Hack my Sprout :)

[PinkBrit]

This is my first post, but my fifth order ...

OK, so I did it, I just hit 'order' on one of the last Sprouts in black/ultraviolet. I got the message they were going ... going ... nearly gone, and I've been on the fence for a while looking for a bag bigger than my SE but smaller than my S19. Tonight, after putting it in and out of my cart over and over again during the last few days I figured, what the heck, live a little and just go for it! Purchase is made.

So, I know it's for a kid (and have read and re-read post after post on these very forums confirming that regular size adults are too big for it) but I couldn't help it. It's so deliciously adorable and perfect (I hope) for day trips to Disney World. Currently I'm using my black halcyon SE, which is great, but not quite big enough for a water bottle as well as snacks. I thought about a Luminary (a LOT) but alas, I just LOVE black halcyon/ultraviolet (got S19, SE, A30, TSS(1) and LSB all in halcyon combos of black and/or ultraviolet) and whilst the alphaviolet is stunning, I still prefer the look and feel of the halcyon fabric over the ballistic. Yes, I know the Luminary is pretty, more practical, it's built for an adult, it has that awesome centred bottle pocket, and it can look after my iPad ... but it's not quite as fun looking as the cute pudgy little Sprout I just ordered.

So, I am going to need to hack my new bag when it arrives to make it work for me, a 5'2ish' medium build female personal trainer with bright pink hair who appears to have developed a TB addiction. Step one, is add bright contrasting zipper pulls. I've got ultraviolet ones in this order too. Step two, add my Disney pins to brighten up the front. But then steps three to thirty+ are how to hack the rest of the bag to make it fit daypack use by an adult. I'll be carrying the basics for a day at Disney World in it - water bottle, snacks, small wallet, sunscreen, sunglasses, car keys.

Outside: The Straps? Cutting, adding, replacing altogether? Anyone had success modifying the straps on it?

Inside: The Organisation? Those pockets look little, maybe some kind of hack to keep a water bottle standing up and centred? Oh, just had an idea .. I have a Size 1 Travel Stuff Sack ... I wonder if I could attach that inside somehow to hold the bottle upright?

I am going to play with it when it arrives and report back here, but would love to know if anyone else just couldn't resist purchasing that cute little kids backpack, kept it for themselves, and has already hacked it to work for their slightly larger than 3-8 year old frame


// btw I don't know how to change my profile picture, sorry it's the default, I'm using Safari on a Mac

[sturbridge]

Sigh. I so wanted the Sprout to work for me. I'm still sad it didn't. While the Luminary is lovely, it's not, as you say the pudgy cute bag I wanted. I'm also 5'2" with a small build and with the straps all the way out, it was a bit snug. I would not be able to wear a sweater or coat with this. I hope you have better luck.

Once hack I got from this board might be useful- I've implemented it on my
Pop Tote to hold my water bottle upright. It involves threading a length of paracord through an o ring and having the 2 ends held together by a cord lock. Release the cord lock to release your water bottle, snug it up to keep the bottle from moving around.

Small travel trays are great for snacks, particularly when sharing with others. And of course cubelets are great for all those small necessities.

[PinkBrit]

Thanks Sturbridge, I’ll try the paracord trick, and didn’t think about using my travel tray for snacks, but it’s perfect for them... hmmm my order hasn’t been processed yet, maybe I should just add a small travel tray or 3 before the TB crew get back in on Monday

[sturbridge]

Here's the thread that shows the hack I was talking about- its post #157: https://forums.tombihn.com/general-b...creative+hacks

[Meglet]

I am 5'1" and while I really want to love the Luminary, I always end up reaching for my Sprout or S19. I am able to use the Sprout with the original shoulder straps as long as my jacket isn't too thick (aka, a fall jacket is fine, adding the winter liner to it is not) and it is perfect in warmer weather. I sometimes use a small camera insert inside to organize it a bit, especially if I'm carrying a water bottle or my m4/3 camera (they don't both fit, though.)

I find it is the perfect size to tuck my keys on a keystrap into the small top zip pocket, then toss wallet, snacks, grocery bags, and water bottle or camera into the large section. My iPhone X fits into one of the interior elastic pockets, my 7+ did not but a non-Plus 6 or 7 or SE should.

Other than the camera insert and some colored paracord zipper pulls, I haven't needed to add much to my Sprout. I have the Aubergine/Steel from an original run, I'm still debating grabbing one of the Halcyon/UV ones. But I'd rather have plain black than Halcyon, so that's holding me back and I might haunt Ebay instead, because I'd use my Sprout a lot more if the Aubergine color didn't clash with my Eggplant purple winter jacket.

[PinkBrit]

Meglet, thank you, you’ve given me renewed hope it might fit! No jacket needed in Florida summer. And my iPhone is a regular 7 so great that it fits in one of the pockets

[PinkBrit]

And thanks Sturbridge, I’ll check that link out

[PinkBrit]

Thank you Meglet, now I have hope, no jacket required in Florida summer. My iPhone 7 will be happy too

// I replied once already but don’t see it so oops if this is the second one

[moriond]

Hi All,

A few comments on the feedback @PinkBrit has been getting from @sturbridge and @Meglet regarding the Sprout: both these forum members have experience with the original version of the Sprout. The current version of the Sprout (those remaining models before this product is set to be retired), is the version that was redesigned at the end of April 2017 to better hold letter size paper and folders, with the consequence that it is both taller (by nearly an inch), slightly wider, and with backpack straps that fit more easily on small adult frames, though this was clearly still designed for children.

Secondly, it is a lot easier to carry 16 oz juice/milk containers or standard 500 ml bottles of water in the side pockets of the redesigned Sprout than in the original version Sprout.

It's easier to see the differences in the size and in the inner pocket capacities with the Sprout turned inside out. In the next sequence, the inverted Aubergine/Steel Original Sprout I purchased is shown on the left, the redesigned (post-end of April 2017) Sprout in Aubergine/Northwest Sky is shown on the right.



This is the inverted view of the front side of the Sprout. The redesigned Sprout is nearly an inch taller (which will be more obvious when viewing the inverted view of the back side of the Sprout, since the back panel is taller than the front), but it is also wider. Both of the facts show up in the longer backpack straps used, as well as the fact that the connection points at the base of the redesigned Sprout are spread further to each side.



This is the inverted view of the back side of the Sprout. A pair of O-rings on either side of the bag, just above the elastic edge marking the top of the inside pocket. (On the front side the O-rings were on either side of the top centered pocket



The Sprout was redesigned to better hold U.S. Letter paper and folders. It can take A4 sized paper, as shown by the overlaid Rhodia A4 notebook, but that notebook has its corners at the edge of the piping. Remember that the Sprout design is angled, so that the tallest point is at back. This means that you can insert a few A4 notebooks (the Rhodia notebook shown here has a soft cover), but not thick files, and if you try to fit more in, the top corners will press against the bound seams at the top. With the Ballistic Nylon fabric, the seams will be very stiff. So it would be easier to fit in these files with a Halcyon Sprout (in answer to some of @Crisitina's questions in an earlier thread).



Here's the inverted front view of the two Sprouts with standard U.S. Passports overlaid on the top pockets. You can see that in the original Sprout, the passport just spans the space between the vertical seams. You can fit the Passport into that pocket, but only rotated into a vertical position, because the opening at the top of the pocket is narrower. By comparison, on the redesigned Sprout's top pocket, I show a standard U.S. passport overlying a Pink Moleskine Volante notebook (which is also the size of a Field Journal Notebook, and many similar pocket notebooks). The U.S. passport will fit into the top pocket of the redesigned Sprout in the horizontal orientation; the Moleskine notebook will not, because the top entrance is narrower -- but again, if you rotate the Moleskine, Field Journal, or other such notebook, ninety degrees and insert it vertically, it will fit into the pocket.



Here's another standard reference: I'm showing an A5 Nock Dot-Dash Notebook lined up with the bottom of the Original and the Redesigned Sprout in the inverted views of the front side. It should be obvious even with the (shorter) front side views that there is more vertical height with the redesigned Sprouts.

There has been very little attention paid to the comments about the redesigned Sprout. In a recent reply to @adalangdon I wrote:

Hi @adalangdon,

Did you ever try the redesigned (larger) Sprout? I find it more comfortable to wear than the original Sprout. I showed one of these in the pack up I did of the Mini Yeoman Duffel. I also mentioned the design change in my post in the Meglet- does the Sprout fit? thread, but I never read any feedback from the others who went ahead to order the new Sprout.

moriond

These are various beverage containers that I tried out in the side pockets of the redesigned Sprout. There's a little more room, as well as more vertical clearance space in the redesigned Sprout. I find that the 12 oz can of Pelligrino can fit into either version of the Sprout. The 16 oz. plastic bottle of juice can be maneuvered into the original Sprout, but is harder to insert. Most of the rest of the beverage containers are too hard to get into the original Sprout. The bottles/cans shown are 12 oz aluminum can, 12.7 oz/375 l glass bottle of Bundaberg Ginger Beer, 16 oz plastic juice/milk bottle, 500 ml plastic water bottle, 12 oz glass bottle of Cock 'n Bull Bitter Lemon, 12 oz Aluminum can of Cock 'n Bull Ginger Beer -- think this is the same size as Red Bull energy drink, 340 ml Zojurushi tea thermos.


These are some of the bottles/cans that fit most comfortably in the redesigned Sprout (generally, containers of lighter material, smaller diameter, and with rounded rather than sharp bottoms that are less likely to place stress on the pockets). It's easier to slip items into these pockets with 400d Halcyon version of the Sprout.

moriond

[Meglet]

SHoot, moriond, I did not need to see that comparison! Looks like the redesign might add just the few extra inches I need sometimes! I might have to cave on that halcyon/uv after all.

[moriond]

SHoot, moriond, I did not need to see that comparison! Looks like the redesign might add just the few extra inches I need sometimes! I might have to cave on that halcyon/uv after all.

@Meglet,

If it's any consolation, I don't think they ever made the redesigned Sprout in Black Ballistic Nylon. The only colors I can recall were the ones that Darcy originally listed in her announcement thread about the redesigned Sprout, which match the colors that were listed in the New Bags and Colors Ready to Order thread:

05/19/2017 New Bags and Colors Ready to Order
1,682 free high-resolution National Park maps Edition

Sprout Kid's Pack, Verde/Northwest Sky
Sprout Kid's Pack, Navy/Wasabi
Sprout Kid's Pack, Aubergine/Wasabi
Sprout Kid's Pack, Aubergine/Northwest Sky
Sprout Kid's Pack, Burnt Orange/Northwest Sky
Sprout Kid's Pack, Nordic Halcyon/Wasabi
Sprout Kid's Pack, Black Halcyon/Ultraviolet

(They did remake some of these when some colors sold out before Christmas when they were too busy to post additional announcements, but only in the previously existing colors, and the only color line that I think got refreshed this way was Aubergine/Wasabi.)
So even if you decided to stalk eBay, and were able to both find a listing for the Sprout and manage to determine that it's the re-designed version, I don't think that you'd ever find one listed in black ballistic nylon.

HTH

moriond

[sturbridge]

Thank you Moriond for that. I feel better now that I hadn't ordered a new Sprout as they didn't come in colorways I would have wanted. You have no idea how much better this makes me feel.

[Meglet]

Thank you Moriond for that. I feel better now that I hadn't ordered a new Sprout as they didn't come in colorways I would have wanted. You have no idea how much better this makes me feel.

Same! Since I use mine as a purse-like-object, I would much rather have Black Ballistic than Black Halcyon. I am considering stalking Ebay for a Ballistic/UV combo, if it exists.

[PinkBrit]

Well, Moriond (wow, so much detail, super awesome helpful!), Meglet, and Sturbridge, you rock my world! I just got my Sprout, like an hour ago, so I've tried it on, and yes that extra height means I can wear it with the regular straps and it fits fine, but as it's been noted, whilst I can get it on, if I were to wear more than a hoodie thickness it is hard to get on and off easily.

So ... this is what I just did and I'm pretty proud of it.

I have an S19 but I don't use either the sternum strap or waist strap with it. It's my work EDC and I have plenty of support without them. Well, it turns out that the waist strap is exactly the same size and type of webbing as the lower part of the shoulder straps on the *new* sprout. So, I took apart the waist strap which has a clip thing in the middle and two gatekeeper (I think that's the name) thingies on the end to attach to the S19.

One side done, the other not done yet - original strap to the right, extended strap to the left


So the method: I just unthreaded the top part (closest to shoulder) of the original strap and replaced it with the part of the waist strap that was attached to the clip thing in the middle (so it had the backstitching and looked exactly like the end of the strap I removed. Both top connections are now identical so they tighten and loosen as the original sprout straps do.


Then the bottom part of the waist strap had a gatekeeper on it. The webbing from the original sprout (attached at the bottom) already had the stitched back turnover part on it so it wouldn't slide out from the shoulder strap attachment, so I just popped this through the gatekeeper and the stitched-back part keeps it in place. Here's how it looks from the front, back, and loosened so you can see the double back stitched part.


Then the final big-girl sprout with two long adjustable straps, and the bonus that you can tuck any excess long strap into the gatekeeper to keep it neat and out of the way when you wear it (I tucked in the right side so you can see). Second picture shows how nicely they lay flat, and the third is a side view so you can see the stitched-back pieces working as a self-lock to stop it sliding out.


It took WAAAAAAAAY longer to write this post than actually hack the bag. Hope you like my hack, and thank you so much for all your help, I'm SUPER happy with my new DisneyWorld daybag

[MJMEBLOM]

Congrats on you hack PinkBrit! It looks great. I'd love to see the new Sprout on, maybe with jacket and without comparisons? Pretty Please?