How to Attach Sheath to Shoulder Strap??

[xanderzuk]

Hey guys,

Again, in lieu of my Appalachian Trail trip, I was wondering if anyone has a good method for attaching a kydex sheath to a back pack strap?

I'm going to have a kydex sheath made, so I'm wondering what the style of the sheath should be. Should I have a MOLLE (I think this is the term) style with brackets running down both sides?

Any pictures of sheaths, and sheaths attached to pack straps would be very appreciated.

NOTE: one of the companies I spoke to suggested using a TEK-LOK to attach it to the strap. In my opinion, this will not work, as the strap is too thick, and the TEK-LOK will dig into my shoulder/too bulky. I am thinking some sort of velcro "wrap" attachment.

 

[Leadhead]

Tape would be pretty easy....

... but the velcro strap idea will work if you find the right stuff and maybe stitch a plastic loop to one end.

I have a strap that is velcro like but it sticks to itself (hook and loops on both sides) I'm not sure what it is called but it would work for you...

If your sheath has rivet holes down the sides it's pretty simple to thread some paracord through them and use these loops to secure your straps.. if that makes sense?

 

[hso]

Your pack is going to have padded pack straps and you don't want to put anything between them and your body for 10 to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you do you will end up with a pressure wound rubbed into your shoulder and that will put you off the trail. In addition, there won't be any convenient way to attach a knife to them. You can have lash tabs sewn in, but you have to be careful to make sure that they're not sewn through in such a way to rub.



Why would you want to attach a sheath knife to the shoulder strap of your pack anyway? This isn't an airmoble drop into a hot LZ you're headed for, but a 3 month trek.

 

[exflatlander]

If you don't plan on removing the sheath from the straps, wire-ties work well (the weigh nothing so I always kept extras in my backpacks anyway).

 

[Leadhead]

HSO has a point....try tape first and if you like the set up you can explore other options.....if you don't like it well it's not much effort or expense invested!

 

[20nickels]

I've been looking into attachments lately. Their are a few kinds of Teklocks, some are desiged long and skinny to attach to packs. Check Blade tech's website.
In your case I would just use cordwrap or shoestring. Have fun.

 

[xanderzuk]

Well, three months would be a pretty incredible pace, I was planning on closer to six.

I'm not trying to be tacticool with my knife setup if that's where you're headed hso. It just seemed like a place that would be easily accessible to carry my knife.

Obviously I thought of the rubbing issue, I thought I brought that up in my post, but maybe I was a bit vague.

So, since I've reached wannabe commando status lol , is there any place that someone could suggest attaching my knife so that it is both easily accessible, non-fatiguing, and not a trail faux pas?

Thanks!

 

[xanderzuk]

Already have my bag btw, and love it!

Osprey Aether 70:

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[CWL]

I been known to clip a Spyderco to the waist strap of my pack for long distance carry & ease of reach.

In your case, instead of a $10 Tek-lok, that money could be spent on a roll of velcro tape that you can place anywhere and move if necessary. If you want more permanence to the velcro, a few stitches will keep it from sliding.

 

[hso]

Try to keep it on the midline or balance it with something of roughly the same weight or just put it in the pack and carry a lightweight small folder with a clip on your pack strap webbing. Anything that flops back and forth will drive you crazy after 30 miles.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

Good choice on the pack, Xanderzuk.
Notice there are provisions on both sides for your water tube and bite valve?
Use the ones on the empty side to lash your kydex sheath to the webbing- not around the strap as HSO cautioned.
If you don't have grommetted holes in the sheath, maybe consider putting some in it to avoid problems down the road and help keep it where you want it.

Also, you can strap a knife low on the pack so you can reach it easily without obvious or extreme movement.

Or, as HSO mentioned, just put it in your pack and keep a folder handy.
I keep a piece of 550 cord tied to my water bottle just it case it tries to work itself out on the trail. You might consider that, as well.

 

[Leadhead]

What kind of knife or knives are you taking with you?
Are you going to pack an ax or saw?
I'd think after the first week or so of your trip you will figure out what works best....good to plan ahead for sure but I find things fall into place naturally in the field.

 

[Macmac]

I feared saying anything.... As I see it, anything not inside a pack is something that sooner or later is going to get lost.

I have found all sorts of things in the trails before, that probably were tied on a pack. AND I lost a parka once that way.

There is so much traffic that you can't go back and expect to find what you lost either.

If it were me and my pack, the knife would have one place to live in the top compartment of my pack, with other smaller and most valuables.

The very bottom in my packs is the sleeping PAD, not bag.. I am hard on a pack bottom. I never liked stopping with a 80+ pound pack, so to get into one I placed it straps away ahead of my feet and threw it with just my hands thru the straps up and back over my head, where it landed on my back pretty well in place, and I didn't have to bend and lift as much.

After me lesson, I learned to stay clean, so far as the pack is concernd.

When I was very active as a hiker I ended up with a system and would know each item and kept it in the same places. I could go camping above tree line in dead on Winter for 10 days or more and come home with 2 hot cholate packets filled with my camp trash.

keep it clean and snag free, then get is organized. my poor ol 2 cents..

 

[indoorsoccerfrea]

The best and nicest looking way would be to use heat-shrink tubing. its hard to find in the diameter you would need...it would have to fit over the sheath and the strap. its flexible, so you could do whatever you want with it, and then apply heat and it shrinks and will give you a proffessional and durable fix.

 

[xanderzuk]

interesting idea soccer freak!

 

[Leadhead]

What kind of knife?

Here's a picture for you with a med size knife (mora 2000) much bigger would be ackward I'd think....

 

[MICHAEL T]

I would have fix blade inside pack and a good folder where I could reach it . I also suggest you try a few short over night orcouple day hikes to sort out things.

 

[Leadhead]

I also suggest you try a few short over night orcouple day hikes to sort out things.

Good advice!
You likely won't like the knife on your strap.....that's the beauty of tape!

Easy on....easy off

 

[20nickels]

Don't worry about how it looks, tacticool or otherwise. Believe me their will be those on the trail that will outdo you in that department.
I still like it on the front of the pack strap inverted. Only problem is if the pack goes off so does the knife then. Maybe a lanyard too?

 

[Funderb]

drop leg holster.....
just kidding.

why not attach it to the hip strap on the backpack. a much more logical place, and you can just use a belt clip type thing.

 

[Dirty Dawg]

If it were me, I'd carry a small, light, neck knife plus something more substantial that was easily accessible in my pack. I'd probably also carry a small folder, maybe a small stockman, in my pocket. Or, like Les Stroud, pack your Leatherman tool and a heavier blade.

Remember the old saying "Two is one, one is none."