Tump Line

[Robert Blean]

Has anyone tried a tump line with UL?

It seems to me that might work well when your load gets up towards your pack's limits (e.g. food for a longer trip could do that, or needing to carry a lot of water). If it is set up right, you could vary the load between your neck and your shoulder straps, much as a conventional pack varies it between the waist and shoulder straps.

The following examples are not UL, but they worked so well that I wonder about a UL version.

I got thinking about this because I used tump lines one summer leading canoe trips in Canada — we tumped canoes, wanigan boxes, duffel bags …. You need to get used to using a tump line, much as you once had to get used to a pack's waist belt and shoulder straps. Once I got used to mine, I would not do it any other way.

Note that professional load carriers, such as Sherpas and other porters, also tump heavy loads.

— MV

[Sumi Lavin]

I have thought about this some and I don't think Ulers will add a tump line because it might infer they are laboring, when a light load is supposed to 'look' outwardly easy to carry.

[Robert Blean]

You may be right.

(*) But just think of the "unusual" factor — (probably) no one else around you would have one.

(*) Furthermore, I'll bet it could be lighter than a hip belt.

(*) Heck, even make it multi-use — I'll bet that in camp it could be used for some sort of line — tent line, clothesline, whatever….

:)

— MV

[Sumi Lavin]

It could be entertaining to see a tump line on a small pack. It could be diguised as a hat perhaps. Since you already have experience with them you should give it a try and report back.

[Robert Blean]

Actually, I am thinking of trying out the idea. It's not on the top of my stack, but it is there somewhere. My intent would be to handle the occasional load that is too heavy to be comfortable for your pack.

Suppose your pack is not comfortable with more than 20 lbs, but for this longer trip you need to start out with 30 lbs. Wouldn't it be nice to have a way to bridge those first few days until your food gets eaten down a bit?

Like I said, it is on my mind, but not currently active.

— MV

[Brad Groves]

Bob, Since you have experience with tump lines it might work well as you propose. When I've played around with tump lines, though, I found that the extra stress and strain on my neck muscles and upper back wasn't worth the weight transfer. I suspect that if you regularly used a tump line you'd build up those muscles and just generally get more used to carrying weight that way. But for occasional trips, I dunno… Let us know!

[Robert Blean]

You are making a good point.

When we used them in Canada, we set up the canoes so that we could vary the proportion between the shoulders and the tump line. Early in the summer, we just used the tump line to give our shoulders a break. By part way through the summer, we carried most of the weight on the tump line, with just enough on the shoulders to help with stability. As you noted, we had to work into it.

Another way to look at it is that it is similar to shoulder straps / waist belt trade off on a pack frame. You vary the proportion as needed.

The key is being able to vary the tension on the tump line. Many people seem to believe that a tump is all-or-none — a bad idea as you noted.

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