Design student developing new forestry product

[slowp]

Perhaps a table for lunch?

I often end up running after the rigging crew up or down the hill. They pack the coils of line over their shoulders, the block is flung over a shoulder and held with the other arm...it looks very awkward. I've asked why nobody has come up with a pack that would make it easier on their bodies for carrying that gear. The answer I get is that they need to be able to fling it away when they take a tumble.

Sometimes they are packing it through the fell and buck, sometimes they've found a way through a leave strip without fell and buck on the ground.

 

[treedogg]

da kine makes a backpack that holds a saw...never tried it but i have been satisfied with all their backpacks that i have owned. at a certain point i would rather make two trips that haul anywhere near 150lbs. up or down.....

 

[madhatte]

I have one of these:

but I've never worn it. I'll report at the end of this fire season how useful it proved to be. I have it set up a bit differently than is pictured. One thing i noticed immediately was that I can't just whip a saw off my back and slap it home when I'm done with it; rather, the pack resign requires that I take the whole mess off to load/unload. I'm not sure that's OK. However, the bar is held far enough back from my head that I couldn't cut myself with this rig if I tried.

No, I didn't spend any of my own money on this thing. I didn't spend any of YOURS, either. I'm a Fed, yes, but my paycheck comes from 100% non-appropriated funds. We pay our own salaries through timber sales.

 

[dingeryote]

I have one of these:

but I've never worn it. I'll report at the end of this fire season how useful it proved to be. I have it set up a bit differently than is pictured. One thing i noticed immediately was that I can't just whip a saw off my back and slap it home when I'm done with it; rather, the pack resign requires that I take the whole mess off to load/unload. I'm not sure that's OK. However, the bar is held far enough back from my head that I couldn't cut myself with this rig if I tried.

No, I didn't spend any of my own money on this thing. I didn't spend any of YOURS, either. I'm a Fed, yes, but my paycheck comes from 100% non-appropriated funds. We pay our own salaries through timber sales.

Thats a neat looking rig, but the bar is in a bad place for sure.

More like a "De-scalpinator" than a pack.

Be carefull with that rig if ya run it... and keep some butterflys in your Firt aid kit. One quick drop to your butt to slide down a bank, or wrong move climbing over a log and BAM!!!

The weight seems all wrong too.
Wierd kit.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[madhatte]

Bar isn't a worry at all -- the flat part of the pack against the back is semirigid poly corrugate, and there's a 3"x3"x3" foam block holding the bar even farther from the head. I tried and couldn't even touch the brim of my helmet with the bar, no matter how hard I thrashed my head. You're welcome, True North, for the product testing and whiplash I have endured on your behalf.

The weight is perfect: all on the waist, with quick-adjusts to put some percentage on the shoulders. For the hour or so I carried the thing, it seemed very comfortable.

Downside is the same: it needs to be dropped to the ground to put the saw on or take it off. Also, the semirigid back of the pack is not comfortable without the weight of the saw to pull it away from the body and allow air movement.

I have my line gear set up so that all of my instruments are hung from a carabiner. Usually, I'm not more than 500m from my truck, so a big pack isn't necessary. When I switch from my normal Spyder Gear to this saw pack, I will only need to move the carabiner and the fire shelter. I'm not sure this would be at all practical for a Hotshot, but it's A-OK for an Engine Slug like myself.

 

[catbuster]

I have one of these:

but I've never worn it. I'll report at the end of this fire season how useful it proved to be. I have it set up a bit differently than is pictured. One thing i noticed immediately was that I can't just whip a saw off my back and slap it home when I'm done with it; rather, the pack resign requires that I take the whole mess off to load/unload. I'm not sure that's OK. However, the bar is held far enough back from my head that I couldn't cut myself with this rig if I tried.

No, I didn't spend any of my own money on this thing. I didn't spend any of YOURS, either. I'm a Fed, yes, but my paycheck comes from 100% non-appropriated funds. We pay our own salaries through timber sales.

Wouldn't it be more practical to have the saw on your back right corner,with everything else on the back left? That way,you could pull out the saw way easier and still get to your stuff?

 

[slowp]

I have one of these:

.

The model is too clean. Way too clean. Even his gloves!

 

[madhatte]

Wouldn't it be more practical to have the saw on your back right corner,with everything else on the back left? That way,you could pull out the saw way easier and still get to your stuff?

I'd have to approach hillsides from the right, but it just might work. I'd cartwheel right down the hill if I approached any kind of slope from the left!

@SlowP: That was the first thing I noticed as well. I can't keep my green-and-yellows anything at all like clean, and I like to wash them long before they can stand and walk on their own.

 

[lostcoastland]

whoa..Wheres the scabbard..that just looks obviously dangerous and the teeth of the saw would hook on brush..nice to be hands free though..they should have more storage that goes overtop of the saw and looks like you cant use a full wrap handle but o well..looks kinda nice not lugging a saw on your shoulder or carrying it..4 wheelers are my favorite for carrying your stuff around..the old honda 300's are small light and dependable as all hell

 

[madhatte]

Carries a full-wrap just fine. You're right about the brush -- I imagine that will be a problem. Don't need a scabbard -- it's pinned down pretty well at the top of the pack. I usually just split old 2 1/2" hose for scabbards anyway, so if I get nervous, that's what I'll do.

 

[lostcoastland]

you could also take the bar off the powerhead and slip it in the frame for extra sleekness