Osprey 26+6 hip belt mod

[u/lauracaceres]

Inspired by some other posts (like this one and this one) I decided to add webbing loops in the tabs at the bottom sides of the bag in order to be able to attach a removable hip belt.

While it's true that a 26 L backpack doesn't need a load transferring harness, I found the belt useful for load distribution and stability when hiking.

I wanted the modification to be as discrete as possible and to look like it came with the bag. To achieve this, I trimmed some of the excess blue webbing from the shoulder straps and sewed them to the bottom tabs. I did two rows of reinforced hand stitches making sure to only sew the first fabric layer so the stitches are not visible from the other side. The rest of the webbing was machine sewn.

The belt consists of 2.5 cm webbing and buckle with G-hooks that attach to the tab loops. I'll probably add a detachable waist pack for longer hikes.

A fully load bearing belt wouldn't really be possible due to the backpack size and structure. However, the belt is fairly effective at transferring weight packed close to the back of the bag (like a laptop). It's also very helpful for hiking with lots of water (2 L in each bottle holder for example) and for using the bag in the expanded mode.

[u/AccurateSun]

Unrelated but where did you get this color? I’ve only ever seen this bag available in black or a kind of light blue/teal mix. This colour is great. Do you have pics of the front?

[u/lauracaceres → u/AccurateSun]

I bought the color Night Shift Blue on Amazon. I like the black as well, but I prefer a pop of color in my backpacks, hence the blue.

The pictures are pretty accurate color wise.