed to change.

The pack itself is laid out well and has enough pockets for organization but not crazy like some MIL packs. The material is 500d cordura and is in good shape for a used pack. There are some things that I will probably chop from the pack after using it more like the internal compression system but time will tell.

I flip flopped back and forth whether to just use the frame and belt and make everything else or just make some small modifications. I ended up somewhere in the middle.

Highlights of the modifications:

Added two 24 inch 7075 aluminum stays 1/8" x 1"
Added a removable compression strap
Changed the load lifter/shoulder strap connection point
Swapped two buckles for adjustable female buckles

The stays are connected to the framesheet with aluminum screw posts.
xfkXmBSh.jpg


Here I bent the stays to match the frame and drilled the initial holes.
POkRCA7h.jpg


Stays in nylon webbing sleeves
4noa23Mh.jpg


I added a two loop webbing daisy chain to the back side of the stays to take a beavertail accesory that I will make later.
ZL9Iu7jh.jpg


Here is a shot of the lower connection point on the body side of the framesheet. The screw posts have a very small profile and a smooth finish making it an ideal connection point. I also used mylar washers between the framesheet and the screw posts.
JFF32Nuh.jpg


Here is the profile with the stays attached.
oYXDUvNh.jpg
 
OP
doncarpenter
Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
1,039
Location
Yorkville, IL
This picture shows the new connection for the load lifter strap on the shoulder strap, I moved them down about an inch and a half to come even with my collarbone.
Uo0LQDFh.jpg


Here is the third removable compression strap. I added a small webbing loop with a 1" looploc to each side of the pack on the carry handles. I used a sewing awl for this since it would have been a pain in the butt to get that piece of webbing in the sewing machine. The strap can go over or under the lid.
B7TJQNLh.jpg


XLjeaTsh.jpg


Here she is, all the mods complete. As you can see the profile is very thin with the change to the compression straps.
MeaLOFdh.jpg


The project, once started took about six hours to complete. The nylon webbing sleeves were done on my 1960's Kenmore sewing machine and the sewing on the pack was completed with the speedy stitcher sewing awl. I put 150 lbs in the pack just to see if it could handle it and it did. I certainly won't be carrying that much weight, but it's nice to know that it can handle it.
 
OP
doncarpenter
Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
1,039
Location
Yorkville, IL
Nice work Don, So whats the verdict? Pack any weight yet?
I havent done a lot of testing but it handles 75lbs as comfortable as most of the high end packs ive owned. It reminds me of the kuiu system but the belt is much better.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 

SHTF

WKR
Classified Approved
Joined
Feb 4, 2013
Messages
5,094
Location
Colorado
Id like to see it with some photos expanded out to see what type of bag it is. What is the CU on those Granite gears?
 
OP
doncarpenter
Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
1,039
Location
Yorkville, IL
Id like to see it with some photos expanded out to see what type of bag it is. What is the CU on those Granite gears?
I can do that, i think they are roughly 5000ci. I would have to double check.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
OP
doncarpenter
Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
1,039
Location
Yorkville, IL
CBXzfgHh.jpg


G7BiohNh.jpg


Here the main compartment is almost full. The side pockets are empty and the lid is about half full. The pack is 90 liters or 5500 ci.
 
OP
doncarpenter
Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
1,039
Location
Yorkville, IL
I made some updates to my modifications. I wasn't crazy about the stay sleeves and thought I could make frame extensions to give me even more frame height. When I ordered the stays from Harper works (staymaker on ebay) I inquired about different sizes of stays other than the 1" x 1/8" that I normally use and he sent me a 5/8" x 1/8" piece free of charge to test out. Well I thought it would be a perfect size for a frame stay extension. I cut two pieces 8 inches long they stick out 3 inches above the current stays for an effective frame height of 28".

I had to come up with a way of keeping downward tension on the sleeve that fits over the extension and use the same load lifter buckle. Here is what I came up with.
yUjN4Nmh.jpg

One side is extended and one is not.
qi5dtT9h.jpg

WVSYSKIh.jpg

YazMOEVh.jpg

This pic shows hook and loop. When the extensions are not used the hook and loop gets connected and folded so the same ladderloc buckle can be used in both configurations.
bikkdSjh.jpg

This pic shows the back side ladderloc which holds downward tension on the top of the stays in both configurations.
 
Joined
Jan 26, 2020
Messages
3
It looks very cool. I will try to implement a similar system on a mini-scale on an Alice-Medium backpack.
 
OP
doncarpenter
Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
1,039
Location
Yorkville, IL
Do you think you could of adapted the Kifaru duplex frame on to this pack? Or any other taller so to get it taller for old lifters?
It would not really be a good pairing. There is padding on the pack bag itself where it contacts your back. It would be like doubling up on the padding. For this build, I was just trying to make the frame more capable and comfortable, as well as trying my hand at a load lifters extension.



Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2022
Messages
14
Location
Okc, Oklahoma
It would not really be a good pairing. There is padding on the pack bag itself where it contacts your back. It would be like doubling up on the padding. For this build, I was just trying to make the frame more capable and comfortable, as well as trying my hand at a load lifters extension.



Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
I gotcha, I just ordered the Kifaru duplex frame and been looking at bag options to save some money. Right now I have a filbe pack on order to adapt on to it.
 
Top