What's a tumpline you ask? To put it simply, tumplines are straps used to carry heavy loads using the strength of the spine, and have been around for a long, long time. Do they work? The fact they've been around for so long and spread out across multiple cultures and geographic regions point to yes. They definitely have a place in paddling history, as evidenced by their use among the voyageurs as they carried heavy loads over portages. Chouinard likes 'em, and actually sells them online. Might be worthwhile to experiment a bit with one and see if it can’t straighten out my posture a bit.