mountain mule packs..??

[Howling Dingo]

Hey guys....I am just trying to find out any info on mountain mule packs.All I know is that these where external frame packs made in New Zealand back sometime the 70's.I was told they where really good bit of gear in there day.All I could find out about these packs is from Wikipedia....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_mule


So not much info too go on,anyone got any pics or more info..??

 

[Blake]

Interesting. Were they a canvas pack?

I could only find these two very small pictures from an old sale on an NZ trading site.

Here is the auction site. The guy is selling a never ued pack back in september this year and it never sold. His phone number and name is there too: http://www.trademe.co.nz/sports/camping-outdoors/packs/tramping-packs/auction-404891038.htm

 

[Wentworth]

My uncle had a Mountain Mule. The design of the external frame transfers the weight onto the lower back rather than the shoulders (or such is my understanding). BUt he made a waist belt with an old seatbelt and some closed cell foam. It was a nice looking pack.
Bushwalking FAQ has a pic of a mountain mule with a ladder strapped to it here:
http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_Packs.htm
(look about halfway down the page)

 

[Moondog55]

I actually owned a clone, can't remember the name now but made in SA, at the time I thought it was the last word in modern comfort.
Having carried a modern pack for the last 35 years all I can say is "rugged and dependable" and if I was a collector I'd have it in a shot.Carrying one of these is probably part of the reason I have a bad back now LOL
There were many versions of the MM, that picture is of the Light Weight, it substituted nylon webbing for the thick chrome tanned leather on the straps and shoulder harness.
There was a "tanker" version that had a hollow frame with a tap on the bottom for carrying stove fuel and a "Hunter" version that had a horizontal shelf at the bottom rear to allow you to carry drums , jerry-cans and deer carcasses more easily. Huge capacity and when fully packed was basically a great big cube sitting hard on your back and shoulders, but there was an extension sewed in to allow packing even more in and could go well above your head, big side flaps were then tied tight to hold it all together.

 

[Howling Dingo]

Thanks guys some good general background on these forgotten kiwi packs..Here is the mule pack that Moondog sent me a bit back.Looks like a different or later version of the pic found Blake.

 

[Mitch04]

I used to own a green canvas Mountain Mule tanker model pack. It was sensational and extremely comfortable. It was made in NZ’s South Island. I purchased it by post in the days of cheques……around 1965. Think it was made in Christchurch.

But the best pack I ever had was an American one manufactured by the company called Gerry in - I think - Colorado. It was another “H” frame and the actual pack was divided into four zippered sections that were running horizontally on the frame. With the bottom one being large enough to fit a down sleeping bag and small tent (Gerry also made an exceptional one man tent that I also owned).