The Yucksack

One day it occurred to me that backpacks, when seen from the rear, looked like bugs. A review of backpacking equipment catalogs showed a wide range in pack design and capacity, many of the models bug-like in shape and color scheme. There are small, inexpensive student bookpacks, as well as larger and more expensive daypacks, and rucksacks. There are external- and internal-frame backpacks designed for serious backpacking and mountaineering. I designed a few silly-but-functional Bugpacks that included pouches, internal sections, zippered compartments, shoulder straps and waist belts. I went on to think up other strange-looking backpacks. One is not likely to see any of these models on a mountain trail, with the exception of the bear-shaped pack. When the drawing below was published in What the World Needs Now in 1984, there were no such packs available, but soon thereafter child-friendly packs in cuddly bear styles began to be marketed to young children.

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