I am new to this forum and have been making my own bike packing bags and gear for a little while now but have not been able to find a forum specifically for bikepacking. The materials and process seems similar to making backpacking gear so I figured this might be a good place to be. I have an older (70s model) Kenmore, all metal machine that is a workhorse and I absolutely love. The issue I am having right now is that it will not run #69 thread which seems to be what most manufacturers are useing for their backpacks and bikepacking bags. I have been using a smaller polyester thread (Tex30) that is running through the machine just fine and working well for me. my only issue is that it doesnt have the strength that I really need from it. I am primarily using Xpac and occasionally using 500D Cordura. My question is about Kevlar Thread. It looks like you can get a much stronger thread at a smaller diameter with the Kevlar than you can with Polyester so Im thinking that it will run through my machine better. it is significantly more expensive than Poly so I dont want to just buy a $20 spool if its really not worth the money. Does anyone have experience using it and what are the pros and cons to doing so. Im not concerned with the high melting point of the thread, just the strength to diameter ratio. Thanks in advance for any help anyone has on this issue.

cody