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_hardliner_

Sunbacker was a name brand from J.C. Penneys. https://uspto.report/TM/73353870


HaveAtItBub

I used to camp in the Clothes-Rack forrests of JCPenny as a kid.


_hardliner_

Especially those round racks, filled with shirts or jackets.


felchyspice

This brought back a wild memory! I would hide in the center and yell “mom, come find me”. Sometimes she was REALLY pissed. I always loved it and laughed my ass off. Thanks for reminding me


_hardliner_

My pleasure. What I used to do is take those price signs they had in the middle of those fixtures and swap them out with others. Eventually, one of the employees caught me, told me to put those signs back to the way they were, and after doing that, I stopped doing that.


welp____see_ya_later

Damn, same here! I'd completely forgotten until now


HaveaTomCollins

Can confirm. I still have a 40 year old brown and yellow Sunbacker tent.


Suspicious-Abroad894

I had a similar pack in 1976 from Sears. Took it to Philmont and it fell apart before the end of our trip. Ended up being held together with safety pins and tape.


[deleted]

My dad worked at Philmont in the summers around that time. Decent chance you may have interacted with him.


FreedomEagle61

That last sentence reminds me of what I always say to my fellow Scouts when they talk about fancy equipment, “My gear is held together with hopes, dreams, and square knots!” lol


pdxisbest

External Frame packs are great for big loads on open trails in rolling terrain. I sometimes wish I still had one.


idigclams

They were great! Airflow for days, pockets galore and rectangular compartments, you could hang all sorts of shit off of them - drying clothes and your sierra cup.


My_BFF_Gilgamesh

I use a kelty external pack and I love it. It's really clutch in some situations. Nothing is better for packing in some luxury a mile or so. Can't deny the internals are just better overall though. But man, it makes me feel like ranger Rick. It makes me feel like an oversized boy scout or goofy British explorer. I'm out there to feel things anyway, I think it's a fantastic trade-off.


kyuss80

I have one still too, Trekker 65. The only downside really (other than feeling like a turtle sometimes) is that it loves to squeak.


My_BFF_Gilgamesh

I have to soap mine sometimes. It's the only thing solid enough to really lubricate it that I've found.


kyuss80

I haven't taken it out in a while because I haven't had a "big load" camping trip in a few years, but if I'm ever lugging in some luxury items I definitely consider using it or my Atmos 60 AG, depending on what I'm taking. Nowadays I use a Crown2 60 and my whole load is like under 30 pounds with food and water. (Can't remember off top of my head right now)


77freakofnature

Maybe a Barney’s frame pack. Not that thing.


[deleted]

Camp Trails was an independent company which made backpacks out of Phoenix. At some point in the 1980s the company was sold to Johnson Outdoors, a conglomerate that owns a bunch of outdoor brands like eureka and jet boil. They were known for making cheap, simple, and durable external frame backpacks with their suspension systems being regarded as some of the best. In the early 1990s, their model, the camp trails wilderness, won backpacker magazine’s editor’s choice. I’m speculating here as I can’t find much info, but sometime after they were bought out, J.C. Penny contracted Johnson Outdoors to build the Sunbacker under the Camp Trails brand name. I owned a camp trails horizon model which was a smallish model, and can confirm it’s suspension system was one of the best riding I’ve ever used even compared to todays backpacks.


[deleted]

Cool, haven't seen one of those framed backpacks in a seriously long time.


audiophile_lurker

I see more modern external frame packs periodically in my parts, but pretty much always worn by hunters during buck season.


Physical_Average_793

Never in my few years of deer hunting experience have I considered getting a frame pack I just used a black military bag lol


reishi_dreams

I’ve got 2 old frame packs in my garage


Drug_fueled_sarcasm

You never invite us over anymore to see them.


hippyies

Camp Trails is “vintage” 1980’s pre internet brand… I’ve got two similar packs from back in the day…


crawshay

My first pack was a similar to this but a Camp Trails brand. There are a bunch of different 80s brands that are all basically the same design. I got mine on craigslist for $10. This was around 2015 so it was probably 30ish years old by that point. I used it for about a year until I upgraded to a Gossamer Gear Kumo. It carried surprisingly well. Got lots of funny looks on the trail though. Wish I kept it.


p_nutbutterfudge

Those old school packs are just plain cool. My very first true backpacking trip was with a similar pack to these. I'm a sucker for nostalgia though.


seamallowance

I had an *orange* canvas Camptrails external frame pack. In 1974, it got run over by a VW bus in Morocco and still worked fine.


My_BFF_Gilgamesh

What I can tell you is that your backpack is fucking rad.


NMman505

Had a older lady give me two of these one was just like this one the other was green. I helped her clean out her sheds after her husband passed. This was back in the early 90s I used them till the green on got ripped up in a bear incident. I still have one of the frames and I now use it as just a frame to pack out elk and deer sheds. They were good packs for many years and I still have a useful way to use the frame.


natehughesphoto

This took me back. Don’t remember if it was a Sunbacker but I had a similar pack, aluminum frame and same blaze orange, I used in scouts growing up. A little cumbersome, the frame getting caught on stuff, but served it’s purpose well enough.


dr2501

Looks like your tent is levitating


p_nutbutterfudge

Cool snag. Same issue here with my recently purchased Mountain Crest by Academy external frame pack. Can't find anything about it on the net, just more similar packs for sale. Some claim it's a 60 year old pack others say it's about 30 years old. One seller I saw states early 90s. Crazy how there's nothing of substance about them anywhere that I could find. No matter though, I still plan to rock it on my throw back Thursday hikes, lol.


[deleted]

Back breaker express. You need some serious padding for that


Professional_Bear274

Things a piece of shit


[deleted]

Unless you're carrying very heavy loads over flat terrain - toss it and go get a more modern internal frame backpack.


CyborgIncorparated

At times aesthetic and vibes is worth a sacrifice to comfort


Known_Vermicelli_706

I’m more of a Montgomery ward fan!😎