Ötzi's backpack was a very simple shape that is still used today. A U-shaped piece of hazel rod was knotted to two planks of wood, which sat on the lower back for support. If you take apart your modern hiking backpack you will see a strikingly similar construction - just one of those things, like sharks and alligators, that hasn't changed for ages because it's already perfect.

The backpack was a lot of fun to make. My first attempt was begun by cutting a thin young birch tree and soaking it in the cold lake for a few days. While it was soaking, Jarrod Dahl gave me a hint that heat is the key to bending wood, not moisture. So, while sitting around the firepit one night, I pulled it out, stuck it in the flames, and with a little help from my friends I bent that sucker into a U.

It broke, and quickly.

Feeling confused and uncertain I took a hike along the Superior Hiking Trail and stopped along the way to make a small fire and have a solitary picnic.

I thought, why not try again? So I cut a small branch and stuck it in the fire, in the creek, in the fire, in the creek. I figure if jumping in and out of a sauna and a cold lake mellowed out my limbs, it would do the same for a branch.

That one broke too. So I started home.

Along the way I decided, hell, I'm out here with all these trees, and I don't want to give up yet. So I took another tree and sawed in some kerfs. Ötzi's was not perforated like this, and as far as I know nobody recommends the method. But it's just one of those thoughts you have while walking in the woods thinking about your Neolithic friend.

Guess what? It worked. There is still a lot of tension in the piece, but I think as it dries it might stick in that position. If not, applying some heat and moisture like my previous attempts would solidify the curvature.