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Sunday, 19 December 2010

Framed: Old School Pack Design

While we're on the subject of packs, I saw this recreation of the pack frames worn by climbers on the early alpine expeditions in a shop window display. It can't have been too comfortable but it did allow one clever innovation (not included here) where the addition of a drain valve and a fill point (available from any plumbing store) meant that the tubes served double duty as a tank for the liquid fuel of a cooking stove.

More soon
SBW

7 comments:

  1. Perkunas19 December 2010 at 19:55

    Old frame packs are way cool. I just got,some two weeks ago, a hold of a pair of two pretty rare packs,theyre issued to our armys special units like borderpatrols and rangers. The frames are made of 9 mm steel rods by bending and welding.

    During x-mas times ill be writing about 'em.

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  2. Al Cambronne21 December 2010 at 18:59

    Sorry, but that picture really reminds me of those creepy TV ads for Vesicare, the remedy for overactive bladders. (Their tag line is "afraid your pipes might leak?")

    And if you were hiking over uneven terrain, would you have to listen to your stove fuel trickling, tinkling, and sloshing back and forth through all those pipes??? If one drank too much coffee before beginning a long hike, I can imagine this being a potential disadvantage....

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  3. The Suburban Bushwacker21 December 2010 at 21:12

    Al
    What can i say? They were just made of sterner stuff back then.

    'Stiff upper lip and all that. Not about to let a little things like a bladder stimulator stop us. Tally-ho'

    I have no idea how faithful a recreation that frame is, the couplings are right, but I don't know about the design. I'll send it to BoB (brother of bushwacker) who told me about the frame/fuel cans and see what he says.

    SBW

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  4. Albert A Rasch22 December 2010 at 17:07

    Fuel???

    How about schnapps?

    Happy Holidays!
    Best Regards,
    Albert A Rasch
    In Afghanistan™

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Suburban Bushwacker22 December 2010 at 19:50

    Albert
    Schnapps = Fuel, Now THAT"S weight saving!

    Appy crimbo big man see ya soon
    SBW

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sharon13 January 2011 at 16:37

    Now that's a bright idea. Double as a fluid tank, we don't have those Old Frames today.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The Suburban Bushwacker13 January 2011 at 23:34

    Sharon

    thanks for taking the time to comment, I was hoping to have some pix by now but alas both myself and my Bro have been very busy. Soon come.

    SBW

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to leave comments. I really enjoy hearing what readers think. The rules are the same as round my dinner table:

You're welcome to disagree, life would be way too boring if we all agreed with each other and we'd never learn anything.
I like to think that we're all grown up enough to argue every last point, right down to the bone, without bearing a grudge afterwards.



Come on in the waters lovely
SBW