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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

A brief chronicle of the backpack

By Lake Josh


Today backpacks have many purposes and they are used for their convenience. People take them to work. They fill them with sports equipment and toys. They can use them instead of suitcases while travelling. People find many different uses for the backpack. Many companies customize them with logos or brands and hand them out to their workers. Sports teams can also put their logos on them and fill it with their equipment.

Backpacks - in the 1900s

Travelling around with a backpack started in the 1900s. At that time, a backpack was a canvas bag with shoulder straps. The bag rode on the back. It was a simple concept but it had a downfall. If it was not packed correctly, the stuff in the bag would push into the person's back which was quite unpleasant. Eventually the design changed into the modern backpack. Who designed the current backpack? And what about it changed?

Flat board

A change was made to the backpack around 1920. It was simple. A flat board was attached to the backpack. This allowed the pack to rest on the person's back. It also kept the contents in the bag away from their back, alleviating the pain. This board became known as a pack board for clear reasons. Lloyd F. Nelson was the man who invented the flat board. He figured it out while he was on a trip to Alaska in the spring of 1920.

Pack contents

The pack board allows for a more calm hiking experience since it allows the stuff in the bag to be distributed fairly. It also keeps the contents of the bag out of the person's back. Ever since the pack board was invented, the backpack has not changed much. It is very similar to the one we know today. Several occupations, including the military, have modified it to suit their needs better.

Clasp locker

Aside from what is written here, very little is known about the beginning of the backpack. It is known that for thousands of years, people carried bags on their backs. However, the backpack would not be what it is without the zipper. So who invented the zipper? Whitcomb Judson invented the zipper in 1893. However, it had a different name. It was called a "clasp locker" and it was made of hooks and eyes. The "clasp locker" was quite complicated.

Modern zipper

Judson had a company that made "clasp lockers." A Swede named Gideon Sundback worked there when he designed the modern zipper. It was first noticed in 1913. This definitely tells us that the modern backpack was made after 1913 because the modern zipper completes it. However, this does not explain when the first backpack appeared. So when did the first backpack get invented?

Modern Combination Backpack

The modern backpack made its first appearance in the 1920s. It combined Nelson's pack board with Sundback's zipper. This made a unique combination which brought about the backpack. Ever since, the backpack has been a very popular around the world. It is widely used.




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