Old Packs

Greetings All,
Planning well in advance for some possible walk in trips in the spring I pulled out my pack and dusted it off. It is a modern Stoney Creek pack that has always seemed complex to me. I looked in all the pockets to see if there was an instruction manual but came up empty. This started me thinking about my first frame pack, an Alexto with a timber frame. This morning a scratch around in the Barn found it with a few others.
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Mine is the one on the left. It has a wooden frame, canvas bag and canvas back that moulded to your body after a few trips. There is no waist belt or waterproofing and was bought in the late 1960,s. State of the art then but primitive by todays standards.
They were known as Trapper or Trapper Nelson type. The pack on the right is a later version with seat belt strapping instead of the canvas back that belonged to my father.
Regards Grandpamac.

@grandpamac your attachment is not working.

I still have and use my Mountain Mule, that my wife bought second hand from a meat hunter in 1974. That’s 46 years ago.

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Originally Posted by Cordite

@grandpamac your attachment is not working.

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Yep I’ve got similar, my fathers and my late grandfather’s ... used in the Ureweras when I was much younger, quickly understood why they were referred to as the ‘kidney rippers?’


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Still use my mountain mule. My first pack was a kidney crusher though and it got resold after its first trip. Had two mules since then.

Grandpamac..had a pack I used a lot in the 1960s.. I think it was a Mountain Mule and it had an aluminium frame, and the the 2 upright members of the frame were hollow, and had a screw cap on top of each so you could carry about 3 litres of white spirits fuel for your stove..or 3 litres of Scotch.

My first pack was a Hallmark, similar to the Light green one in the back right. Mine had a single external pocket, steel frame and seatbelt webbing straps. Would have bought it about '75. Gave it to neighbour about '82 when I bought my first Macpac pack. Still have the Macpac pack and it has done some travelling, though it's on it's second set of shoulder straps.

Not quite an old pack, but is a modernised version of the old school external frame packs.

These are excellent quality and you can walk and climb all day with heavy loads and barely notice it. They adjust in every which way to fit any body type, i don't have anything negative to say about them after 3 years of hard use.

Biggest thing i found with them is as they can be fitted to perfectly suit your body shape, you can lift alot heavier loads for longer without the same wear and tear on the body, your also not as tired at the end of the day.

I want my knees and hips to last as long as possible so having a pack sitting perfectly and being made tough and to perform is high up on the priority list. These packs have proven to fit the bill for me.

Platatac Medium Assault Pack Mk II

https://platatac.com/platatac-medium...-ii-nsn-d.html

In comparison to a Stoney Creek pack, i'd expect these would probably be twice as complicated to set up. But they come with an excellent manual and theres videos you can follow along with to set it up and fit it for the first time.

But you only have to set them up once and your good to go and there simple as to throw on your back from then on. The factory is also happy to put them together prior to shipping if you request it.

I remember my dads old pack from when I was a kid. He and his brothers had put a tap put into the steel frame of their packs to carry the meths for the cooker.