jazzman1161 posted a link about tumpline portaging in another section of the forum:

Andrew Fergusson tumpline portaging approach

Fergusson's claim is that a tumpline and a round thwart (an aluminum pipe in this case) make portaging much more comfortable.

So now I'm curious. Who uses tumplines instead of yokes & pads? How have you rigged it? How/Why do you like it?

There have been lots of opportunities for people to showcase their favorite yoke pads, but are there some quiet tumpline folks out there who know something that the rest of us should know?

I personnaly think that is genious and it reminds me of other cultures around the world and how they carry loads.

so, corndog, will you try this set up on your canoe?

Some people adapt well to tumplines, I am not one of them, give me an old fashoned so portage pad any time...tumplines give me a terrible neck ache.

Corndog makes a good point, but I do fine with existing pads and a 55# or less canoe. Might be worth a try for my heavier canoe though, I'm just not motivated to figure it out at the moment. Anyone want to make me one, I'm happy to test it out!

Makes sense. Maybe someday I will give it a try but no time soon!

Long ago I had a Duluth style pack with shoulder straps and a tumpline. I just used the tumpline to hold the pack up high rather than slumping. It served the same purpose as a hip belt, or at least that's the way I used it. I'd prefer to use a hip belt.

I once had an 88-lb. Mad River Explorer that had a kind of basket for the poor portager's head. Here's a shot of it:



The green rectangle is a piece of heavy canvas held on with bungee cords. It sets right on top of the portager's head, relieving some of the weight off the shoulders. The bungees could be adjusted for the person's size as well as for the amount of weight to transfer.

I just purchased a new "yoke" that I hope works well. Going in with two of my daughters ages 11 and 12. If anyone has used this setup, I'd appreciate any feedback. We're going in tomorrow, and it's my 11 year old's first trip; regardless how the new toy works, I am very pumped to be bringing her in!! That said, I use tumplines on my packs, and I really like how they reduce the strain/load on my back and hips.

http://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/browse.cfm/4,99.html Combo seat/portage yoke

I haven't used a tump on a canoe, but have carried many packs, barrels and wannigans that way, especially food packs.

I have used a tump on a pack. IMO it does help but not much. In my case it's probably do to my skinny neck! I would like to try the canoe with a tumpline but only if I had help standing by. With my luck it would slip off and I'd be strangled to death. That would mean no more portaging ..... EVER! I think I'll stick to the pads.

I tried to rig up a tump line before a trip last year. No matter how I set it up it cause severe strain on my neck and I eventually threw out my back the night before the trip. I pretty much chucked the idea at that point. I think its great idea though.

quote Kendra: "I have used a tump on a pack. IMO it does help but not much. In my case it's probably do to my skinny neck! "

That's a good point. I think anybody that wants to use a tumpline should do some neck building exercises, like bridging, to strengthen the neck muscles. Otherwise it's a lot of unaccustomed strain on vertebrae.

For today's lightweight canoes, shoulder pads are adequate. However, for heavy canoes, i.e. wood and canvas, they are essential, but not used alone. The proper rigging requires the use of both shoulder pads and a tumpline, rigged using two paddles as the shoulder supports. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures handy with which to illustrate this method, but I'll look for some. Over 35 years ago I worked at a canoe camp in Quebec. We used wood and canvas canoes that began the summer weighing about 65 lbs, but by the end of our two month tripping season they were waterlogged and weighed closer to 90 lbs. The only way to carry them was with the tump/shoulder pad system. Properly set up, you could lean your head forward and all of the weight was shifted to the shoulders. When you brought your head straight up, all of the weight was on your head (or you could split the difference). The old timers used this method. Actually, you can carry a lot more on your head than your shoulders.

The tumpline/shoulder pad system illustrated in one of the previous posts does not allow this shifting of weight from the head to the shoulders, and is not as versatile.

A myth about tumplines is that you need strong neck muscles. This is simply not true. When properly set and balanced, all the weight is supported by the spine, not the neck muscles. If you find the use of a tumpline to be torture, you are not using it properly.

That having been said, the modern hip belt provides equal or superior carrying capacity to a tump, it's just harder to adapt that system to carrying a canoe.

quote CanoeKev: "For today's lightweight canoes, shoulder pads are adequate. However, for heavy canoes, i.e. wood and canvas, they are essential, but not used alone. The proper rigging requires the use of both shoulder pads and a tumpline, rigged using two paddles as the shoulder supports. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures handy with which to illustrate this method, but I'll look for some. Over 35 years ago I worked at a canoe camp in Quebec. We used wood and canvas canoes that began the summer weighing about 65 lbs, but by the end of our two month tripping season they were waterlogged and weighed closer to 90 lbs. The only way to carry them was with the tump/shoulder pad system. Properly set up, you could lean your head forward and all of the weight was shifted to the shoulders. When you brought your head straight up, all of the weight was on your head (or you could split the difference). The old timers used this method. Actually, you can carry a lot more on your head than your shoulders.

The tumpline/shoulder pad system illustrated in one of the previous posts does not allow this shifting of weight from the head to the shoulders, and is not as versatile.
"

If you're referring to the picture I posted above, that's not quite true. When portaging that boat I did exactly as you described, shifting the position of my head to take more or less weight on it. The amount of weight transfer was limited because of the bungee cords, but the shifting worked the same.

quote Koda: "

quote CanoeKev: "
If you're referring to the picture I posted above, that's not quite true. When portaging that boat I did exactly as you described, shifting the position of my head to take more or less weight on it. The amount of weight transfer was limited because of the bungee cords, but the shifting worked the same."

Then I stand corrected. I have not used the bungee system you illustrated, and I guess I just assumed that the bunggee would prevent full weight shifting to the head, and complete shifting to the shoulders. My mistake!

I've never used one, but I was talking to someone whose friend always did until it started causing discomfort. He was a 40 year old guy and developed some neck issues and ended up seeing a specialist about it.

The quote from the doctor was something like, "you have the body of a 30 year old, but the neck of a 60 year old".

Perhaps it was improper use or technique that caused it. Or, perhaps something else altogether. In any case I'll stick to my portage pads.

quote CanoeKev: "

quote Koda: "
If you're referring to the picture I posted above, that's not quite true. When portaging that boat I did exactly as you described, shifting the position of my head to take more or less weight on it. The amount of weight transfer was limited because of the bungee cords, but the shifting worked the same."

Then I stand corrected. I have not used the bungee system you illustrated, and I guess I just assumed that the bunggee would prevent full weight shifting to the head, and complete shifting to the shoulders. My mistake!"

You're right - it does prevent *full* weight shifting to the head. It's easy to snap the tump behind the head to take all the weight on the shoulders, but it doesn't work the other way around.

quote mwd1976: "I've never used one, but I was talking to someone whose friend always did until it started causing discomfort. He was a 40 year old guy and developed some neck issues and ended up seeing a specialist about it.


The quote from the doctor was something like, "you have the body of a 30 year old, but the neck of a 60 year old"
"

An interesting and valid point. Theoretically, any carrying technique that transfers weight to the spine should increase the wear and tear on the spine itself. Using a tumpline transfers weight to the entire spine, including the cervical spine. Shoulder pads transfer weight to the thoracic and lumbar spine, but not the cervical. A pack with a properly adjusted hip belt transfers weight to the pelvis and legs only, bypassing the spine entirely. Therefore, the hip belt should be preferable.

As I said though, this is theoretical. The overwhelming majority of people who develop spinal degeneration have never used a tumpline or carried objects on their head. Many would argue that improper flexion causes much more damage than compressive forces on the vertebrae. If you go to any third world country you will see lots of old folks carrying large loads on their head. In Ghana I saw and old woman walking with a full size treadle sewing machine balanced on her head!

For the record, I'm over 60 and I don't use a tump anymore, on the outside chance that it MIGHT cause cervical compression at my age.

Carrying a canoe with a tump is an OLD tradition, still popular in eastern Canada. I picked up the technique when I worked as a canoe guide for a camp in eastern Ontario for a few years in the early to mid 80s. We carried wood/canvas canoes in some areas, and aluminum Grummans in others.

I'm 49 years old and still use a tump on my canoes, something I have never seen anyone else do here in the Quetico-Superior. When mastered, the technique is so superior for carrying a canoe for great distances that I am amazed that it is essentially unknown to most paddlers.

On most of my long, arctic and sub-arctic trips I paddled my 80 LB Old Town Tripper. Using a tump I could often carry the canoe over rough portages for a mile or more without a rest, as the tump, combined with a straight center thwart wrapped with closed-cell foam, allowed for a wide range of places for the weight of the canoe to ride on my upper back/shoulders. The tump also keeps the canoe on your shoulders when your arms need a break.

Lastly, a tump only works if it is sized to the person using it. A poorly adjusted tump is a nightmare to use and invites injury.

I've never used a tumpline on a pack simply because I've never portaged a pack that had a tumpline. Would I try it if I had the chance? Sure, but I'm not going to go out of my way to look for one. I doubt that I'd like it enough to change.

Packs have changed a lot over the years and I enjoy a pack with a waist belt and comfortable shoulder straps.

On the other hand, a tump for a canoe sounds interesting and is something I'd like to try.