PDA

View Full Version : Seek Outside Divide Suspension Question



litetrek
09-09-2017, 10:16
Can anyone tell me how the shoulder straps attach to the seek outside divide pack at the top? I know that the load lifters attach to the top of the vertical frame tubes. Does the shoulder harness attach to the pack bag with a big velcro patch below the shoulders or do vertical straps from the shoulder harness attach to something (if so, what) below? I've looked at every picture I can find on the internet and the attachment detail just isn't clear to me. I want to make a similar system but can't figure it out.

Maybe someone who owns one could explain it to me.

grubbster
09-09-2017, 10:53
I recently got a Divide. The shoulder harness attaches by two ladder locks that are attached to the pack bag at the top. The webbing then runs down where it attaches to the back pad at the bottom. Very adjustable. Let me know if you have any other questions or need more photos.
4027240273

grubbster
09-09-2017, 10:57
Another picture with the attachment loose.
40274

litetrek
09-09-2017, 13:15
I recently got a Divide. The shoulder harness attaches by two ladder locks that are attached to the pack bag at the top. The webbing then runs down where it attaches to the back pad at the bottom. Very adjustable. Let me know if you have any other questions or need more photos.
4027240273

OK. Thanks. What keeps the back pad from slipping upwards ?

Also, does the strap from the shoulder straps to the backpad hold the weight and the strap to the bag adjust how far it is from your back?

I'm planning to build a backpack based on an old Jansport frame. By removing parts of the frame it is very similar to the seek outside frame. It will be stiffer due to the welded cross piece but that doesn't really concern me since I don't do any scrambling, bushwacking, etc. The suspension is a lot different though. Making the pack bag is the easy part.

I'm hoping that I can buy some military ILBE straps and modify them to be similar the the divide. It would be easier to just buy the divide but there are enough things that I don't like about it that I don't want to buy the very expensive piece of gear and then spend an additional small fortune buying accessories to get it close to what I want.

I had the idea for a pack like the divide about 5 years ago but never got around to making it. The divide's suspension looks much better than I had planned to do though.

grubbster
09-09-2017, 13:34
The backpad is sewn to the bag and attached to the frame by a strap around the bottom of the frame. The tension of the straps running from the backpad to the shoulder yolk can be adjusted to allow the pack to sit away from your back some. Nothing like a ZPacks bag though.
4027540276

litetrek
09-09-2017, 16:07
Thanks. That helps. Still a little confused about the ladder locks. I'll study the pics and see if I can figure it out.

litetrek
09-09-2017, 19:43
I found this which combined with the pictures helped me understand the suspension. https://youtu.be/BbQjdhp3uwQ

litetrek
09-09-2017, 20:56
The backpad is sewn to the bag and attached to the frame by a strap around the bottom of the frame. The tension of the straps running from the backpad to the shoulder yolk can be adjusted to allow the pack to sit away from your back some. Nothing like a ZPacks bag though.
4027540276
Does the frame still have the articulated joint in the center of the bottom cross bar or did they do away with that?

grubbster
09-09-2017, 22:51
Did away with it. Solid bar. The articulation comes from the way the hip belt is attached.

litetrek
09-10-2017, 10:30
Did away with it. Solid bar. The articulation comes from the way the hip belt is attached.

Thanks. The old Jansport frame I have is almost identical to the divide's frame. The one exception is that it has a welded cross piece that stiffens up the frame which is a disadvantage, but I can remove it. On the positive side, it provides a good place to anchor the shoulder harness straps.

I really don't understand all the comments on the web about the divide's innovative articulated hip belt. External frame packs traditionally had hip belts with hanging straps like that until manufacturers started copying aspects of internal frame packs to compete with them.

Thanks for your comments here they helped me quite a bit.

Here's what I plan to change on my version (the reason I don't want to buy one) 1) cost - obvious 2) color - I don't object the the colors available but I'd rather have something else 3) hipbelt - integrated pockets, 38 inch padded length instead of 36". size - slightly larger volume. 4) external pockets - slightly bigger to hold my cook kit. If they would do all of these thing for me for free I'd just buy from them, but I'm guessing it would add quite a bit to the already top end price.