Terms and Ideas for a New Pack Frame:

This entry has been in Draft mode since May 2006. The ideas from this entry have sat for awhile and the frame shown has been revised several times. I am posting this now just to clean out my entries held in draft mode.

Terms and Ideas for a New Pack Frame:

BobOne, Thanks for taking the time to address Term/Words/Ideas question. The light in my brain is now on at a much brighter level. You obviously have thought a lot about this frame subject. I have several questions about your background but will not ask them at this time. I am a little concerned about getting all these ideas in one neat light package (model) and then being able to make it. The first few frames may be just a "mule" or test bed if I can borrow an old term from
"Zora Arkus Duntov" I sat in this car for a few minutes, once, many years ago.

I want to talk about a new question at this time as I think we are ready to get started on actual designs. In my frames I first tried to second guess the Max weight I wanted to carry with the frame. In a Super Ultra Light gear load of 7 to 12 pounds or less it doesn't take much frame to handle this weight. The frame design for me was more to try and get a space between my back and the pack bag. This window of sorts would keep my back cooler in warm weather and has a good benefit even in colder weather. There is a lot more to this idea that can be address later if necessary.

I think we need decide what our "Frame Design Goals" are at this time so we have something to focus on. They don't need to be in any necessary order of importance's but should be looked at as a group. Here are a few and I expect this list to grow. When we have a bunch we can decide which ones we want to focus on.

Frame Design Goals: (these are in my words and the exact wording can change)

1. A frame that pushes back from the back so it has a space (window) between the back and the pack bag. This feature was one of my main goals in the pack frames I make.

2. Frame Carry Weight: This can be several different weights and can be several versions of the frame so we can carry light loads and or heavier loads. This can be more than one frame based on the same general design ideas.

3. Frame Weight: What is the Goal weight for the frame?

4. Etc, Etc, Etc


The "triangulation" term was my big question. I thought this was what you meant and the Lotus article was all it took. I am a great Race Car and Hot Rod fan and have been since I was about 13. The old "tube" frames were a great idea.

The small pictures of the MH frames are the only ones I could find. I don't have a way to Re-size the pictures but it could be done with something like Photoshop. I have an older Mac with PhotoShop on it but the hard-drive died. The version of Photo Shop is old and does not work on my new computer and the new Mac OS. I was going to take some pictures of the frames at my local store but they have sent them all back. The pack bag attaches to at the top of the frame with a small pocket like thing sewn onto the bag on each side and a strap at the bottom of the frame that pulls down on the top part and holds it under a little pressure. The bags come off and on easy and quick.

Some random pictures of the MH Pack:






These are a few pictures of a frame I started about a year ago to carry a heavier load. It started to get a little complicated and heavier than I wanted and I stopped working on it. You may notice a little crude attempt at "triangulation" though I didn't know the word at that time.