This thread is intended to be the “companion” to this one…
Most versatile ICU (camera insert) for backpacks and other bags
… which itself was the “ICU-focused” companion to this main resource I published in Spring 2021:
BEST BACKPACK / RUCKSACK FOR HIKING PHOTOGRAPHERS (2021)
As some of you may have noticed, I am what one would call a light ICU user. At the other end of the spectrum is my buddy Sam, a long-time member of our photo hiking community, who is the type of person who has to have everything super-organized, be it in his house, his car, or his backpack. As such he is a very heavy ICU user.
Having probably owned just about every camera insert ever made, Sam is an expert in the matter but he frequently complains about ICUs either having too few dividers or coming with dividers that are not designed to offer the kind of flexibility he needs to successfully organize his (great many) photo bodies, lenses, and accessories. Because of this, he has long developed techniques to make his own custom dividers. I had the opportunity to help him make a few new ones and he agreed to let me take notes and share his methods in this little tutorial.
A) Get these basic supplies:
1 – One roll of 2 to 6 inches wide, high-quality, sew-on Hook material - the “prickly” side of Hook and Loop (H&L) commonly known as “Velcro.” Be sure to test a strip of your hook material against the loop fabric that lines your ICU or bag, it should adhere strongly and be fairly difficult to remove. Get a roll that’s at least 2 yards long (note that for some reason the Velcro brand does not offer rolls in these widths at the moment.)
Tip: do NOT use “Sticky Back” or “Iron On” H&L fasteners for fabrics, they don’t hold up to the high temperatures inside a car or backpack.
2 – One foam camping mattress. Because you will cut this mattress into pieces that make the “structural backbone” of your dividers, you must make sure that it’s at least 3/8 inch thick (about 1 centimeter) and is made of closed cell foam, which is waterproof and has great shock/pressure absorption qualities (open-cell foam is complete junk in comparison.) These pads are inexpensive (the standard blue 20”x72” pad often costs less than 15 dollars) and you can use whatever is left for all sorts of other projects.
Tips:
– avoid “yoga” mats which sell for 2-5 times what they are worth.
– If you need thicker dividers, use 2 layers of foam (see Tip 2) or do a search for a “Venture Outdoors 24" x 72" x 15mm Ultra Comfort Camp Pad, model VC6704GN” which is about 50% thicker, or about 5/8 inch – I bought mine at Walmart and I occasionally use it for picnics or hiking, it’s pretty comfy.
3 – One roll of 1.75 inch wide woven vinyl hanging strap. This is an incredibly strong material that weighs next to nothing and is usually used by plumbers and construction crews to support AC ducts and all kinds of pipes. Because it’s woven like fabric, it easily takes needles or holes, making it an ideal substrate for connecting the foam to the Hook strips. Sam paid 12 bucks for his 100 foot roll “a long time ago.” (Home Depot currently sells it under the Master Flow brand for about $17.) Just like the foam pads, this material has tons of other uses.
OR
An old pair of thick cotton jeans or other thick fabric which you cut up in strips.
4 – One leather sewing kit with an awl, needles and rolls of waxed thread cord (easy to find online but here again, your local Fabric Store will probably have the higher-quality stuff.)
OR
A punch hole with a bunch of small rivets which you may already have somewhere in your garage. Small grommets (under 1/4 inch) will do the job as well.
5 – Sharp scissors
6 – Optional: one roll of high-quality woven loop fabric (the soft/fuzzy side of H&L) in any light or bright color, which you may use to cover both sides of the foam (see B2.) Unless you are prepared to return a bunch of those, buy this at your local Bulk Fabrics Store (they usually can order for you any color that’s not in stock.) Once in the store, make sure to first test a strip of your hook material on it. Here again it should adhere strongly to the loop fabric.
Sam still uses two 10-foot rolls of 5-foot wide Veltex that he bought years ago (one white, one light gray. both of which work great for finding small accessories that hide at the bottom of the ICU.) You can find cheaper, much thinner loop fabric but this type is far more durable than anything else he’s found (Veltex describes it as “laminated loop fabric: a 60” wide laminated product with a nylon face fabric, polyester foam core, and nylon tricot backing, designed for engagement with a variety of hook products,” it’s basically the high-end loop fabric used for displays and booths at most professional trade shows.)
B1) How to build Version 1 (V1) of a photo divider
As an example and to keep things simple, let us assume that you are making a divider that will connect to both walls and the bottom of an ICU or bag that is 6 inches deep and 10 inches wide.
1) Cut one 6 inches by 9.5 inches strip of closed-cell foam with sharp scissors.
2) Cut one 9.5 inches long bottom strip and two 6 inches long end strips of woven vinyl hanging strap.
3) Cut one 1.75 inch by 9.5 inches bottom strip and two 1.75 inch by 6 inches end strips of sew-on Hook material. These three strips will be the “Hook flaps” that connect the divider to the inside of the bag or ICU.
4) Wrap one 6 inch woven vinyl hanging strap length-wise around one end of the foam strip (you end up with a roughly 5/8 inch overlap on either side,) apply one strip of 1.75 inch by 6 inches long of sew-on Hook material on one side (important: the prickly side must be facing the foam, resulting in a loose “hook flap” – the one that will adhere to the walls of the ICU – that is slightly over 1 inch wide) and start your stitching pattern (most simple ones will do, ask any seamstress to show you how if you’ve never done this) from the other side, running your needle nice and tight across all four layers.
Alternatively, replace the stitching with punching small holes through all four layers, spaced roughly 1.5 inch apart and running your rivets (or grommets) through these holes.
Tip: using small “pinch clamps” at both ends makes both stitching and riveting much easier.
5) Repeat #4 for the bottom strip and for the other end strip.
B2) How to build Version 2 (V2) of a photo divider
Here we are also building a divider that will connect both walls of an ICU that is 6 inches deep and 10 inches wide.
1) Cut one 6 inches by 9.5 inches strip of foam with sharp scissors.
2) Cut one 8.5 inches by 12 inches piece of Veltex.
3) Cut one 1 inch by 9.5 inches bottom strip and two 1 inch by 6 inches end strips of sew-on Hook material.
4) Place the Veltex flat on your table, loop side facing down and use a marker to draw a line across the “long” center, which should therefore be at 4.25 inches from either side. Grab your foam strip, place its top (the one you see when you open your ICU) on that line, gently bring the foam down on one side and wrap the other half of the Veltex over it. If you’ve done this right, the bottom and sides of the foam strip should have Veltex overhangs (the soft loop side obviously facing outwards) that are a little over 1 inch wide.
Now start your first stitching line right against the edges of the wrapped foam, running your needle nice and tight across both Veltex layers. Finally, place your Hook material strip on top of each one of the three loose Veltex flaps and run a simple, straight stitching line across all 3 layers (2 Veltex + 1 Hook) as close as possible to the edge of each Hook strip.
Alternatively, replace the stitching with punching small holes spaced roughly 1.5 inch apart and running your rivets (or grommets) through these holes but remember to first add a 1 inch wide strip of woven vinyl hanging strap below both Veltex layers. If you don’t, the rivets will tear through the Veltex.
Tip: using small “pinch clamps” at both ends makes both stitching and riveting much easier.
Note that having Veltex on both sides of the foam adds about 1/4 inch of thickness to your divider (Veltex has lightweight foam sandwiched between the knit loop fabric and the nylon backing) which actually increases protection for your equipment.
----
Once you’ve done it a couple of times, this whole process is actually easy and quite fun! It’s also a pretty satisfying project because you are building what you need, not what some geeky designer thinks you need…
In terms of build quality and longevity, even the V1 divider gives you a product that looks similar to other dividers but is of higher-quality than just about anything else on the market. It is thicker and more protective than nearly all dividers (most are thinner at 1/4 inch and some use cheap open-cell foam) and it will adhere much better and much longer to the inside of your ICU or bag. That’s because most manufacturers, including the outrageously priced ones (F-stop, ThinkTank, etc.) use 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch wide Hook strips, which is simply not wide enough for heavy duty usage.
Tips and Tricks
1) Making a fancy divider that has “folds” (I forget which manufacturer calls these “origami” in their lofty marketing claims) is easy: simply grab a sharp cutter and make a shallow V-shaped notch where you want each fold to be. Make sure you make the cut no more than 1/8 inch deep and on the inside of the fold. With the V2 dividers it is a good idea to add a light stitch line on either side of the notch once you’ve covered the foam with the Veltex.
2) Here are 2 additional options for those who use their ICU for very heavy rigs and want more protection in case of a fall:
a) use thicker foam such as the one found on the Venture Outdoors VC6704GN or use a double layer of 3/8 foam which you either stitch or glue together with high-quality Spray Adhesive (Sam says stitching is way more durable.)
b) use a double Hook flap at each end and at the bottom of your divider (the hook sides should face each other before stitching) which gives you the strongest possible attachment point to the ICU. To install a double Hook flap divider, just separate the strips with your fingers before pushing them into the ICU sides (the ends looks like a “T” when you look down at your ICU after attaching the divider.)
Note: making a double Hook flap is easy on V1 but quite a bit more difficult on V2 so I will only post V2 instructions if someone really needs them.
3) If your bag only comes with a few H&L loop strips on the inside walls (common on some brands) or none at all, simply cut a long strip of Veltex to make a liner that fits the entire inside walls of your bag (you can also make one for the bottom, this is where you’ll be glad Veltex comes in 5-foot wide rolls!), take it to your local shoe repair and ask them to stitch it all around the inside of the bag, using matching color for the thread (i.e. black thread for a black bag, which will not alter the outside appearance of the bag.) Many cobblers are very good at this type of work and have the right equipment for it, be it hand tools or specialized sewing/stitching machines. Alternatively, any good upholstery repair shop should also be able to do this for you.
4) Making one of those elastic strips used to hold down lenses and accessories inside an ICU is easy-as-pie: cut strips of high-quality elastic (1 inch wide minimum) and stitch a little strip of Hook material at each end.
5) Likewise, making an accessory pouch, or any kind of extra pocket that fits inside your ICU is simple. Just use any of the techniques outlined above to attach one or more strips of Hook materials to the back of any old small bag or pouch and you’re done!
6) Sam does not use elastic strips to hold heavy lenses in place because they are too weak to prevent the lenses from moving around inside his ICUs on technical hikes (bouldering, steep ascents and descents, etc.) Instead, he uses one or two simple custom dividers (hook strips on the ends but not on the bottom) which he attaches nice and snug across the top of the lens.
Cost
Sam tells me that his average cost is about 30 cents per V1 divider and 50 cents per V2. I did the math and that’s up to 65 times less than the $20 some manufacturers charge per single divider (assuming you could even find one of those… A fellow photographer was recently saying in another thread that he tried and failed.)
I hope this tutorial will be helpful to some of you.
Questions are welcome. Also, if you’ve ever made your own dividers, feel free to post your own feedback and experience.
Happy hikes and travels!
Chris
Most versatile ICU (camera insert) for backpacks and other bags
… which itself was the “ICU-focused” companion to this main resource I published in Spring 2021:
BEST BACKPACK / RUCKSACK FOR HIKING PHOTOGRAPHERS (2021)
As some of you may have noticed, I am what one would call a light ICU user. At the other end of the spectrum is my buddy Sam, a long-time member of our photo hiking community, who is the type of person who has to have everything super-organized, be it in his house, his car, or his backpack. As such he is a very heavy ICU user.
Having probably owned just about every camera insert ever made, Sam is an expert in the matter but he frequently complains about ICUs either having too few dividers or coming with dividers that are not designed to offer the kind of flexibility he needs to successfully organize his (great many) photo bodies, lenses, and accessories. Because of this, he has long developed techniques to make his own custom dividers. I had the opportunity to help him make a few new ones and he agreed to let me take notes and share his methods in this little tutorial.
A) Get these basic supplies:
1 – One roll of 2 to 6 inches wide, high-quality, sew-on Hook material - the “prickly” side of Hook and Loop (H&L) commonly known as “Velcro.” Be sure to test a strip of your hook material against the loop fabric that lines your ICU or bag, it should adhere strongly and be fairly difficult to remove. Get a roll that’s at least 2 yards long (note that for some reason the Velcro brand does not offer rolls in these widths at the moment.)
Tip: do NOT use “Sticky Back” or “Iron On” H&L fasteners for fabrics, they don’t hold up to the high temperatures inside a car or backpack.
2 – One foam camping mattress. Because you will cut this mattress into pieces that make the “structural backbone” of your dividers, you must make sure that it’s at least 3/8 inch thick (about 1 centimeter) and is made of closed cell foam, which is waterproof and has great shock/pressure absorption qualities (open-cell foam is complete junk in comparison.) These pads are inexpensive (the standard blue 20”x72” pad often costs less than 15 dollars) and you can use whatever is left for all sorts of other projects.
Tips:
– avoid “yoga” mats which sell for 2-5 times what they are worth.
– If you need thicker dividers, use 2 layers of foam (see Tip 2) or do a search for a “Venture Outdoors 24" x 72" x 15mm Ultra Comfort Camp Pad, model VC6704GN” which is about 50% thicker, or about 5/8 inch – I bought mine at Walmart and I occasionally use it for picnics or hiking, it’s pretty comfy.
3 – One roll of 1.75 inch wide woven vinyl hanging strap. This is an incredibly strong material that weighs next to nothing and is usually used by plumbers and construction crews to support AC ducts and all kinds of pipes. Because it’s woven like fabric, it easily takes needles or holes, making it an ideal substrate for connecting the foam to the Hook strips. Sam paid 12 bucks for his 100 foot roll “a long time ago.” (Home Depot currently sells it under the Master Flow brand for about $17.) Just like the foam pads, this material has tons of other uses.
OR
An old pair of thick cotton jeans or other thick fabric which you cut up in strips.
4 – One leather sewing kit with an awl, needles and rolls of waxed thread cord (easy to find online but here again, your local Fabric Store will probably have the higher-quality stuff.)
OR
A punch hole with a bunch of small rivets which you may already have somewhere in your garage. Small grommets (under 1/4 inch) will do the job as well.
5 – Sharp scissors
6 – Optional: one roll of high-quality woven loop fabric (the soft/fuzzy side of H&L) in any light or bright color, which you may use to cover both sides of the foam (see B2.) Unless you are prepared to return a bunch of those, buy this at your local Bulk Fabrics Store (they usually can order for you any color that’s not in stock.) Once in the store, make sure to first test a strip of your hook material on it. Here again it should adhere strongly to the loop fabric.
Sam still uses two 10-foot rolls of 5-foot wide Veltex that he bought years ago (one white, one light gray. both of which work great for finding small accessories that hide at the bottom of the ICU.) You can find cheaper, much thinner loop fabric but this type is far more durable than anything else he’s found (Veltex describes it as “laminated loop fabric: a 60” wide laminated product with a nylon face fabric, polyester foam core, and nylon tricot backing, designed for engagement with a variety of hook products,” it’s basically the high-end loop fabric used for displays and booths at most professional trade shows.)
B1) How to build Version 1 (V1) of a photo divider
As an example and to keep things simple, let us assume that you are making a divider that will connect to both walls and the bottom of an ICU or bag that is 6 inches deep and 10 inches wide.
1) Cut one 6 inches by 9.5 inches strip of closed-cell foam with sharp scissors.
2) Cut one 9.5 inches long bottom strip and two 6 inches long end strips of woven vinyl hanging strap.
3) Cut one 1.75 inch by 9.5 inches bottom strip and two 1.75 inch by 6 inches end strips of sew-on Hook material. These three strips will be the “Hook flaps” that connect the divider to the inside of the bag or ICU.
4) Wrap one 6 inch woven vinyl hanging strap length-wise around one end of the foam strip (you end up with a roughly 5/8 inch overlap on either side,) apply one strip of 1.75 inch by 6 inches long of sew-on Hook material on one side (important: the prickly side must be facing the foam, resulting in a loose “hook flap” – the one that will adhere to the walls of the ICU – that is slightly over 1 inch wide) and start your stitching pattern (most simple ones will do, ask any seamstress to show you how if you’ve never done this) from the other side, running your needle nice and tight across all four layers.
Alternatively, replace the stitching with punching small holes through all four layers, spaced roughly 1.5 inch apart and running your rivets (or grommets) through these holes.
Tip: using small “pinch clamps” at both ends makes both stitching and riveting much easier.
5) Repeat #4 for the bottom strip and for the other end strip.
B2) How to build Version 2 (V2) of a photo divider
Here we are also building a divider that will connect both walls of an ICU that is 6 inches deep and 10 inches wide.
1) Cut one 6 inches by 9.5 inches strip of foam with sharp scissors.
2) Cut one 8.5 inches by 12 inches piece of Veltex.
3) Cut one 1 inch by 9.5 inches bottom strip and two 1 inch by 6 inches end strips of sew-on Hook material.
4) Place the Veltex flat on your table, loop side facing down and use a marker to draw a line across the “long” center, which should therefore be at 4.25 inches from either side. Grab your foam strip, place its top (the one you see when you open your ICU) on that line, gently bring the foam down on one side and wrap the other half of the Veltex over it. If you’ve done this right, the bottom and sides of the foam strip should have Veltex overhangs (the soft loop side obviously facing outwards) that are a little over 1 inch wide.
Now start your first stitching line right against the edges of the wrapped foam, running your needle nice and tight across both Veltex layers. Finally, place your Hook material strip on top of each one of the three loose Veltex flaps and run a simple, straight stitching line across all 3 layers (2 Veltex + 1 Hook) as close as possible to the edge of each Hook strip.
Alternatively, replace the stitching with punching small holes spaced roughly 1.5 inch apart and running your rivets (or grommets) through these holes but remember to first add a 1 inch wide strip of woven vinyl hanging strap below both Veltex layers. If you don’t, the rivets will tear through the Veltex.
Tip: using small “pinch clamps” at both ends makes both stitching and riveting much easier.
Note that having Veltex on both sides of the foam adds about 1/4 inch of thickness to your divider (Veltex has lightweight foam sandwiched between the knit loop fabric and the nylon backing) which actually increases protection for your equipment.
----
Once you’ve done it a couple of times, this whole process is actually easy and quite fun! It’s also a pretty satisfying project because you are building what you need, not what some geeky designer thinks you need…
In terms of build quality and longevity, even the V1 divider gives you a product that looks similar to other dividers but is of higher-quality than just about anything else on the market. It is thicker and more protective than nearly all dividers (most are thinner at 1/4 inch and some use cheap open-cell foam) and it will adhere much better and much longer to the inside of your ICU or bag. That’s because most manufacturers, including the outrageously priced ones (F-stop, ThinkTank, etc.) use 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch wide Hook strips, which is simply not wide enough for heavy duty usage.
Tips and Tricks
1) Making a fancy divider that has “folds” (I forget which manufacturer calls these “origami” in their lofty marketing claims) is easy: simply grab a sharp cutter and make a shallow V-shaped notch where you want each fold to be. Make sure you make the cut no more than 1/8 inch deep and on the inside of the fold. With the V2 dividers it is a good idea to add a light stitch line on either side of the notch once you’ve covered the foam with the Veltex.
2) Here are 2 additional options for those who use their ICU for very heavy rigs and want more protection in case of a fall:
a) use thicker foam such as the one found on the Venture Outdoors VC6704GN or use a double layer of 3/8 foam which you either stitch or glue together with high-quality Spray Adhesive (Sam says stitching is way more durable.)
b) use a double Hook flap at each end and at the bottom of your divider (the hook sides should face each other before stitching) which gives you the strongest possible attachment point to the ICU. To install a double Hook flap divider, just separate the strips with your fingers before pushing them into the ICU sides (the ends looks like a “T” when you look down at your ICU after attaching the divider.)
Note: making a double Hook flap is easy on V1 but quite a bit more difficult on V2 so I will only post V2 instructions if someone really needs them.
3) If your bag only comes with a few H&L loop strips on the inside walls (common on some brands) or none at all, simply cut a long strip of Veltex to make a liner that fits the entire inside walls of your bag (you can also make one for the bottom, this is where you’ll be glad Veltex comes in 5-foot wide rolls!), take it to your local shoe repair and ask them to stitch it all around the inside of the bag, using matching color for the thread (i.e. black thread for a black bag, which will not alter the outside appearance of the bag.) Many cobblers are very good at this type of work and have the right equipment for it, be it hand tools or specialized sewing/stitching machines. Alternatively, any good upholstery repair shop should also be able to do this for you.
4) Making one of those elastic strips used to hold down lenses and accessories inside an ICU is easy-as-pie: cut strips of high-quality elastic (1 inch wide minimum) and stitch a little strip of Hook material at each end.
5) Likewise, making an accessory pouch, or any kind of extra pocket that fits inside your ICU is simple. Just use any of the techniques outlined above to attach one or more strips of Hook materials to the back of any old small bag or pouch and you’re done!
6) Sam does not use elastic strips to hold heavy lenses in place because they are too weak to prevent the lenses from moving around inside his ICUs on technical hikes (bouldering, steep ascents and descents, etc.) Instead, he uses one or two simple custom dividers (hook strips on the ends but not on the bottom) which he attaches nice and snug across the top of the lens.
Cost
Sam tells me that his average cost is about 30 cents per V1 divider and 50 cents per V2. I did the math and that’s up to 65 times less than the $20 some manufacturers charge per single divider (assuming you could even find one of those… A fellow photographer was recently saying in another thread that he tried and failed.)
I hope this tutorial will be helpful to some of you.
Questions are welcome. Also, if you’ve ever made your own dividers, feel free to post your own feedback and experience.
Happy hikes and travels!
Chris
