Do you want to strap something to your backpack?

I fly FPV miniquads. It is pretty common for FPV pilots to find a way to strap extra drones to the outside of their backpacks. I've used these doodads to add a couple of mounting points to my smallest FPV backpack. You can see it holding an FPV drone on my backpack in one of the product pictures.

I am not a seamstress, so this seemed like a good way to add a Velcro strap to a bag. You use the magnetic template tool to tap holes in your bag with a hammer and the included leather punch. The plastic bowtie piece goes inside the bag, one of the attachment accessories goes on the outside. All you have to be able to do is line two screws up with the holes you punches, then tighten things up with a hex key.

The idea is that the weight of whatever you're hanging on your bag will be distributed across the entire surface area of the bowtie piece instead of just the two screw holes.

How strong is it?

I would like to do some proper strength testing, but I believe I have done a pretty good job at performing a rather sketchy test.

I wanted to make sure that nothing would rip off if I did decide to hang a heavy full-frame camera and lens off the camera plate. I affixed the 3D-printed camera plate to a 3D-printer bowtie on one of my old backpacks. I rigged up a terrifying series of zip ties from the tripod screw on the 3D-printed camera plate to my 42-pound electric unicycle.

I very daintily lifted everything off the ground by the backpack's straps. I wasn't worried about the 3D-printed parts breaking. I was worried that the zip tie was going to slip off the tripod screw and drop my expensive wheel on the ground!

Nothing gave way. I didn't hear any scary noises. I took everything apart afterwards, and you couldn't even tell that I performed a weight test.

What does Pat do with his No-Sew accessories?!

• Hang a PlayStation 4 controller on my smallest laptop bag
• Strap a 16.9 oz bottle of water to my smallest laptop bag
• Hang an extra FPV drone to my small drone bag
• Attach a PGYTECH Quickplate to my wrist guard to stow my Osmo Pocket while riding
• Add a hook to my travel router pouch to hook it to my laptop bag

What do you get?!

Each add-on comes with every piece you need to make use of that add-on.

You will need to bring your own hammer (or a large rock?!).

Every order ships with a basic 2-mm hex key.

When you select Punch tool and template:

• One punch tool
• Upper template that guides the punch
• Lower template that you smash the punch into

The printed parts have integrated storage for the 3-mm punch and a 2-mm hex key.

When you select DIY Kit Only:

• One punch tool
• Four 10x3 mm magnets
• Two correctly sized rubber bumpers (I haven't measured them yet!)

When you select Hooks with bowties and carabiners:

• One 3D-printed ABS Hook part
• One 3D-printed ABS Bowtie with threaded inserts
• Two 7 mm M3 screws
• One black 3" carabiner (NOT rated for climbing!)

When you select Velcro strap set:

• One 3D-printed ABS strap attachment part
• One 3D-printed ABS Bowtie with threaded inserts
• Two 7 mm M3 screws
• One 1" wide approximately 12" long Velcro strap

When you selected Camera plate set:

• One 3D-printed camera plate with a 1/4-20 screw
• One 3D-printed ABS Bowtie with threaded inserts
• Two 7 mm M3 screws

Are the screws too short for you? Is the strap too long? Too short? Are the carabiners too large? Let me know so I can stock the correct pieces!

Pat! What happened to the carbon fiber parts?

The carbon-fiber parts are awesome. If the 3D-printed parts can hold 42 pounds without breaking a sweat, I bet the carbon fiber could hold my weight.

There is a problem when working with carbon-fiber plate. It only has two dimensions. You can mostly only cut flat things. That means the only option we had was the Velcro strap, and we didn't have a good way to protect things inside your bag from the steel screws.

The 3D-printed parts allow for more creativity, and the bowtie part does a good job protecting your delicate things inside your bag.

Will the 3D-printed parts survive the elements?

I am printing these parts using ABS plastic. This is the same stuff Lego bricks are made out of. It is one of the few 3D-printable plastics that can survive sitting on the dashboard in the hot Texas sun. I don't expect the elements to significantly degrade the strength of these parts.

ABS does tend to fade in color when left in direct sunlight, but it usually takes quite a long time. I feel that it is important that the parts continue to do their job over time.

But Pat! I don't want to pay you for these!

That is fine! All the STL files and the parametric source code are available on Printables.com. I would be absolutely delighted if you print and use your own parts!

You can most definitely source the leather punch, magnets, and rubber feet on your own. They're tough to get without buying way more stuff than you need. Maybe you want six different punch sizes, 100 magnets, and 100 rubber feet. If you do, you can get them on Amazon.

Do you want just the 3-mm leather punch, four magnets, and two feet? I have you covered.

Shipping

These will be shipped in a 7x5 bubble mailer via USPS standard shipping.

More information

• Adding Hooks or Straps to Your Backpack Just Got a Whole Lot Easier!
• How Do You Add Straps to a Bag When You Don't Know How to Sew?