General Cycling Discussion - Padding a chrome bag...

So while the thing is incredibly comfortable in terms of back placement/shoulder weight, depending on what Im carrying, it can be a real ******* on my back. I end up with bruises on lower vertebrae from what Im carrying digging into my back. I carry textbooks, my laptop, solid notebooks, etc., so I have flat things pressing against me on a regular basis... I can arrange them when I start but inevitably theyll shift a bit.

Anyone ever padded their bag? Im thinking of getting a sheet of that memory foam and cutting it to fit in between the bag and the liner where it separates. Experiences?

Never used a Chrome, but I backpacked with frameless backpacks for years and use a Patagonia bag daily now. Seems to me memory foam would be too thick (at least in the applications I've seen, it runs a couple of inches), and not very resistant to sharp corners. How about a thin (1/4-3/8 inch slab of a very dense foam, like a piece cut from a yoga mat or good backpacking pad (not the flimsy egg-crate kind)? Wouldn't take up much space, it's stiff enough to spread the load and you can cut it to fit, so it won't slide around. Yoga mats are expensive in Pilates and yoga stores, but discount places like Ross or Marshall's are full of them for eight bucks or so.

My Pac Designs Ultimate came with a piece of fairly dense foam in its padding pocket which is between the cargo compartment and my back. Works quite well. I imagine it'd be easy to enough get a piece of dense foam, as suggested above, like what is used for camping pads, and secure it somehow inside your Chrome.

That's what I did with my chrome bag. One thing you wanna do is make sure whatever you get is mildew/mold proof, mcmaster is a good supplier.

My chrome though is all vinyl, both layers instead of the regular nylon outer/vinyl liner. So I don't have to worry about sweat or water soaking through the first layer into the foam.

I have the biggest-size Chrome backpack. It has a zipper near the flap that opens into the channel between the vinyl lining and the back pad. I cut a piece of egg-crate evazote closed-cell foam (bought for backpacking from gossamergear.com) and put it in there. Now, hunched over on my Madone, I can have a flat, heavy 17" laptop on my back for an hour each way and it's WAY more comfy!

You might look at a piece of Yoga mat. That stuff is pretty durable and cheap.

Here's a dumb question. Why not buy something that is comfortable and functional instead of lugging something that is "stylish" but breaks your back?

Here's a dumb question. Why not buy something that is comfortable and functional instead of lugging something that is "stylish" but breaks your back?

Because it IS functional and comfortable save for that 1 fault, which can easily be remedied.

Because it IS functional and comfortable save for that 1 fault, which can easily be remedied.


it can be a real ******* on my back. I end up with bruises on lower vertebrae from what Im carrying digging into my back.


Sounds real comfortable to me! :rolleyes:

Sounds real comfortable to me! :rolleyes:

Like I said, I padded the back, no problems yet, what's the problem again?
It stays on my back and helps me carry the load better than any other bag I've tried. No complains.

Put it this way, the bag works well stock, I just like it better with a little more padding. To each their own.

Because the bag is likely not supposed to carry laptops? Thats why Chrome sells padded laptop bags. But I don't want to spend any more money on Chrome **** than I need to. And I dont exactly see any competition providing a better solution.