Austrian Army Rucksack - 45 litre

[Xunil]

Anyone used one of these ?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170525702361#ht_1022wt_906

I have just been given one (as it were) - it's brand spanking new and I'd like to know general opinion from those who may have tried it and whether there are any howlers I should be on the lookout for.

First impressions are encouraging overall, although I don't like that particular style of buckle I can't deny that they work - I can change them if I need to later on...

Got to love the 45 litre capacity though. I sometimes struggle with a 35 litre bag because I'm a big bloke and my kit if correspondingly large, so that extra capacity could come in handy.

I know it's not as 'organic' looking as the German Army Mountain Pack that many of you are using, but it was given to me as a thank you gift and I really appreciate the gesture.

Just wondering what others who may have used one thought in comparison to other packs.

I'm taking my 3 year old daughter on the train to Edinburgh tomorrow for the day - she's going to build her own teddy bear (among other things) as a pre-Christmas treat, so the pack may get an outing on that trip to carry our gear there and back and to transport any last-minute Christmas shopping we get back home. It's probably a decent way of highlighting the pros and cons on a casual excursion rather than finding a major problem when I'm out in the hills...

Thanks in advance.

 

[spiritwalker]

it looks a great pack and waterproof to boot might be tempted myself although the straps do look fiddly i like quick release clips

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Could you take a photo of the straps plz, goto agree with Spiritwalker it looks Ok

 

[Xunil]

OK, here we go:

Into the pack went my combined laptop bag/briefcase with a 15.6 Samsung R580, its power adapter, some paperwork, four USB powered external hard drives and assorted crap in the various compartments, with a 13.3" MacBook in a neoprene sleeve and a 10 inch Samsung N210 netbook dropped in alongside (power cables for the MacBook and netwbook are both under the three bags). Spot the IT consultant...

Next in goes a heavyweight XXL jumper that was lying around and handy, a Lowe Alpine windstopper fleece and a British Army issue DPM fleece:

Next in went one of my Paramo jackets:

Just to be silly I topped it off with a cushion from the sofa:

Fastened up:

Buckle detail:

The back, showing the grab handle and shoulder straps:

Please note, no effort was made to select suitable items to pack in the bag and none of the clothing was compressed in any way but was simply loosely folded, as seen in the above pictures, and shoved in any old how.

It swallowed that lot with ease, and there are two side pouches and an outer pouch that could take more gear, as well as securing points on the lid and base where you could attach more kit.

So, 3 laptops, 2 fleeces, 1 jumper, 1 Paramo and 1 cushion with a little room to spare in the main compartment, with more room and fastening points available. Keep in mind that the clothing is all XXL so anyone smaller will obviously have more usable storage space from the same size pack if their clothes, tent, sleeping bag etc are comparatively smaller.

What is not apparent form the pictures is that the pack has a large internal compartment in the main part of the pack right up against the back, with it's own strap. It is full width and height of the main part of the pack and expands quite a bit, so I guess you could use that area for anything that you want to keep separate from the rest of your load.

With no frame options I wouldn't want to use it for any significant weight, but it looks fine and dandy for a typical long weekend break. Early indications are encouraging...

I'd still be interested to know whether anyone has used on in anger and what they thought of it in the field.

 

[walker]

hmmmmmmmmmm looks like a good pack
by looking at the photos you might like to fold your kip mat and pack that first against the back part of the pack so you have some solid padding for your spine

 

[Xunil]

hmmmmmmmmmm looks like a good pack
by looking at the photos you might like to fold your kip mat and pack that first against the back part of the pack so you have some solid padding for your spine

Thanks for the suggestion - ordinarily that's exactly what I'd do if I was packing for a trip, but the above was purely for demonstration purposes only using items I had handy.

On a further note, I have just got back from the planned day trip to Edinburgh where this pack performed flawlessly. The buckles that I said I didn't like are, in fact, a piece of cake after you've done and undone them once. The pack itself coped with an impressive load - outbound there were articles of spare clothing, snacks and drinks, which were devoured, making room for more stuff on the return journey.

Edinburgh Castle, from the top of the Ferris wheel that Charlotte just had to have four turns on throughout the day...

Charlotte, trying to look aloof after having just slipped in the snow (shot is a little blurred because I was laughing at her trying to look as though nothing had happened )

The load I brought back in the pack:

It consists of (listed top to bottom down the left hand side):

1. Little White Company gift bag
2. House of Fraser carrier bag
3. House of Fraser gift carrier bag
4. GAP carrier bag
5. Boots small plastic bag (paracetamol, fruit juice drinks and various ineffective cold and flu remedies for me)


Next to the small Boots bag we have Charlotte's rucksack filled with her fruit and water drinks, dried fruit, four satsumas, some grapes, some Cherios in a bag and a spare hat and gloves.

Down the right hand side:

1. Winnie The Pooh Best Friends Fleece Blanket (yes, really)
2. My Lowe Alpine windstopper fleece
3. My heavyweight jumper
4. My Paramo jacket
5. Kodak camera bag with Nikon camera and 6 pairs of spare batteries

Across the front, from left to right, we have:

1. Packet of Pampers wipes
2. Spare vest for Charlotte
3. My Thinsulate hat and fashionably unmatched scarf
4. Charlotte's Kicker boots
5. Charlotte's snow boots
6. Charlotte's spare knickers, tights and leggings (she has a wonderful knack of 'accidentally' falling into anything that even vaguely looks like a puddle...)

There were also a handful of small and incidental items I haven't pictured, which included a mini Maglite and spare batteries, a Victorinox Swiss Champ knife in a belt pouch, a Victorinox Swiis Tool (I'd forgotten I'd already put the Champ into the pack ), a Samsung S8000 Jet phone, my Samsung N210 netbook and USB broadband dongle, and a small first aid kit.

There was still room in the main compartment and in both side pockets for more stuff had I wanted to add to the load but, clearly, I didn't.

OK, so it wasn't a long-term test, but the overall layout and capacity of the pack appear to offer a lot of options and I am feeling pretty pleased with the way it handled what I threw at it. My only criticism is that the stitching on the top of the main shoulder straps is sewn the 'wrong' way, so if you had a heavy load and swung the pack up on one strap you might end up in trouble:

Underside of stitching at top of shoulder strap:

Top of same area:

It's only a few minutes work to re-stitch the top of the straps if you feel the need, but I'm going to deliberately leave mine to see what happens over time.

Yes, there are shortfalls but this is a great bargain and having used one today I would be tempted to buy one for myself had I not already been gifted one. It's hard to fault it really, especially in the face of such an aggressive price tag which, I feel, would render any serious criticism pretty unfair.

It has to be worth the fifteen quid asking price even if you do end up re-stitching the tops of the shoulder straps...

I will be using it more in the spring as a weekend pack so I will have a better sense of what it can do then but I don't think you can go wrong for the money.

 

[Radix lecti]

Hello Xunil,it looks like a good pack, and at that price i may have to invest in one . Like you i would use it more as a weekend pack.Thanks for sharing.Cheers.
Darren

 

[Traper]

I use this pack and I like it. But it's not 45ltr - it's 80ltr or even maybe 90ltr pack. I'm planning to use mine with an old external frame.

A german folding mat fits perfectly in the internal pocket on the back.

 

[Xunil]

I use this pack and I like it. But it's not 45ltr - it's 80ltr or even maybe 90ltr pack...

I suspected it was perhaps a little larger than the advertised 45 litres, but I don't think it is in the 80 - 90 bracket. Either way, it's a useful size

 

[Erik1]

I am considering buying the same rucksack so I have a couple of questions:
1. Is it comfortable? (General thoughts on using it.)
2. Is the external pocket big enough to take a Swedish Army Trangia?

E