tumpline

[johnny quest]

anyone ever use a tumpline? i wouldnt think it would be used for thruhiking but i also canoe and am thinking of trying it....if every i get to go canoeing again.

[shelterbuilder]

anyone ever use a tumpline? i wouldnt think it would be used for thruhiking but i also canoe and am thinking of trying it....if every i get to go canoeing again.

With today's modern packs and equipment, it's rare that anyone would find the need to use one while backpacking. Although several times this year when hauling trash out from the shelters, I've considered using a make-shift tumpline....

[Tinker]

They're called sternum straps these days .

[take-a-knee]

They're called sternum straps these days .

Not quite, a tumpline goes over the top of your forehead.

[Jim Adams]

used one a few times but have found that it really works best with very heavy loads....guess I'm getting a little wiser as I age....now tumpline means carry a lighter load!

geek

[johnny quest]

a tumpline is a strap that goes up over the forehead. neck muscles are incredibly strong and the tumpline lets you augment your load carrying with this incredible and normally unused (unless your mowgli ) strength. its a totally different strap.

[Pringles]

I ran into a guy hiking with a tumpline on his Duluth Pack in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore a couple of years ago. He probably figured I was some sort of a half-wit because I just sort of stared, even thought I knew what it was. He looked like he was in agony.

Mostly, I hear of tumplines from canoeists. There's a canoe forum, very similar to this one, at http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk. It's mostly Brits, but they're quite friendly if you're from somewhere else. Some of the North Americans talk about using tumplines, Duluth Packs, Dutch Ovens, etc.. There's also a Canadian canoe forum, but danged if I can find it right now. I'm sure someone at Song of the Paddle could give you info on setting up a tumpline, along with a nice Bannock recipe and directions to a cold beer from any put-in/take-out from the Boundary Waters, Algonquin or Quetico.

Beth

[Mags]

All this talk of tumplines and canoing sounds like the Nick Adams stories. BIG TWO-HEARTED RIVER in particular. Tump lines are mentioned.

[Tinker]

Take a Knee. I'm familiar with tumplines. Reply was in jest. The tumpline is pretty much equivalent in the canoeist's world to what the sternum strap does n the hiker's world.
You can't miss a tumpline if you've seen Bill Mason's videos.

[budforester]

anyone ever use a tumpline? i wouldnt think it would be used for thruhiking but i also canoe and am thinking of trying it....if every i get to go canoeing again.

I've used one a few times on portage; agree with Jim Adams that they're OK for heavy loads. Seems they were popular for canoe- freighters. They do work, but I wouldn't like one for hiking. You lean into the strap with your head locked into a view of the trail in front of your feet and an unstable pack nestled against your humped back.

[RenoRoamer]

Tumplines are very good for carrying very heavy loads uphill on graded trails. That's why porters in the mountains (himalayas, andes) use them. You tend to be leaning forwards when going uphill which is why they work best then. However, I've also seen porters using them to carry coffee sack downhill in Guatemala, but they have to walk leaned over, which seems quite painful. Those Guatemalas are quite strong. Both men and women routinely carry their own body weight or even more. The weight falls mostly on the back, due to leaning over, and stays there by friction against the back. The tumpline is just to keep the load from slipping and doesn't carry that much weight itself. The coffee sacks in Guatemala weigh 70 kilos or 154 lbs, and I've seen tiny women (under 100 lbs) carrying these around, using a tumpline.

My feeling is tumplines would be a nuisance for something like the AT.