Pack For A Mountainman

External frame backpacks are interesting not only because of their more versatile modularity, but because learning from the past is important and I sometimes think about this. Although it’s unknown how long humans have been carrying packs on their backs, the first external frame backpack dates at least as far back as Őtzi, a hunter who walked the Italo-Austrian Alps 5300 years ago. This ancient man was traveling across Val Senales Valley in Italy when he was killed and preserved in the glaciers. A couple of German hikers stumbled upon his corpse, as well as his clothing and equipment, in 1991. Among the items found was a rucksack made of leather, hazelwood, and latchwood. Ötzi used this bag to carry essential items like medicinal fungus, arrows, flint tools, awls, and needles. Today, you can see his backpack and other gear on display at the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology in Bolzano, Italy.