Duluth...

[leon-1]

Hmmm, heavy wax fabric £3.50 a metre x 1.5m wide. Five different colours available. Leather straps and buckles....speak to Eric or Troy, maybe Leon-1 or Wayland..... well under £20 a pack. Someone show me one of these packs so I can work out patterns? Or if someone has one maybe work out the sizes and positionings for us?

Cheers,
Toddy

Hi Toddy, the packs depending on model are approx 5 or 6 inches in depth (base and side panels) and 21 inches width by 23 inches in height according to the Frost river dimensions.

If you said the lid was 15 inches from the top of the pack running down that would require about 1.9 meters at 60 centimetre width. This would give you easily enough extra for the side panels and reinforcement of high wear areas from the 1.5m width.

Making a harness could be fun, the shoulder straps possibly made from two different grades of leather (a slightly lighter grade on the inside to make it more comfortable) and use saddlery straps running from the shoulder padding.

The Nessmuk type that they have on thier would be even less as its depth is 5 inches height and width are 16.

 

[sandbender]

The key to using Duluth-style packs is to pack the gear in waterproof bags.

This is what I do.

As tough as Ortlieb or similar bags are they can still be damaged when unloading on a rocky shore or if they end up being separated from the canoe and float down the river. If they are stored in a tough canvas Duluth pack they are better protected and easier to portage.

 

[BlueTrain]

A suggestion to those thinking of attempting a pack project using leather shoulder straps: Try attaching the straps so that the smooth side is on the inside, with the rough side on the outside. It is a matter of taste but I like to have a lot of slip on straps where they are in contact with my shoulder. Another factor is that leather shoulder straps will be a lot more comfortable after they are broken in and are a little more flexible.

Some Duluth packs have web shoulder straps and that is an alternative. I personally find unpadded shoulder straps to be more comfortable because when the strap is flexed as it is when it goes over your shoulder the padded part (the underside) ceases to be smooth and is less comfortable. Of course it depends on the nature of the construction and some are better than others.

Although it wouldn't be easy to find any more, the web shoulder straps from a 1944 pattern (British) web set is about ideal for this purpose and even a P-37 strap isn't all that bad. Come to think of it, a P-37 large pack is similiar to a Duluth pack except for size.

My opinion of web shoulder straps comes from experience with using a U.S. mountain rucksack first introduced around 1942. The 1952 model has padded shoulder straps and is not nearly as comfortable, at least for me.

 

[sodajoe]

Always fancied the Duluth stuff but not at that price

You could try >> http://www.frostriver.com/ same stuff allegedly set up by ex Duluth employees

MickT

I would love to know if there are any bags out there that look like a Duluth or Frost River sack but slightly cheaper. Something that has leather straps, something with a bit of character. I can't really justify shelling out that amount of money for a day sack.

Or is this a Holy Grail?