| DULUTH PACKSACK Illustrating head-band and single point suspension for shoulder straps. | Diagram for making packsack at home. Fold along the lines. |
in handling a heavy pack the combined use of the neck and shoulder muscles are brought into play.
This pack goes under the name of the Duluth, Poirier, Woodsman or Northwestern Pack and with slight modifications is listed under other names by various dealers in camp supplies. The genuine, however, consists of a simple flat bag of dimensions twenty-eight by thirty inches with adjustable shoulder and head straps. It has a large top flap with three long straps to hold it down thus enabling one to adjust it to a large or small pack. The following features are to be insisted upon—get the straps broad and soft and see to it that the connections are both sewed and riveted. The Poirier pack is much used on the Canadian border and is easily procurable or it can be made at home.
All things considered and especially in view of the ignorance of the average man as to how to adjust his pack straps properly the Woodsmans or Poirier is the best.
In its position on the back the pack should be carried low so the bulge fits the hollow of the back. If too high there is too much backward strain on the head and shoulders: if it is too low it interferes with the gait. One can ease up the impact of a pack by letting the knees give a little with each step. In the case of heavy loads or a weak neck the strain can occasionally be relieved by clasping the hands behind the head or by slipping the straps from the forehead to the top of the head and grasping it with both hands about “ear high” so as to get a straight pull downward instead of backward.
CONTENTS OF THE PACK
With a properly chosen pack a man can comfortably carry on his back all that is needed for a two weeks’ stay in the wilderness, inclusive of shelter, bed, cook kit, simple first aid requisites and the necessary provisions. Besides these the pack must carry miscellaneous items of duffle as follows:
Extra clothing may be very meager indeed. A gray all wool sweater for protection against cold, mainly at night or to be worn when washing the shirt, and two pairs of heavy all wool socks are all that one needs. In the way of toilet articles include a tooth brush and a tube of paste and two brown crash towels for the daily rub down. A bar of wool soap suffices for toilet and laundry purposes. The map mounted on cloth should be encased in a waterproof envelope.
Provide a repair kit consisting of a few items for simple mending—a spool of stout linen thread No. 12, with suitable needles, a few rivets, safety pins, some waxed harness thread, needles and a light awl.