This envelope style pack features 15-ounce canvas construction, top grade roller buckles, three ¾ inch leather front flap straps, and sturdy leather shoulder straps attached with hand hammered copper rivets. In addition, all stress areas are reinforced for extra durability and peace of mind while portaging even the heaviest of loads. All fastenings are top grade, smooth working, roller buckles. Each pack is equipped with the traditional tumpline, an internal map pocket, and a thick replaceable poly liner. Made in USA.
Many people believe that the name Duluth Pack is a generic term, much like Kleenex® or Band-Aid®, when in fact there is only one real Duluth Pack. A French Canadian named Camille Poirier first patented the now famous Duluth Pack on December 12th, 1882. Until this time, a pack of this type did not exist. Poirier had designed and built a new type of pack-sack that closed with a buckled flap, had new-fangled shoulder straps, a tumpline, a chest or sternum strap, and an umbrella holder (umbrellas were used as portable shade during the time of clear cutting in the Northland). In 1911, Camille sold off the pack business to the new Duluth Tent and Awning Company. At that time all packs were manufactured and sold under the Monarch Brand trade name, but over the years became commonly known as the “Duluth Pack.”
To this day, we are still making Duluth Packs in the same building, with many of the same machines and techniques that were used almost a century ago. As rugged as the country in which it was born, the Original Duluth Pack has been an integral part of life in the North Country for well over a century. The Duluth Pack was originally designed as an every day use pack, for just about anything. For years, forestry workers, trappers, hunters, and canoe adventurers alike have all praised the Duluth Pack for its simplicity, utility, and durability.
A common misconception about our packs is that they were designed for the coureur des bois (runner of the woods), or the licensed Voyageurs during the fur trade. While the Voyageurs did use a similar flat or envelope style pack to transport enormous quantities of goods throughout the Northwood’s, the Duluth Pack, unfortunately, missed the Voyageurs by roughly half a century (although the Voyageurs were most prominent during the 17th and 18th centuries).