Backpacks are so useful, so uniquely functional, that most of us assume they’ve been around forever. We picture hunter gatherers with some kind of wicker basket over the shoulder and it makes sense. A basket or bag over the shoulder with gear is such an obvious idea that it doesn’t even feel “invented.” It must be timelessBut just like the bow and arrow or the wheel, someone had to create and design the backpack. The only difference between“modern” backpacks and Stone Age tools is that backpacks are only about 100+ years old.
At the beginning of the first World War it was recognizedthe soldier needed be able to carry with him the gear to function in battle, and sustain himself with provisions for a protracted period of time. Enter the M1910 Haversack. Its main compartment wasn’t an enclosed space but rather a rectangular canvas roll the soldier would fold closed and secure with a series of straps. To retrieve a single item meant unfurling the entire thing. It didn’t have external pockets or pouches, and some of the most essential items could only be reached with the help of another person. No zippers or clasps, it didn’t even have stitches to hold it closed, and if you needed something in a hurry, you needed someone to have your back.
