He brought lightweight packs to millions of students and transformed the way they carried their textbooks to school.

Murray McCory, who founded JanSport while a student at UW and whose lightweight backpack, revolutionized school life for millions of students, died Oct. 7 in Seattle.

Murray McCory, a free-spirited outdoorsman who co-founded the rugged gear and pack company JanSport, designed a widely imitated dome tent, and created a durable but lightweight backpack that ...

Murray McCory, a free-spirited outdoorsman who co-founded the rugged gear and pack company JanSport, designed a widely ...

In the late 1960s, Murray and his girlfriend Jan Lewis founded JanSport (see what they did there?), a local manufacturer of recreation equipment such as backpacks, tents and sleeping bags.

Take the school backpack, for example. Its invention can be traced to one man, Murray McCory, who died last month. McCory founded JanSport in 1967 with his future wife (Jan, the company’s namesake).

The death of Murray McCory, the founder of JanSport, has generated tributes from generations of brand devotees who grew up using its now-iconic school backpacks. Its signature product, based on ...

Murray Pletz’s winning design. Illustration courtesy Hippie, Inc. Traditional hiking backpacks at the time featured one-size-fits-all wooden frames. McCory founded JanSport with his soon-to-be-wife, ...