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nomadbushcraft
Guest
I spent an hour in the woods and amongst other things, I ended up making this as a demonstration piece, if you ever lose or damage your pack beyond repair or you need to pack out a quartered deer (hunters take note!) or need a pack for any other reason this is a great and quick way to do it without getting your normal gear covered in Lord knows what.
I learnt this method in africa from the Samburu tribe.
First you need to cut a few saplings to make your basic frame, I used Hazel (corylus) the Saburu use Marula wood, but Willow (Salix Sp) Chestnut (castanea sativa) or other woods that produce long straight shoots are also good.
Firstly you need to cut 3 peices of wood two as long as your armpit to your fingertips, and one as long as your elbow to your finger tips. NB if you are making the pack for someone else please use THEIR measurements!
next arrange the sticks to form an triangle with the short stick at the base the overlap at each corner should be about 2&1/2 to 3 inches. and tie at each corner with string , bark strips (willow) or as in the piicture wythes made from split and twisted sapling shoots. (stripping the bark at the join and carving a notch on each peice will help the bindings to stay tight. Test the A frame for comfort at this stage before you go further incase it needs adjustment. (these packs have a funny way of finding your prominent vertebrae on a long walk).
To make the straps, choose a sapling about thumb thickness and at least as tall as you are, split this along its length to make two half roundle wythes, these can be softened and flattened by bracing and abrading them against a tree trunk take one of these wythes and tie a clove hitch knot around the top of the a frame in the mibbdle of the wythe , pass the straps down over your arms and pass the free ends through the base of the A frame (adjust for length at this point but leave at least 12 inches more than you think you're going to need.
Lash these straps in place with cord, bark , spruce roots or wythes( the straps themselves can be made from cord, wythes or platted spruce roots depedant upon what is available( I have even used Bull kelp before).
The remaining wythe can be used to lash the load to the pack by weaving it around the load secured in a blanket, tarp, large leaves etc (more wythes or cords are recommended if travelling over rough ground or if the load is heavy or wet with blood etc.)
And there you have it, one pack made simply in 25 mins from start to finish, but id you need it, and it has been made with care, it'll last weeks without needing to be adjusted and it can be made with no tools.
Although these are strong and robust packs, accidents can happen so always remember to take extra wythes, roots or straps with you from the area you made the pack as you may not have the materials in the area that they decide to break.
There are lots of variations on this design I have shown, including the Otzi iceman pack found with his pre-historic gear. They really do work excellently well, Please let me know what you think........
Nomad
I learnt this method in africa from the Samburu tribe.
First you need to cut a few saplings to make your basic frame, I used Hazel (corylus) the Saburu use Marula wood, but Willow (Salix Sp) Chestnut (castanea sativa) or other woods that produce long straight shoots are also good.
Firstly you need to cut 3 peices of wood two as long as your armpit to your fingertips, and one as long as your elbow to your finger tips. NB if you are making the pack for someone else please use THEIR measurements!
next arrange the sticks to form an triangle with the short stick at the base the overlap at each corner should be about 2&1/2 to 3 inches. and tie at each corner with string , bark strips (willow) or as in the piicture wythes made from split and twisted sapling shoots. (stripping the bark at the join and carving a notch on each peice will help the bindings to stay tight. Test the A frame for comfort at this stage before you go further incase it needs adjustment. (these packs have a funny way of finding your prominent vertebrae on a long walk).
To make the straps, choose a sapling about thumb thickness and at least as tall as you are, split this along its length to make two half roundle wythes, these can be softened and flattened by bracing and abrading them against a tree trunk take one of these wythes and tie a clove hitch knot around the top of the a frame in the mibbdle of the wythe , pass the straps down over your arms and pass the free ends through the base of the A frame (adjust for length at this point but leave at least 12 inches more than you think you're going to need.
Lash these straps in place with cord, bark , spruce roots or wythes( the straps themselves can be made from cord, wythes or platted spruce roots depedant upon what is available( I have even used Bull kelp before).
The remaining wythe can be used to lash the load to the pack by weaving it around the load secured in a blanket, tarp, large leaves etc (more wythes or cords are recommended if travelling over rough ground or if the load is heavy or wet with blood etc.)
And there you have it, one pack made simply in 25 mins from start to finish, but id you need it, and it has been made with care, it'll last weeks without needing to be adjusted and it can be made with no tools.
Although these are strong and robust packs, accidents can happen so always remember to take extra wythes, roots or straps with you from the area you made the pack as you may not have the materials in the area that they decide to break.
There are lots of variations on this design I have shown, including the Otzi iceman pack found with his pre-historic gear. They really do work excellently well, Please let me know what you think........
Nomad