A Good Backpack Harness

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A Good Backpack Harness
A 14 year old girl in Ghana, West Africa picked up my 25 Kilo bag full of books, put on her head and walked one kilometer with me to show me a hotel. This was an ordeal, I mean, carrying 45 plus kilos for a five kilometer walk is nuts.

I kept looking at the girl, 25 Kilos on her head, my backpack was making me walk like a cripple. Without my front bag, I was out of balance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Integrated_Fighting_System

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Indiana, United States of America
Small Town USA
Friday, March 7, 2008
Andy of HoboTraveler.com --- Free Hotel Advertisement
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I would propose, that this harness has some essential ingedients that is the long-term better backpacking engineering needed to make the perfect backpack.

The top of the head is best balanced.
The balance is needed of front and back.

Hmm, someone please, go and...
Please send out the assistant to check out them Sherpas on Mount Everest, see what a porter has to say, and also stop on the way back, ask some Asians about their bamboo stick seesaw thing.

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Anonymous said on Friday March 7th, 2008 05:43:00 PM

Hi Andy, native peoples have the solution, it's called a tumpline, a padded piece of rope or leather that goes from the pack up over the forehead. Distributes some of the weight to he neck muscles.Sherpas in Nepal use them to truck their heavy loads. Native Americans used tumpline to carry their packs. Modern day canoeists have tumplines on their packs for the same reason. Check it out. hoz

Andy HoboTraveler.com said on Friday March 7th, 2008 11:47:00 PM

Tumpline http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TumplineVery good Hoz, I did not know the name for this system. I have many pictures of this, one guy in Guatemala has a pack of wood the size of two fridges.

African Safari said on Monday March 10th, 2008 08:08:00 AM

Here in East Africa we have different ways of carrying loads. The kikuyu women use a similar method like that mentioned above which distributes weight to the head and neck muscles and the weight is at the back. Surprisingly it doesnt affect the back. I am always surprised at the load must African safari back packers carry some of the stuff is not even used.

Wade Vagabond Journey said on Monday March 10th, 2008 02:16:00 PM

Good thinking! For some years I have been searching for . . wanting to make a bag like the old monks use to carry around in east Asia which are essentially a bag in the front and a slightly larger back in the back attachted to a harness. To date, I have only found these bags on stone statues hahaha.Looking good, getting excited about this backpack you are chasing,Wade