Poll: Survey of Portage Pack Bracket Solution for Carrying Canoes on Hiking Pack

[Logan Friend]

I am currently in an engineering class and im trying to gather information for a project. Are you tired of having to use a portage pack over a normal hiking pack? A friend and myself used our traditional Osprey internal frame packs to tandem portage our cannoe overhead in the Boundary Waters. Our other friends had traditional portage packs and struggled with carrying their cannoes as they had to drop their packs and pick up their cannoes constantly which wasted a lot of time on the over land portions of the trip. I want to know how many people would have interest in a multi-purpose bracket or something that would allow you to mount your cannoe to your traditional internal frame backpack.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Logan Friend, welcome to site membership!

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I have moved this thread to the Polls forum and added the word "Poll" to the title, as is our custom.

I voted No because I'm too old to buy any new packs. But, more informatively, even when I was a young canoe pack buyer, I was always more interested in traditional Duluth-style packs than hiking packs for canoeing. So that's what I bought and don't regret it. Canoe packs fit better in canoes than some hiking packs and, even if dimensional fit is not an issue, traditional canoe packs just look more fitting for a canoe in the aesthetic sense. Perhaps I would have had a different opinion if I had been more of a hiker and could have used an internal frame pack for both a hiking and canoe hobby.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Logan Friend,

I’m not sure that I understand. Are you saying that you and your friend portaged the canoe together? One of you fore and one of you aft? Is that what you mean by “tandem portage?”

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

a multi-purpose bracket

Oh, I just focused on this phrase, which would fit with an engineering interest. There was such a frame device years ago called a Knu-Pac. Off the top of my head, I recall that our members @yknpdlr and @yellowcanoe have or had one.

RARE KNUDSEN Knu-Pac system EZ- Tripper dry bag pack | #163600997

This pack was used once, for one week, in bwca. It is used it has some minor soiling. ( should clean )I do not see any damage or major wearIt functions as it should I am reasonably certain ALL extra s

www.worthpoint.com

 

[MrPoling]

That knu-pac is very interesting. I'm all for transferring the load off the shoulders and onto the hips.

This is a perfect school engineering project. I wouldn't bother in real life because 1/2 of us canoeists are cheap and will copy it ourselves. And another 1/4 love Duluth packs and don't want anything else. That leaves a potential market of about 11 people.

Bonus if you can make it look like antlers. "The Back Rack"

 

[Gamma1214]

Welcome Logan Friend. In answer to your question, I went with "maybe" but would have liked a "probably not" option. When canoeing, I carry a little more weight than when backpacking as the carries are shorter and the canoe carries the load much of the time. When the canoe is not carrying the load, I'm carrying the canoe and since I'm packed more heavily, I am rarely going to single carry anything.

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

I'll be holding out for zero/negative gravity technology or teleportation à la Star Trek.

 

[yknpdlr]

Here is me at the beginning of a 185 mile diagonal trek across the Adirondacks with a fully loaded knupac carrying a Hornbeck during a hot dry low water July week. Before I finished in Plattsburgh 7 days later, I had walked and portaged a total accumulated 62 miles.



Here is a promotional demo photo just for fun for the Knupac company (Eric Knudsen), I portaged the 34' voygeur canoe about 20 feet in this case.

 

[Logan Friend]

Logan Friend,

I’m not sure that I understand. Are you saying that you and your friend portaged the canoe together? One of you fore and one of you aft? Is that what you mean by “tandem portage?”

Yes we set the cannoe on the tops of our packs, one guy under the front seat and one under the rear

 

[Logan Friend]

Oh, I just focused on this phrase, which would fit with an engineering interest. There was such a frame device years ago called a Knu-Pac. Off the top of my head, I recall that our members @yknpdlr and @yellowcanoe have or had one.

View attachment 137432

RARE KNUDSEN Knu-Pac system EZ- Tripper dry bag pack | #163600997

This pack was used once, for one week, in bwca. It is used it has some minor soiling. ( should clean )I do not see any damage or major wearIt functions as it should I am reasonably certain ALL extra s

www.worthpoint.com

Ive seen this before but it seems like it wouldnt work on a modern internal frame backpack like the ones we use for long distance backcountry hiking. My idea here is something that would work on like an Osprey 60 or 70 liter pack or something of a similar structure mainly because we found these kinds of portage packs to be extremely uncomfortable on long portages.

 

[Logan Friend]

Here is me at the beginning of a 185 mile diagonal trek across the Adirondacks with a fully loaded knupac carrying a Hornbeck during a hot dry low water July week. Before I finished in Plattsburgh 7 days later, I had walked and portaged a total accumulated 62 miles.
View attachment 137436
View attachment 137437

Here is a promotional demo photo just for fun for the Knupac company (Eric Knudsen), I portaged the 34' voygeur canoe about 20 feet in this case.
View attachment 137438

It looks like these were on portage packs or external frame packs. Do you know if they were able to be fitted on a internal frame pack?

 

[Logan Friend]

Exactly my thoughts, I myself am very cheap and I dont want to buy a different pack or item if I dont have to. Im working on a capstone project and my thoughts are a relatively cheap universal mounting bracket that could be easily disconnected to serve some kind of other purpose (maybe a flat surface to set a burner or something on for cooking). I personally hated the typical Duluth Packs as they hurt to carry and had a poor load structure; I found that having an internal frame pack allowed my friend and I to finish portages in half the time it took our other friends with traditional duluth packs even though there were three of them and only two of us.

That knu-pac is very interesting. I'm all for transferring the load off the shoulders and onto the hips.

This is a perfect school engineering project. I wouldn't bother in real life because 1/2 of us canoeists are cheap and will copy it ourselves. And another 1/4 love Duluth packs and don't want anything else. That leaves a potential market of about 11 people.

Bonus if you can make it look like antlers. "The Back Rack"

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Kathleen and I began our outdoor lives together as backpackers in 1977. I had been backpacking before then since about 1960. That was a long time ago! So long ago that we both had, and still have external frame packs. But we became canoeists in 1987 because we could take a lot more stuff for trips generally between 3 to 6 weeks. For those expeditions we had three large canvas packs, in addition to two day packs and two handheld white buckets. We generally enjoyed three trips each over portage trail. Speed was never important. “Wasted time” never occurred to me. Time in the backcountry was always time well spent!

Below is an image of Kathleen portaging in 2001 on our Snowdrift River trip in the Northwest Territories. Although our loads were often heavy, we never considered the packs to be uncomfortable. Note the strap across Kathleen’s chest that helps keep the pack secure against her back. We also sometimes used the tumpline, which helped to make the weight a little lighter on our shoulders.

You gotta agree that Kathleen looks reasonably happy!

So, although your suggestion is a good one, I voted no.

 

[lowangle al]

I voted no also. I would never trade a hip belt for a tump, but I can see where it would appeal to a backpacker turned canoeist that was using a light solo boat.

 

[lowangle al]

Here is a recent one of my wife, who despite having a bad neck also likes a tump. Don’t de discouraged by the “nos” Logan, I think there is a market for it.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Below is an image of Kathleen portaging in 2001 on our Snowdrift River trip

Here is a recent one of my wife, who despite having a bad neck also likes a tump.

Sheesh, what a macho dope I've been. The answer all along was to have my wife carry the Sisyphean canoe packs.

 

[scoutergriz]

Ive seen this before but it seems like it wouldnt work on a modern internal frame backpack like the ones we use for long distance backcountry hiking. My idea here is something that would work on like an Osprey 60 or 70 liter pack or something of a similar structure mainly because we found these kinds of portage packs to be extremely uncomfortable on long portages.

there are many standard portage packs on the market with fully adjustable internal frame suspensions now, my Oasis 110L is over 30 years old now and has a waist belt, chest strap, adjustable shoulder straps with tuggems, and a back sheet with bolsters and ladder adjustment and is actually far more comfortable for hiking than my old Kelty Red Rock 65L and in fact has replaced the kelty for longer hikes

 

[maggie]

That knu-pac is very interesting. I'm all for transferring the load off the shoulders and onto the hips.

This is a perfect school engineering project. I wouldn't bother in real life because 1/2 of us canoeists are cheap and will copy it ourselves. And another 1/4 love Duluth packs and don't want anything else. That leaves a potential market of about 11 people.

Bonus if you can make it look like antlers. "The Back Rack"

 

[Keeled Over]

Top 'O the Christmas morning everyone.

Regarding this thread, I have an external frame from my XL Kelty Tioga pack available. The bag itself has become a bit brittle over time but everything is serviceable and the frame is great - Knu Pack in someone's future? I believe it has a brand new set of shoulder straps.

Chick also has an external frame Kelty that might work.

I will dig these out of the basement and upload a pic. They are free to a good home, but will be looking for a shipping reimbursement for these bad boys, unless you are somewhat close to Rochester NY.

 

[jdeerfoot]

Top 'O the Christmas morning everyone.

Regarding this thread, I have an external frame from my XL Kelty Tioga pack available. The bag itself has become a bit brittle over time but everything is serviceable and the frame is great - Knu Pack in someone's future? I believe it has a brand new set of shoulder straps.

Chick also has an external frame Kelty that might work.

I will dig these out of the basement and upload a pic. They are free to a good home, but will be looking for a shipping reimbursement for these bad boys, unless you are somewhat close to Rochester NY.

Great idea. I have a near 50 yr old REI external frame pack from my long ago backpacking days. Maybe I will try adapting it to a frame for portaging the canoes.

Marry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.