Satchel - bread bag

 

A Daypack for Everything

It’s mentioned in just about every bushcraft book (and most of them say the same thing) that you need a shoulder bag, a daypack – an “always-with-you” bag.
I’ve used my Tasmanian Tiger daypack for years for everything: forest walks, school, weekend trips, you name it.

Switching to Old-School Style

As part of my old-school project (replacing everything with oilskin, canvas, leather, and fur), I wanted a new daypack.

So I bought a small canvas bread bag, the kind used by the military back in the day and later donated to civil defense. It’s called a bread bag because it used to carry daily rations – back when those meant bread and butter.

Leather Upgrades

The strap on the bag was quite short, so I made a new one from leather scraps. That one also turned out to be a bit too short, so I extended it with a wider piece made from cowhide and leather. I also sewed a couple of D-rings onto the straps so I can hang my lantern or other gear from them.

Walnut Dye Experiment

Last autumn, I tried dyeing the bag with walnut hulls. I boiled it for several hours together with walnuts. The liquid turned completely dark brown, almost black. Unfortunately, the old webbing must contain quite a bit of synthetic material, because the color didn’t really stick. So the bag will probably just have to earn its color through natural patina.

Packed for a Day Trip

The size of the bag is really good. I’ve successfully packed it with: Pathfinder bottle (canteen, hobostove, lid), fire-starting materials, a dry pasta meal, some basic first aid, a UCO mini lantern, and a knife.

In another blog post, I’ll try to show the bag both packed and unpacked – to show what it can hold for a nice little day trip.

Future Upgrades

There are still a few upgrades I want to make to the bag. I plan to add strap holders to the bottom so I can fasten my plash-palatka. I also want to attach a small strap on the front, so I can carry my small carving axe there.