On a hiking trip in Alaska in 1920, Seattle resident Lloyd Nelson used a borrowed Indian pack to carry his gear. The pack was sealskin stretched over willow sticks, and proved to be uncomfortable to say the least. He thought he could design a better one, and thought there would be a market for one among boy scouts and outdoorsmen.
He designed a wooden frame that had a canvas panel stretched across it. The canvas rested the weight of the pack load on the user's back, keeping the wooden frame from gouging the user's back. He got a U.S. patent on the pack, which Eric Nicholson found out is U.S. Patent 1,505,661. Thanks, Eric!
He marketing the product by visiting every sporting goods store between San Diego and Seattle, and within a few years sales began to pick up. He sold his patent rights to Trager, the company making his canvas bags, and shortly after the sale, he got an order for 500 packs for the Forest Service, and another 500 unit order shortly followed.
By modern standards, the pack is cruel and unusual torture, but compared to the alternatives at the time, it was a big improvement.
My father-in-law carried a Trapper Nelson pack on a hike from the Hell's Canyon of the Snake River, to the town of Riggins, over the Seven Devils mountains. This was in the early forties, before WWII, and they carried canned food, an axe, a handgun, and other gear that made their pack weight extreme. I inherited his Trapper Nelson, which belongs in a museum now.
I have a Trapper Nelson #3 and would like another one for a moose hunt pack in this Fall. If you have one in good shape for sale please return my email.
Posted by: Jerry Phillips | July 28, 2008 at 05:29 PM
I have a Trapper Nelson #3 and would like another one for a moose hunt pack in this Fall. If you have one in good shape for sale please return my [email protected]
Posted by: Jerry Phillips | July 28, 2008 at 05:32 PM
Over the summer, I acquired yet another Trapper Nelson Indian Packboard, this time a #2 made by Jones Tent & Awning of Vancouver. It is complete with the bag and missing only the two metal retaining rods, the whole being in quite good condition. While it is a #2, the bag itself is almost as big as that on the #3 I have. It is certainly bigger than the bag on my Trager #2. The last one I want to acquire is a #2 Trager with the red bag. I believe this model was made specifically for the Boy Scouts of America, but I stand to be corrected.
Posted by: johny_maple | September 07, 2008 at 10:35 AM
I lied. I'm still looking for the Mallard brand made by Edward Lipsett.
Posted by: johny_maple | October 07, 2008 at 02:07 PM
Please contact me if you are selling any of your trappper nelson packs. Just the frame is ok too. I use them with a potato sack hooked on hooks and the frame only. They are the quietest packs in the bush.
Posted by: Ken Hansen | December 12, 2008 at 09:05 PM
Hi, I would mail a photo of my Trapper Nelson to Rick Trager, but I dont know his email add. The tag says:
PATENT NO. 1505661
TRAPPER NELSON'S
INDIAN PACK BOARDS
(a word I cant make out but it begins with M and ends with Y)
CHAS TRAGER
SEATTLE,WASH. There is no picture of an Indian.
Posted by: Bob Bailie | January 20, 2009 at 05:20 PM
Interested in buying a vintage Trapper Nelson pack.Thanks,Mike
Posted by: Mike Neuroth | February 04, 2009 at 06:45 PM
Interested in buying a vintage Trapper Nelson pack.E-mail me at [email protected]
Posted by: Mike | February 04, 2009 at 06:48 PM
I am interested in getting a Trapper Nelson Back pack. If you have one for sale plese send info to: [email protected]
Thank you, Elsie
Posted by: Elsie Nelson | February 15, 2009 at 01:28 PM
Hi,
I will be putting a vintage Trapper Nelson pack board on ebay today 2/18/09. I'm not sure of it's age, but I believe it was from the 1950's. Good luck bidding!
Thanks,
Bob Blaurock
Sequim, WA 98382
Posted by: Bob Blaurock | February 18, 2009 at 04:38 PM