Tump line?

[Man of Tanith]

So I've been reading assorted stuff about packs/bedrolls etc from yesteryear.
A lot of sources mention tumplines.
Has anyone used them?
Has any one made one?
They worth a go or a waste of time(with reasoning behind yes or no)?
Has anyone got a link for a how to to make one?

Thanks in advance everyone

Edit-yes the two Pilgrim journey books I recently got are an influence on my asking

 

[Badger74]

All it is, is a rope with a shoulder strap, that you use to tie off the ends of your bedroll pack and then sling it over your shoulder.

just found this http://www.abrames.com/v_Personal.htm

 

[Man of Tanith]

From my reading its one that goes full length through the bed roll and is secured that way?
But cool I'll give it a go

 

[digitracker]

heres a link to wikepedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumpline seems to be a system to carry loads with a line tied around the head.

 

[rg598]

It depends on what you mean by "Are they worth a go?" It may be fun to play around with, but it will never be as comfortable, or be able to support as much weight as using a backpack to store the same gear.

 

[Man of Tanith]

It depends on what you mean by "Are they worth a go?" It may be fun to play around with, but it will never be as comfortable, or be able to support as much weight as using a backpack to store the same gear.

True but if I was concerned with comfort and weight support I'd be a modern materials Ti ultralight fan

 

[The Cumbrian]

One of the best modern descriptions of a tumpline (and a very good website too) is on here:


http://nwwoodsman.com/Articles/Tumpline.html

Over in Canada and the States where people do a lot of canoe portages they are as divided about the use of tumplines as Liverpool and Manchester are about who has the best football team.

Cheers, Michael.

 

[Tweeky]

This may help as well, Shows how to tie for canoe and wannegan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKmZYdKoYX8

 

[Teepee]

The toboggan haulers on here have all made them. Dead handy in camp for ridgelines, dragging logs etc. I haven't carried a wannigan, boat or pack with one but hauling with it on my head is actually quite comfy. The ol' neck muscles suffer though, would take some time to build them up.

AFAIK, they have all been made from nylon seatbelt. Commercially, they are usually made from leather or canvas. A dead easy project to knock up, I'd maybe line a leather one with felt or similar if it was for carrying on my noggin.

 

[Man of Tanith]

I've got a big bit of lorry strapping.
Maybe that could be repurposed.
Nice one Pete

 

[Tiley]

It may be fun to play around with, but it will never be as comfortable, or be able to support as much weight as using a backpack to store the same gear.

A huge number of Nepali porters would disagree with you there. Years ago (mid-'80s), Chouinard Equipment (as it was then; various legal shenanigans has seen it reappear as Black Diamond) made and sold them, suggesting that, once you had got used to them, they were superior to a backpack. The blurb said that by keeping your neck straight and not constricting your chest with the ubiquitous sternum strap, you were able to breathe more easily. It also suggested that the load you were carrying was supported more directly by your vertebral column, reducing the fatigue on your back and core stability muscles. It all sounded perfectly feasible but I have to admit I never tried it. However, after a number of trips to the Himalaya and seeing some of the extraordinary loads that the porters are able to carry on long days across difficult terrain makes me think that there might be some mileage in this way of carrying gear...

 

[sandbender]

The Cumbrian beat me to it, that NW Woodsman article should help you out. Lots of other articles there which you will probably enjoy too.

I have used one on one of the larger Duluth packs, none of the portages were particularly long but I have to say I didn't get on with it, maybe bad technique though.

 

[Humpback]

I have one on my Northwoods Pack and if positioned properly does help somewhat.


Alan

 

[EdS]

O
Over in Canada and the States where people do a lot of canoe portages they are as divided about the use of tumplines as Liverpool and Manchester are about who has the best football team.

.

Tranmere Rovers

 

[Big Stu 12]

One of the best modern descriptions of a tumpline (and a very good website too) is on here:


http://nwwoodsman.com/Articles/Tumpline.html

Over in Canada and the States where people do a lot of canoe portages they are as divided about the use of tumplines as Liverpool and Manchester are about who has the best football team.

Cheers, Michael.

will have to look at that site more later, niec one

 

[rg598]

A huge number of Nepali porters would disagree with you there. Years ago (mid-'80s), Chouinard Equipment (as it was then; various legal shenanigans has seen it reappear as Black Diamond) made and sold them, suggesting that, once you had got used to them, they were superior to a backpack. The blurb said that by keeping your neck straight and not constricting your chest with the ubiquitous sternum strap, you were able to breathe more easily. It also suggested that the load you were carrying was supported more directly by your vertebral column, reducing the fatigue on your back and core stability muscles. It all sounded perfectly feasible but I have to admit I never tried it. However, after a number of trips to the Himalaya and seeing some of the extraordinary loads that the porters are able to carry on long days across difficult terrain makes me think that there might be some mileage in this way of carrying gear...

Well there you have it then. I'm going into the woods this weekend, and I'll be sure the remove the straps from my backpack and hang it over my shoulder or from my head with a single strap and no hip belt. I'm sure it will make the weight much easier to carry.

Seriously though... just because someone is used to something does not make it better. People can learn to do just about anything, but there is no way from a physics perspective that a single strap supporting all the weight will be more comfortable and more stable than a pack designed to distribute that weight properly and hold it in place. Porters in the Himalayas use all sorts of techniques to carry gear, but you are not going to see a Sherpa at altitude with a thump line. They all have backpacks on.

 

[Tiley]

Well there you have it then. I'm going into the woods this weekend, and I'll be sure the remove the straps from my backpack and hang it over my shoulder or from my head with a single strap and no hip belt. I'm sure it will make the weight much easier to carry.

Seriously though... just because someone is used to something does not make it better. People can learn to do just about anything, but there is no way from a physics perspective that a single strap supporting all the weight will be more comfortable and more stable than a pack designed to distribute that weight properly and hold it in place. Porters in the Himalayas use all sorts of techniques to carry gear, but you are not going to see a Sherpa at altitude with a thump line. They all have backpacks on.

I don't believe that I ever said that they were 'better'; the point I was trying to make was that the tump line offered a good, inexpensive means of transporting large, bulky loads for a good number of Nepalese porters. From experience, I know that Sherpas will always opt for conventional backpacks but, then again, they are not toting quite the same weight or volume of kit that their more lowly porter brethren are carrying. But then, their jobs are not the same... As you said, porters will use a wide variety of methods of transporting loads; I have found, however, that the tump line does seem to prevail in a good number of areas of the Nepalese Himalaya.

I found it intriguing that an American company, which was and still is very much at the forefront of climbing gear technology, should sell a simple piece of kit like this to its clientele in the 1980s. There is a good, physiological logic to the tump line; but I suppose that, in general, it does not necessarily suit the Western body type. It would be interesting to find out how many they sold and whether the users found the line an easy way of carrying gear or not. I would imagine that most of the Chouinard tump lines will be lurking in dark corners somewhere!

 

[sasquatch]

When I was in my early teens it was common practice to do paper rounds for decent money. They were big papers and issued from one shop, you were supplied a bag to carry them in with one padded strap. Initially the bag weighed a ton at the start of your route and obviously got lighter as you went. After a fortnight of suffering a sore neck the tump line carry method made all kings of sense as it balanced the load. Everybody used this method to carry carry them, perhaps with good reason. Have a go Sam, it won't be hard to wrap something round a tie down and try it out. May take some time to build up muscles you rarely use though. If you get used to it you'll soon have a Henry Rollins tree stump neck.

 

[Man of Tanith]

I'll give it a go.
See what occours.
Henry rollins neck not quite so appealing......

 

[sasquatch]

All the ladies love Henrys neck