Customizable Elastic Band Backpack Organizer :... https://www.instructables.com/id/Customizable-...

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Customizable Elastic Band Backpack Organizer

By JosV10 (/member/JosV10/) in Circuits (/circuits/) > Gadgets (/circuits/gadgets/projects/)
15,630 265 24 Featured

/FC5I4MLISCBBXDW.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&frame=1&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FC5/I4ML/ISCBBXDW
fit=bounds)

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Made a second version of my gadget organizer.
(Hope it will stop here before this becomes
another obsession.) Can be used in a backpack,
or outside. The base is a perforated aluminium
board and the gadgets are held in place by
loops of elastic band. Loops of any size can be
created at each desired location on the board
1 of 10 5/22/20, 9:19 AM

using the holes and some hair pins.
 Features: Elastic Band Backpack Organizer :...
Customizable https://www.instructables.com/id/Customizable-...

- Fully customizable

- No wasted space (gadgets can sit right next to
eachother)

- Anti slip material makes gadgets sit secure

You need:

- Perforated aluminium board that �ts in your
backpack. See my �rst organizer instructable for
how this is made: Backpack organizer version 1
(https://www.instructables.com
/id/Customizable-Aluminium-Grid-Organizer-
Backpack-Ins/)

- Sandpaper

- Black metal paint (or radiator paint)

- Double sided tape

- Anti slip elastic band (this is elastic band used
in clothing, which has silicone material sewed
on top)

- A tiewrap

- A lot of hair pins

- Gadgets

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2 of 10 5/22/20, 9:19 AM
Customizable Elastic Band Backpack Organizer :... https://www.instructables.com/id/Customizable-...

Teacher Notes

Teachers! Did you use this instructable in your
classroom?
Add a Teacher Note to share how you
incorporated it into your lesson.

Step 1: Spray the Aluminium

Board Black

/F90HG26ISCBBXEJ.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F90/HG26
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXEJ

2 More Images
/FGW5WKVISCBBXEI.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FGW/5WKV
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXEI /FPU31LXISCBBXEK.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FPU/31LX
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXEK

The aluminium base is not visible in this design,
because the entire surface will be covered with
elastic bands. But to prevent the metal from
peeking through, I spray it black.
3 of 10 5/22/20, 9:19 AM
 To make the paint adhere better, I start with
Customizable Elastic Band Backpack Organizer :... https://www.instructables.com/id/Customizable-...

sanding one side of the board and wipe it clean.
Then I spray it with black radiator paint. (Any
metal paint will do.) Spray a couple of thin
layers, until it is entirely black. Spray outside or
use a well ventilated area. (Or sacri�ce brain
cells)

When it is dry, move on to the next step !

(To see how the aluminium board is made see
my �rst Backpack organizer instructable.
(https://www.instructables.com
/id/Customizable-Aluminium-Grid-Organizer-
Backpack-Ins/)

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Step 2: Tape the Rounded Edges

of the Board

4 of 10 5/22/20, 9:19 AM
Customizable Elastic Band Backpack Organizer :... https://www.instructables.com/id/Customizable-...

/F4339DGISCBBXER.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F43/39DG
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXER

3 More Images
/F21IHC6ISCBBXEQ.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F21/IHC6
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXEQ /F3MPPN7ISCBBXFD.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F3M/PPN7
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXFD

I want to wrap the elastic band all around the
board. That will work �ne on the straight edges,
but on the rounded edges, it will slip o�. To
prevent this, I stick some double sided tape on
the rounded parts of the edge. The tape must
not overlap with the perforations too much,
because we need to access those later. So I cut
out a number of narrow strips of double sided
tape from a larger roll. The images are self-
explanatory. Note that I don't stick tape all
around the edge. This way the elastic loops can
always be moved a bit if necessary.

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5 of 10 5/22/20, 9:19 AM
Step 3: Wrap Around the Elastic
 Band
Customizable Elastic Band Backpack Organizer :... https://www.instructables.com/id/Customizable-...

/F0MUN3BISCBBXFR.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F0M/UN3B
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXFR

18 More Images
/FFR0QVSISCBBXFM.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FFR/0QVS
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXFM /F3F0158ISCBBXFS.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F3F/0158
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXFS

Now I want to completely cover the board in
loops of elastic band, wrapping all around. If the
board you are using has a rectangular shape,
this is easy. But the rounded edges in my board
make it a bit more di�cult. (At least if the result
has to look more or less neat.) I'll give a step by
step description of how I did it in the image
notes.

You may need to adapt this way of wrapping to
the shape of your own board. May take some
tinkering...

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6 of 10 5/22/20, 9:19 AM
Customizable Elastic Band Backpack Organizer :... https://www.instructables.com/id/Customizable-...

Step 4: Create Custom Loops for

Objects to Sit In

/FZ0Q7JBISCBBXIX.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FZ0/Q7JB
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXIX

11 More Images
/F4YQYTSISCBBXIG.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F4Y/QYTS
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXIG /F49ESHYISCBBXIY.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F49/ESHY
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXIY

The board is now ready to use ! You can lay out
your objects and then create custom loops to
hold them. The loops are created by clamping
the band onto the board using hair pins. I'll
describe how to do this step by step in the
image notes.

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Step 5: Solve Problems

7 of 10 5/22/20, 9:19 AM
Customizable Elastic Band Backpack Organizer :... https://www.instructables.com/id/Customizable-...

/FWG28D3ISCBBXKH.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FWG/28D3
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXKH

/FWYDAKHISCBBXLJ.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FWY/DAKH
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXLJ

/FEDLNQKISCBBXKF.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FED/LNQK
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXKF /FVAXWKBISCBBXLK.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FVA/XWKB
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXLK

In creating the lay out, I stumbeled on several
issues. I'll address them in the notes of each
image.

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Step 6: Insert in Bag and Zip Up :)

8 of 10 5/22/20, 9:19 AM
Customizable Elastic Band Backpack Organizer :... https://www.instructables.com/id/Customizable-...

/FO79EGEISCBBXLN.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FO7/9EGE
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXLN

/FPRTO64ISCBBXKG.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/FPR/TO64
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXKG /F6G5HB3ISCBBXLO.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F6G/5HB3
frame=1&fit=bounds)
/ISCBBXLO

This is the �nished result with all items installed.
Just slide it in your backpack and zip up :)

As you can see, this particular backpack has a
compartment that opens almost completely
from top to bottom. Very nice for this kind of
organizer. (and its only 20 euro and holds a 17''
laptop)

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Step 7: Vertical Loop Version

9 of 10 5/22/20, 9:19 AM
Customizable Elastic Band Backpack Organizer :... https://www.instructables.com/id/Customizable-...

/F51R2C3IST7HQYF.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp&frame=1&
(https://cdn.instructables.com/F51/R2C3/IST7HQYF
fit=bounds)

In testing the organizer with horizontal loops as
described in step 1-6, I found that some heavy
objects do slide down over time. The grip of the
bands is very tight, but apparently, not tight
enough. This problem is also reported in the
'Grid-it' organizer, as I read in various customer
reviews on Amazon.

The simplest way to solve this I think, is to use
only vertical loops. The objects then can't slide
down past the attatchment point of the loop. I
made a version of this for testing and it holds
up quite well so far (see image).

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10 of 10 5/22/20, 9:19 AM