Ötzi's backpack (alternative to Roycraft pack)

[sandbender]

Just stumbled across this page detailing someones efforts to reproduce Ötzi's backpack Some nice pics.

http://www.speerschleuder.de/Peripherie/Main5.html

Google translate version here.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Oooh like the look o that

 

[crosslandkelly]

Great pics. Looks a good piece of kit.

 

[gabrielsdad]

Great looking reproduction. I saw an article in a certain magazine showing how to make a pack like otzi. It looked crap to me at the time. This looks like id imagine our ancesters would use. With some individuality as well as function. Lovely job, lovely.

 

[Pignut]

Wow that is really good!

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[Dave]

I wonder if that handle served as some sort of tumpline?

 

[Ogri the trog]

I wonder if that handle served as some sort of tumpline?

I'm no authority on the subject but I doubt it.
It would, however, be very good at supporting a high load from falling against his head - somewhat important when walking up/down hills.

Ogri the trog

 

[sandbender]

I think the 'loop' at the top is simply a function of using a bit of hazel to stabilise the pack design. A roycroft pack is stable because it is triangular, if you want a larger pack and a square pack you would end up using a lot of cross braces to keep the square shape. Simply bending a piece of hazel solves that by continually pulling the pack sides apart from each other.

A tumpline may well have been used though.

 

[dwardo]

Great pics. Looks a good piece of kit.

Brilliant that isnt it, wonder if he has any idea that 5000 years later someone would have kit envy over his pack.

 

[Biker]

Thanks for posting this. Fascinating stuff! I wouldn't mind having a go one day of making one of these using basic tools simply to see if I can.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Brilliant that isnt it, wonder if he has any idea that 5000 years later someone would have kit envy over his pack.

Lol. Wonder if in 5000 years, people will have kit envy over say, a Bergan or a 10cm Zebra billy.

 

[Chiseller]

It would, however, be very good at supporting a high load from falling against his head -

Ogri the trog

Its a pity he wasn't wearing it when he was attacked but we'll never know the whole truth.

It looks Fierce.....now where's my fur .......


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[Dave]

What amazes me, is that those scientists had him for that long, with all those tests they did, and they missed the spear tip in his side.
Just had a look at Wiki. Interesting stuff. Had red deer and bread just before he died. Lungs blackened by campfire smoke. They even know which valley he was born in and that he moved 50km when he was older!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ötzi

 

[fishfish]

wowza! i need to make one of these!

 

[forrestdweller]

What amazes me, is that those scientists had him for that long, with all those tests they did, and they missed the spear tip in his side.

i thought it was an arrowhead...

 

[Goatboy]

i thought it was an arrowhead...

It was, in his shoulder region.

 

[forrestdweller]

i just googled it up- i think the ""spearhead in side"" was the kennewick man...

 

[Niels]

Very nice. They used to have a backpack like that in the archeon of Alphen aan de Rijn as well. Some researchers think the bent stick used in this backpack was actually part of a snowshoe. We will never know I guess.

 

[crosslandkelly]

I've just read the article that goes along with these pics, and very interesting it is to. One part of of the build concerned me though. He tells how over a period of two weeks, he bent the Hazel rod, by means of immersing the rod in a pipe of water for some time, then continually wrapping it in soaking towels, whilst slowly bending the rod to shape. Would it not have been easier to have bent the rod to shape, over a fire, over a period of a few hours or less. I have used this method to
make buck saws in the past, and found it very effective. I'm sure Otzi would have used a faster bending method, especially in doing running repairs.
Just my opinion, and I'm no expert.

 

[Goatboy]

I've just read the article that goes along with these pics, and very interesting it is to. One part of of the build concerned me though. He tells how over a period of two weeks, he bent the Hazel rod, by means of immersing the rod in a pipe of water for some time, then continually wrapping it in soaking towels, whilst slowly bending the rod to shape. Would it not have been easier to have bent the rod to shape, over a fire, over a period of a few hours or less. I have used this method to
make buck saws in the past, and found it very effective. I'm sure Otzi would have used a faster bending method, especially in doing running repairs.
Just my opinion, and I'm no expert.

Not read the article and don't know who made it, but you have to remember that a lot of academics don't necessarily have "work knowledge". Folks like Toddy actually do stuff in real life too. Mate of mine surprised some of the academics as to how he attached a bronze socket head to the handle. They'd not seen it before, but it just made sense to him. Also they used a load of carnival folk in Italy and Greece to see how they moved large awkward things with minimal kit.