Canvas Berghaus Crusader

[johnboy]

LOL I was an avid climber with long hair at the time.
The colour scheme was obvious

Yep understood... I still have an excellent in everyway Mountain Equipment 'Lightline' Duvet Jacket which is theoretically reversible.. Purple on the outside and turquoise on the inside.. I use it as my emergency group warm jacket figuring that anyone mildly hypothermic is probably more interested in keeping warm than looking a bit 'questionable'.

Climber and Hillwalker and High magazines have a lot to answer for....

 

[SCOMAN]

On the subject of aged rucksacks I remember seeing advertisements for slightly bizarre one back in the mid nineties I'm sure it was made by BCB. The harness was a regular padded waist belt and shoulder straps but the actual bag bit was a bit mad. Basically it was a series of round cordura 'hatboxes' that were held in place by some kind of plastic framework. Each was zipped closed and varied in size. The idea was you could keep your kit separated and easily accessible and you only needed to bring those sections you needed. The whole of it was then covered with a zipped cover to keep the rain off and to stop people staring at it and laughing. Anyone remember it?

 

[John Fenna]

On the subject of aged rucksacks I remember seeing advertisements for slightly bizarre one back in the mid nineties I'm sure it was made by BCB. The harness was a regular padded waist belt and shoulder straps but the actual bag bit was a bit mad. Basically it was a series of round cordura 'hatboxes' that were held in place by some kind of plastic framework. Each was zipped closed and varied in size. The idea was you could keep your kit separated and easily accessible and you only needed to bring those sections you needed. The whole of it was then covered with a zipped cover to keep the rain off and to stop people staring at it and laughing. Anyone remember it?

I had one of those - Lofty W was involved in the design.
Mine was purple.
It worked OK and was comfy but very heavy. you could quicky adjust the hight at which the pack rode on the frame but the grooves the adjuster rode in soon got clogged with muck if you were not careful. The frame was metal not plastic. Millions of QR buckles held it all together....
Mine ended its life as a BOB in my van before a change in vans made fitting it in place was awkward and it went off to be sold in our local Army Surplus shop.
Some of the stuff I get for review is a bit "unusual"

 

[slasha9]

On the subject of aged rucksacks I remember seeing advertisements for slightly bizarre one back in the mid nineties I'm sure it was made by BCB. The harness was a regular padded waist belt and shoulder straps but the actual bag bit was a bit mad. Basically it was a series of round cordura 'hatboxes' that were held in place by some kind of plastic framework. Each was zipped closed and varied in size. The idea was you could keep your kit separated and easily accessible and you only needed to bring those sections you needed. The whole of it was then covered with a zipped cover to keep the rain off and to stop people staring at it and laughing. Anyone remember it?

There is a foto of something like what you are describing on page 55 of the Collins Gem Hillwalkers Survival Guide, I often looked at that pic and wondered what it was all about!

Sorry that I don't have the skills to get the pic on the thread

 

[Rabbitsmacker]

i have my crusader, dated 1984 and in very good condition apart from it's missing some of the webbing waistband and the male part of the bergbuckle. got in contact with berghaus on friday, told them the specifics of the bag and they have already posted a new bergbuckl out to me! now thats service!

here are the pics...

now need to find some side pockets, this one doesn't appear to be a plce compatible version, anyone got any going begging?

 

[johnboy]

Nice one....

That 84 date is interesting... As you may remember from the start of the thread that Berghaus were advising a 1986 / 87 intro date for the Crusader.. Can I ask how have you dated the Bergen??

Any how... You may be lucky with some side pooches sometimes they turn up on Ebay but that TBH is pretty rare. All Crusaders unless they have been modified will not accept PLCE pooches.

One option for you might be to replace the Bergen Zips with PLCE compatible ones than you have a good choice of side pockets. Or you could use as is...

Either way they are a nice bit of kit and you will get some good use out of it I'm sure.

Cheers

John

 

[Rabbitsmacker]

Nice one....

That 84 date is interesting... As you may remember from the start of the thread that Berghaus were advising a 1986 / 87 intro date for the Crusader.. Can I ask how have you dated the Bergen??

Any how... You may be lucky with some side pooches sometimes they turn up on Ebay but that TBH is pretty rare. All Crusaders unless they have been modified will not accept PLCE pooches.

One option for you might be to replace the Bergen Zips with PLCE compatible ones than you have a good choice of side pockets. Or you could use as is...

Either way they are a nice bit of kit and you will get some good use out of it I'm sure.

Cheers

John

hiya, hmmm, didn't realise the pouches were incompatiable on crusader, well, that gives me something to trawl the web, ebay and surplus shops for! dating the bergen was easy, just walked over and asked her her name with a drink in my hand! lol sorry, couldn't resist!
easy peazy, label is still very clear and attached insdie the snow lock. here it is below...

its had a very thorough bath this afternoon and is looking a bit better!

 

[bikething]

hiya, hmmm, didn't realise the pouches were incompatiable on crusader, well, that gives me something to trawl the web, ebay and surplus shops for!

Try Endicotts - I bought a pair of replacement pouches for mine last year when the stitching pulled out cos I overloaded them

 

[johnboy]

Good stuff... It's leading me to the conclusion that Berghaus C/S have no real idea about the older product... Which TBH is not surprising. A 20+ year old Bergen is not a priority compared to the latest jacket or rucksack. I find em pretty helpful on some things like spare clips and the like.

 

[Rabbitsmacker]

think you're right, there does seem to be a muddle on dates. i've just been looking back thru the thread and as for olive green bergs, the one i have here does seem to have very vibrant green straps, they are in no way olive colour, not sure if thats a fading and wear thing but they all are that teal type green. and the berghaus badge is more civvy looking too. probably not anything particularly odd but most seem to be marked on the lid the newer they are, older ones have logos further down the front.
i'm pleased with it, just hoping those clever souls at berghaus have sent the older berbuckle not the later one! their current knowledge does seem to be a bit murky when discussing older products.

 

[johnboy]

think you're right, there does seem to be a muddle on dates. i've just been looking back thru the thread and as for olive green bergs, the one i have here does seem to have very vibrant green straps, they are in no way olive colour, not sure if thats a fading and wear thing but they all are that teal type green. and the berghaus badge is more civvy looking too. probably not anything particularly odd but most seem to be marked on the lid the newer they are, older ones have logos further down the front.
i'm pleased with it, just hoping those clever souls at berghaus have sent the older berbuckle not the later one! their current knowledge does seem to be a bit murky when discussing older products.

Yep your Crusader is not alone with the type of branding it has I've seen it on quite a few differing Berghaus packs... There was an early AB on ebay the other day with the same label and 'jungle' green webbing... I'll have to sort out some images of the different branding types with a bit of a guesstimate time line...

I don't know if a new Male Bergbuckle half will fit into an Older Female bergbuckle half. My gut feeling is no but I can check this out and let you know later.

 

[johnboy]

Yep Old (mk 2) and New (mk 3) Bergbuckles will work if mixed...

The original mk 1 Bergbuckle will not work with the later buckles...

HTH

John

 

[Twodogs]

Yarrrrrrrrrrrr Its good to see the tread still going

 

[Twodogs]

For todays entertainment we have the lowe alpine pathfinder ,

Cant find out a lot about this type of pack but like the vector commando it big ,
In woodland pattern it was issued to the Dutch Marines and in OG to elements of the Dutch army , Sold in the US PXs in Germany ,
Fantastic build and very comfy ,

Note the Alice webbing straps ,

Adjustable back system ,

Very handy cover down the side for skis holds a forest axe nicley

Zipped base to hold you gonk bag

As on most military packs nowadays a foating lid and large top pocket

Thanks to Neil for mincing about with this pack for me
Twodogs

 

[MrEd]

that is very very similar to the origianl lowe alpine appalachian from the early/mid 90's, which is a civvy bag. same back support bit and floating lid and size, the army one seems to have more straps though, like the ski straps my appalachian only has one and less compression straps but side pockets attached

was there a lot of cross over from the army to the civvy market then? with slimmed down versions of issue bags being sold in different colours (blue etc) to the civvy market?

 

[Twodogs]

Got to be said lowe alpine do seem to be the master of the same pack with mods for different markets
I have pictures of the lowe alpine saracen next thats the same pack with a few changes , suppose if it works why change it
Twodogs

 

[GordonM]

Nice ruck there Cliff. Neil models it well, nice bushy runway, too. In keeping with the "retroness" of this thread and in the context of Right Said Fred, here is one for the crew..."I'm, too sexy for my ruck, to sexy for my ruck, to sexy it hurts!"

Funny how woodland camo, here, is now seen as "old sweat / school".

Gordy

 

[Twodogs]

Yep Neil , wears it well

 

[nolightweight]

Thanks for the kind comments, gents

What packs (surplus or otherwise) are popular in The States, Gordy?

 

[GordonM]

What packs (surplus or otherwise) are popular in The States, Gordy?

As far as civvy street from a Scouting perspective (backpacking), Lowe Alpine, Gregory, The North Face, Camelbak, Keltys are popular with smaller sized Scouts, Osprey, Deuter and Millet.

I have some pictures, but like my previous ones, they are not pack only and not the best representations of the packs.. Not sure you lot want to see more images of me.

I only own one surplus pack. It is a MOLLE II patrol pack in woodland camo. I use it for hunting and is handy for adding MOLLE pouches and canteens, as needed. There does not seem to be alot of surplus rucks available with the dealers, though you will see ALICE rucks and a few woodland MOLLE rucks. I reckon that will depend on location here in the states. I live pretty close to Ft. Lee (home of the Army's Quartermaster Corps) and the Defense Supply Center , Richmond and I only know of one store that has limited surplus. The Army polices surplus tightly to avoid black markets. There is a local gun show this coming weekend and it usually has a good five to ten surplus dealers. I'll keep a special eye out for what type of rucksacks are available and let y'all know.

Since the GWOT, there has been an "explosion" of all things "tactical" now known as "tacticool". It seems adding the word tactical to the title of something ensures sales revenue. Though, I do think it may be starting to slow. Some tactical gear makers have taken advantage of the market. Backhawk, Kifaru, Maxpedition, Camelbak, 5.11 and others are putting out some good rucks. Tactical Tailor will modify any ruck and work with you on what you want to do.

Gordy