I guess it looks somewhat like a "Rube Golderg" contraption but actually it's quite simple. I made it years ago. It only needs to be "set up" once. It's all one assembled unit and very easy to use.

The nice thing is all the pulleys make the packs light enough for my wife to hoist up and down if I'm not around. I'm not sure of the math but I think it requires a half or a third of the actual pack weight to hoist it up.

The hardest part is getting the two ends up in the trees. That takes a few minutes depending on my aim and the trees. I put a rock in the bag tied to a small cord for throwing. You don't need to find big branches either, any little nub will do, although bigger ones are easier to toss the rock bag over. After both ends are up, it's centered and the tree ropes are secured. It's now ready to use.

To prevent tangles, when I take it down I first wind (fold) up the rope that does the lifting. Starting in the "pack down" position, all 4 sections get treated as one. I slipknot the vary end of the pulling rope (the end that you pull and the rock bag gets tied to) around the rope(s) close to the bottom pulley. It keeps that end from getting tangled and the pulley from migrating. The two tree ends get wrapped separately also. So it's three connected bundles that fit in the rock bag. I also leave the bottom pulley sticking out of the bag to make sure it doesn't tangle. I'd estimate it takes 2-3 minutes to take down and pack.

One thing's for sure. It's a whole lot quicker and easier to do - than to explain.

Posted by db on July 25, 2000 at 13:30