This is a really nice beginner's book for people who are interested in starting to sew their own gear. It's short, and has good instructions.

This is a terrific book! Mr. Sandqvist does an exemplarary job of explaining the equipment and tools necessary for heavy duty sewing. I have always wanted to try to sew some of the projects in this book and was so happy to find them. The photographs are exceptional and detailed. The directions for each project are well written and concise. My only suggestion would be to have a conversion chart from metric to US measurements. I plan on looking up the conversion for myself as I am anxious to tackle some of these projects. Excellent job!

I’ve always been intimidated by outdoor friendly fabrics. Aside from a few shopping bags whipped up to prevent the deluge of plastic from grocery shopping, I’ve never really considered heavy-duty sewing as a possibility. Anton Sandquist’s matter of fact treatment of the mechanics of making a backpack or a pair of gaiters, is reassuring and eye-opening. As someone who has never found a pair of ski pants to fit my 5’2” frame, it occurs to me that the solution is to make my own. I’ve already started shopping for zippers and fabrics online.

This is a great sewing reference book of practical items for yourself or the person in your life that can appreciate having items that are highly functional and will last.
This self-taught author gives the tools and knowledge needed to encourage your own creativity and with a little imagination, invent your own items to fit your needs.
He does a great job of describing the correct fabric, zippers and hardware to construct a sturdy product.
You will have to draw your patterns by carefully following the directions for the shape and measurements given. The book is written using metric measurements, however, there is a U.S conversion before the table of contents. If need be, the alien terminology may be queried on the internet.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

A very handy book for the novice sewing of heavy duty items. Easy to follow with simple patterns that can be easily drawn up from the templates provided. A couple of haversacks/ bags, a heavy apron with leather ties and some simple project for the home makes up this useful book. It isn't a big book, but everything is explained well and simply. And enough for someone starting out.

This book is solid on technique. If you want to learn to sew items for heavy use, such as backpacks and other outdoor gear, this is a great place to start. You'll learn general principles for how to work with heavier fabrics (including what your fabric options are and how to choose the right kind for the project), sewing machine and hand techniques for items that are going to get a lot of wear and tear, etc. There are also patterns for about a dozen items, from backpacks to firewood totes to tool rolls.

The only reasons I'm not giving it 5 stars are: 1) I personally don't care much for the author's design aesthetic. The techniques are still good, I just don't like his projects. 2) Although marketed in the US, this book - at least the review copy - only contains metric units. I don't have a problem using metric, but for a lot of US sewing folks, this is probably a deal-breaker.

I'm probably not going to go out and start sewing my own backpacks and tents, but if I were, this book would be my starting point.