When choosing rucksacks for the trip I decided to go with a toploading one with a drawstring. My reasoning behind going for this type of bag as opposed to a front loading zip bag was simple - it’s much harder to break a drawstring than it is a zip.

The only problem with a drawstring, is that I didn’t know of, and couldn’t find anywhere, a simple and effective way to secure it. Sure I tried padlocking down the flap that comes over the top, but it was extremely easy to get my hand in under the side of the flap and at my stuff.

My initial thought was to turn to my Grandad, a whiz with a sewing machine, and a great mind for problems like this. In a flash I had 5 metal rings sewn around the perimiter of the drawstring opening. These rings could then be padlocked together, providing a very visual deterent to anyone who opened the top flap. However, this wasn’t perfect, as there was still room to squeeze a hand down in between the rings, allowing anyone cheeky enough the opportunity to steal my socks. It also annoyed me, the lazy person that I am, that I would have to spend more than 5 seconds locking and unlocking my bag.

Whilst tinkering with idea of making a prototype for a device that locks down on the drawstring, I came across a retractable cable lock whilst browsing in the Nomad store at Russel Sqaure. At 4ft long it looked like it might be perfect for what I was thinking.

As soon as I arrived home I removed the metal rings from the bag (sorry Grandad) and also the drawstring. I then fed the retractable cable lock through where the drawstring used to be, and fixed the “plug” end of the lock in place using a cabletie (I love those things).

The result is now an easily lockable and unlockable drawstring bag. To close the bag, I pull the lock, press the retract button to take up the slack, and plug it in. Unlocking is just as easy.

I know this is not what the product was originally intended for but it seems to fit the purpose. It’s also the best solution I have come up with. If anyone has a different way to secure a drawstring bag, I’d love to hear about it.

NOTE: Remember to change the combination on the lock BEFORE you start feeding it through the bag and fixing it in place. Its just plain annoying when you don’t.

I’ll put some photos up shortly.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 16th, 2007 at 9:42 pm and is filed under The run up, Equipment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.