Pack Baskets

[cowboysteve]

I'm looking to pick up a couple of pack baskets, and could use some leads on where to look for plain basic fur trade era 20"-22" pack baskets. Thanks in advance!

 

[Sean Gadhar]

and there's the rub :grin:

For traditional hardwood pack baskets just hit the trapping supply sites. There are tons just as an example http://www.pcsoutdoors.com/packbaskets.aspx

But if you want the realeo Dealeo, sit down first due to sticker shock, and Google "Black ash bellied pack basket" I have seen some "brown" ash, I have no idea if it is comparable :idunno:

Black ash (as I understood it) was the ONE wood of choice because the growth rings will separate when a log is beaten. So you get long thin with the grain strips peeling off. They are said to have superior tensile strength.

Here ya go, some light reading on the black ash basket http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/carrying-on/Content?oid=2140939

 

[tenngun]

We know baskets were being produced before the fist beer was made. They were fitted to backs through out history. It looks like, based on paintings and drawings, that our 'pack baskets' are more of an 1890s thing. Could some one have been using them before? No doubt. However you could go with some sort of knapsack for a more common article.
I have not used one a field for about three years although they are used for storage at home and could be packed if needed. Townsend makes some nice looking ones that are better shapped then the common cube style,but are a might pricy.

 

[cowboysteve]

Thanks guys for the thoughts and resources. Not looking so much for a period treking item, as just a "period" camp item to store gear in when camp is set up at a local rondy. I'll check out the websites listed.

 

[rustyh]

Panther Primitives carries several sizes of pack baskets on page 92 of their online catalog.
www.pantherprimitives.com/catalog22/Catalog22web.pdf

 

[coloradoclyde]

http://www.cooncreektrappers.com/pack-baskets.html http://www.adkbaskets.com/1365/mushroom-hunters-packbasket-2/ http://www.fntpost.com/Categories/Trapping/Packbaskets,+Packs+Pouches/Packbaskets/ http://nwtrappers.com/catalog/products.asp?cat=127 http://www.minntrapprod.com/Packbaskets-Bags-and-Pouches/products/77/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzJ--mhi2l4
http://youtu.b/CLhDP4ew3Gc
http://youtu.be/3egz1xnW_wA

 

[cowboysteve]

Thanks for the links! I'll check them out.

 

[crockett]

If storage is the thing, think about an original grub box you could make yourself and tie it to a tumpline for hauling the stuff around. Might be do-able. Doubles as a table in camp.

 

[tenngun]

or a pair of saddlebags or painers.

 

[Mikes]

Check out mooseriverhandcrafts.com. I have one of their packbaskets and they are awesome.

 

[cowboysteve]

I'll check them out. Thanks!