Duluth Pack and canoeing go hand in hand. Talk to any avid paddler and you’ll find they either own a Duluth Pack, or have seen countless numbers of them in the back country. Founded in 1911 these rugged canvas packs have been thrown into many a canoe and packed over countless portages.
Today we’ll take you into the Duluth Pack factory, located in Duluth, Minnesota and show you a pack being made from the cutting of the canvas to the hammering of the rivets. Join us as we watch a Northwoods pack take shape.
Duluth Pack Behind the Scenes from Bill Bryson III on Vimeo.
Music
From: http://music.podshow.com
Artist: Andy Mckee
Website: http://www.andymckee.com
Song: “She”
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Very interesting subject and very well done video! Never realized how much time and attention to detail goes into making handcrafted packs. Hope you took some time during your visit to the big city (Duluth) to quaff an ale or two at Fitger’s Brewhouse!
Well done Bill! Have to agree with Patrick. Much time and effort have been put into the production of a Duluth Pack.
Can’t wait to try one out this summer in the Boundary Waters!
[…] out a behind-the-scenes video of how Duluth Packs are made, courtesy of our friends at the BWCAcast team. Watching it gave me a greater-still respect for the […]
Well done. It makes me want to find one that Diane made! There’s something about seeing it made that makes it appealing. Hat’s off to Duluth Pack for sticking with it.
Kat and I used to work in a sewing/manufacturing plant. I worked on the spread table just like the fellow in the first section of the video. we would spread the fabric based on what colors or design it called for and would lay out usually 12 to 20 sheets of fabric to be cut. Ours was a little different in that we didnt have to individually cut each part of the garment by hand. We layed a computer generated layout design paper on top of the sheets of fabric and slid it all down to a computerized cutting machine that could be programmed to match the cutout sheet. They would input the numbers on the sheet into the computer and it would cut out the fabric design about 4x as fast as a person could do it by hand like he was doing. I am glad to see that there are some things still made in america, as I always buy american if I can and avoid the overseas versions of anything even if I have to pay double for the product. It just makes sense to do so, the product is usually better made, and will last long after the sweetness of getting something for a cheap price is wore off and even more people have lost their jobs because of my purchase contributed to their loss of family income and detriment to our economy here at home! I see that the pack is really well made. Cheers to the owners of Duluth tent and awning for not moving their operations to china and for the americans who have continued to support and purchase their products. The workers families deserve it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thankyou Bill for giving us all a glance at Duluth T&A operations. sincerely, Tony & Kat
Great video, Bill! Really interesting to see the craftsmen and women who put their skills into creating such a fine, high quality product.
When I’m stuffing my Duluth Pack with those last few items, knowing that I’m over-loading my pack for sure this time, I’m going to feel that much more confident having seen the actual process of constructing a Duluth Pack – this pack is built to take whatever you can dish out!
I could really use a good day pack, I wonder if Diane works on the “Wanderer”? ………………….
Thanks again, Bill, for a really informative video! We are really enjoying your website – keep up the good work!
Happy paddling, Zac
Wonderful video.
While the packs I used may never see the arctic or China, they are definitely worth their weight in gold when it come to a mile long portage up in the BWCA.
After watching the craftsmanship that goes into each pack, never again will I take the quality of the Duluth Packs for granted.
Thanks for sharing your video.
@Christopher: Hey Christopher I know exactly what you mean. I was just amazed at the attention to detail that goes into each hand made pack. The materials they used were nothing but top notch. If you ever get the chance to swing into Duluth they love to give tours. Which Duluth Packs do you use? We’ve been using a Northwoods pack and LOVE IT! Thanks for commenting. Let us know if you’d like to see anything on the show.
Bill