The (other) Approachisades Pack

With me being me and liking to modify things, I couldn't keep my hands off the new Approach Pack I'd bought for Sasha. (There are needles in my keyboard that are rattling right now) I wanted to do something a bit different from the Approach II that I'd already modified and now that I knew how to (sorta) use a sewing machine, I felt invincible.
Well, not invincible, but certainly capable.

If you've read the previous post detailing how I made the Approachisades II, this version is somewhat different but I feel it's more badass.  Instead of using fabric as a skin, I completly left that part out and just made the skeleton with strapping. Much, much beefier strapping.

Here's what I used:
1 Ruff Wear Approach Pack (small)
4 3/4" plastic buckles
3 feet of 3/4" strapping (polypropylene heavyweight)
2 feet of 1" strapping (polypropylene lightweight)
2 feet of 2" strapping (polypropylene lightweight)
Many yards of heavy-duty thread
Velcro (optional)
Lots of pins
A tempermental sewing machine

In case you are unsure of where to buy buckles and straps, Strapworks is an excellent site to order from. They have a nice inventory and great prices, plus cheap shipping. Also, you will want to get more strapping than you actually need in case you mess up somewhere or have to repair something down the line.

Approach Pack before mutilation

So! I didn't take any in-progress pictures because I kinda got in the zone on this one. But I did get pictures of cutting the packs off so you'll have that.
Anyways, start by cutting the packs off the harness. Do this carefully, and DO NOT cut through any fabric. You want to cut the stitching between the harness and the black webbing attached to the bags.
Oh yeah, and don't do what I did and slice your finger open with a razor blade.

There's that annoying seam

 Like I said, don't cut the fabric, cut the thread inbetween the harness and webbing attached to the pack.  If you do cut the fabric you'll really mess the whole thing up.

One bag

See that little tab with the yellow thread at the top of the bag? That's the hardest part to cut through. Don't be afraid to muscle the two apart, since if there's more tension on the threads you won't have to actually cut them (if using a razor blade) and the blade will instead just kinda pop them apart. 

Anywho... 

Whaaag!

Pick off all the annoying little threads that will be left behind.  You'll be left with a Web Master and two bags.

Web Master with no bags. Note how there's less reflective material than a normal Web Master.

 Put the harness and one bag aside. You'll need them later.

Now it's time to make the webbing skeleton.
Get your straps and one bag. Measure the webbing flap thing on the pack where it was attached to the harness.  This is how long your 1" strap will need to be. Leave about 1/4" or a bit more on both ends though, just in case.  Cut your strapping and melt the ends to ensure it doesn't unravel on you.

Get out your temperamental sewing machine. Pin the 1" strapping to the webbing on the bags ON TOP of the existing webbing. This is a bit hard since the pack webbing is very short. Do the best you can.  Now attempt to sew it on without clogging the machine, breaking a needle or sewing it on incorrectly.  I used a zigzag stitch on this just in case I began to sew off the pack's webbing a bit so it was still held in place.
Do this to both bags.

Now that you've widened the pack's webbing strip you can get the harness again.  You want to find where the bags were attached to the harness and measure from that line on one side to the other. This was about 7 inches on my pack.

Argh, that's a bit hard to see.

That's better.

The red line is where the bags were sewed on. You want to measure from here over the top to the other line. It will be the same for both the front and the back but if you really want to you can measure both places.

Get your 2" strapping and cut a couple pieces. If you leave a bit of extra the bags will hang lower than before. That's fine, but don't cut them too short since you don't want the bags up too high.
Now pin the two pieces of strapping to the extended bag webbing. You want to put these on the underside so they butt up against the pack's original webbing strip. They should be flush or just slightly behind the pack's old webbing strip ends. Lay the bags over the harness (if you put the harness on your knee you can fiddle with it better) and make sure they fit right.
You can if you want to but I didn't sew them in place just yet.

Now it's time for your 3/4" strapping. Put the bags back on the harness and figure out where you want the two front buckles to attach to the harness.  I made it so mine attached just inside the corner between the 2" and 1" strapping.  On the harness the buckles are down on the front padding.
Take the 3/4" strapping and lay it diagonally across the shoulders of the pack. They will make an X just under the Ruff Wear logo (which is covered by the 2" strapping) and run from one corner of the webbing to just behind the center on the opposite side. Leave PLENTY of extra strapping on the front end then cut a piece. Angle the end that will attach to the center. (I used about 11" for each piece)
Now pin this in place under the 2" webbing, unless you want to be able to see it.

Take the rest of the strapping and lay it across the back. It will attach to the rear piece of 2" strap about 1/2" from the back edge. Leave a bit of extra for the buckles to attach to. (Mine was just under 8 inches) Pin in place and try it out on the harness. You want to do this often to make sure everything is aligned right.

Once you are satisfied with the fit, go ahead and sew it all down. Again I used a zigzag stitch but you can use whatever you want. And don't be dumb like me and sew it upside down or you'll have the ugly side of the seams on top.

You should end up with something that looks like this:

See the nasty stitches? That's why you don't do it upside down

Slide the male end of the buckles onto the two front straps. I did not sew these down but instead left them adjustable. I did sew the rear ones down though, since leaving them adjustable was a bit hard due to my strapping being a bit short. If you want to leave the rear buckles adjustable, use a couple more inches of strapping per side.

Now it's time to attach the female buckle ends to the harness. I only sewed down the two front buckles with short tags of strapping. I attempted to do the same on the rear buckles but it was problematic (broke a few needles) and didn't quite leave enough room to hold the bags properly. So I used the existing straps on the back end and tied the female buckle ends on with parachute cord.

Cording does not match.

There are small loops right where the existing straps begin that you can loop the cording through, if you want to do it that way. It works just fine but looks a bit tacky, so it's up to you how you want to do it.

And there you have it! Your Approach is now an Approachisades.

Front view, modeled on my knee.

If you did it right the assembly should be sturdy and attach nicely. It shouldn't be too tight or too loose and lay flat across the harness.  When not in use, you can hang it up somewhere like you might do with an actual Palisades Pack bag thing.

Since the Web Master used in making this does not has as much reflective material, you can buy some and stitch it on if you want your dog to be more visible in low light and nighttime situations.
Also, the bags on the Approach do have little loops for the center straps to go though (to prevent the bags from flopping around) but it's a bit difficult to use them once the pack has been modified. If you've got some on hand, you can cut the strap down the middle and sew on some velcro so it's easier to attach the loops to the strapping.

And one more thing, I am 100% confident that modifying your Approach pack will VOID the Ruff Wear Guarantee/Warranty so only do this if you are satisfied with your pack and are sure it has no manufacturing defects.  I am, or I wouldn't have done it, and know how to properly repair stuff like this so it wasn't a problem for me.


Edit:  Steph over at Musings of a Biologist and Dog Lover has modified her dog Ebon's pack using a similar method to this with a few small changes. I highly recommend you go check it out!