Who Invented Backpacks

An article by Peter Pierce    Comments Off

The backpack was invented in the year 1952 by Dick Kelty. Dick Kelty was an active hiker who often faced trouble with carrying his gear during hiking trips. At that time people who enjoyed trekking had to settle for gear sold at military surplus stores. However, they were quite bulky and crude and did not make for a comfortable trekking sack. Kelty was hence inclined to come up with an easier way to carry gear through hikes.

The idea of the backpack clicked Kelty during one his hiking trips in the year 1951.Kelty and his friend slid the end of their pack boards to the rear pockets of their jeans in order to shift the load from their shoulders to hips. They realized that this was a much more comfortable way of carrying their supplies. This new finding stayed on with Kelty and he kept experimenting till he had devised the perfect backpack.

Kelty made many improvisations on the traditional gear to shape a convenient backpack. He added hip belts to the bag for better support .He also substituted the wooden frame with lightweight aluminium and changed the rucksacks to nylon. In the year 1952 he started his small home-based business, achieving a sale of 29 backpacks for $24.00 in the very same year. The growing popularity of hiking and trekking activities by the 1970s boosted the success of Kelty’s backpacks to a great extent. Kelty’s invention is indeed very remarkable.