Bamboo External Frame Backpack

Certainly agree that the nylon mason's line can be a little slick so choose your knots accordingly, but I'm a bit surprised to hear you say its "hard" to find the BRAIDED at HD. I suppose up in AK where cinder blocks may be less used, they don't stock as many kinds, but any time I've looked for mason's line, they've had 10 twisted versions and ~5 braided. Sometimes the braided will come on a wind-up tool already, rather than as an individual roll, but I'd be very surprised if you couldn't get at least one roll.

for what you're doing though, certainly seems like the mason's line will be a bit overkill (p cord is WAY overkill). I think the braided fishing line is probably a great balance of strength to weight for this application. Keep us posted! I'm super interested in this bamboo backpack!

Feedback: Those poles seem quite thick to me. It seems like you would end up with a very stiff backpack, but maybe that is what you were after. I think of bamboo a light flexible structure and it seems the optimal use of the material is where you want some flex. Have you tried smaller diameter poles?

If you decide to stick with the thick poles, I would definitely give Dave's idea, of shaping the pole together, a try.

@ Ben: Thank you for the feedback. The poles are ~1/2 in. in diameter. Obviously it’s difficult to achieve uniformity. Yes, I could probably get some smaller diameter poles and not really give up much strength. These poles are not very flexible, though there is some give to them under high pressure. They are not brittle and certainly very, very strong. The joints/lashings areas have some give so the frame overall is not just a stiff block on your back. Makes it a bit more comfortable than one may think.

@ Ryan: Glad you are interested. I tried braided mason line the other day on a joint/lashing. The knot for tying off (a square knot with an extra turn) did not hold well at all. I’m trying out other materials soon. The paracord, with the insides removed, works great, but I agree with others that damp or wet conditions could be problematic so other options should be explored. Of course, here in southern CA, damp/wet conditions don’t come around very often.

Michael