Hi All,
I sort of struck out for a while on trying to get hold of this pack. RTI were very nice when I contacted them but seriously suggested that I need to visit them to pick out the pack I needed, but then life and stuff got in the way and I never got round to it and it's a bit of a hike to up to Lutterworth for me.
But, a few weeks ago when I felt the need to feed my addiction to buying packs, I rekindled my interest in the KAZ03 and took the plunge on this:
https://www.essl-rucksack.at/produkt/essl-ru90-alpinrucksack-50-liter-oliv/
http://www.steinadler.com/de/shop/product/GEESRU90/1620/essl-kampfrucksack-90
A search for 'Essl RU90' will also bring up some results.
I understand that Essl produced the original KAZ03 Bundesheer Pack for the Austrian Army. This is the civilian version of that pack and is exactly the same (as far as I can tell) except for two points. Firstly, the material used which is very dark olive (almost brown) cordura-type stuff and also this pack comes with a stitched on padded waist/hip belt. For some reason the metal attachment bar to connect in to the original KAZ03 belt is still included but is pretty much redundant. It cannot be removed without cutting a cord lanyard which prevents the bar from falling on the ground. If weight was an issue for me, I might do this but the bar isn't uncomfortable when secured in its slot so I will leave it be.
So other than this, all of decorum's description above rings true for the RU90 too.
A few pics:
The pack compartment is 50l (although I think with thr 'floating top' design it can expand to far beyond this) which is fine for a short solo trip, but I wanted to expand the capacity for longer adventures and when I take my son out and about. And herein lies a problem; Essl don't make side pouches for this pack and you can't get the original's now for love nor money. Actually, I have seen as couple online but they were of the smaller size, quite pricey and even if I could get them, the colour difference between the original and the new pack versions would mean that they would stick-out like a sore thumb. I did look at whether I could add a large molle water bottle pouch as a side pocket but the one I could find were only 1-2l.
So as desperate experiment, I ordered:
http://www.endicotts.co.uk/content/berghaus-military-side-pouch-olive-green
From Endicotts, and what do you know, the bag's side compression/mounting straps are the same distance apart (or as near as damnit) as the front mounting points on the Berghaus pouch and the straps are just the right width to go through the pouch strap slots...so the pouch fits perfectly on the side of the pack and adds a handy 8 litres of space. For that added level of secureness, I took a piece of spare strapping and ran it vertically from the top attachment loop of the side pouch, behind the two mounting straps on the pack, and then through the bottom pouch attachment point. That thing isn't coming off anyhow now.
There is a slight colour variance obviously, but it's not too garish and I can live with it. So big result...especially at that price.
Got give Endicotts a big shout out here. Communication was excellent, despatch was super rapid, and Kevin was really great when I explained what I was trying to achieve...he even bundled a few extra spare straps to help together with a hand-written note wishing me good luck with my experiment. Top notch service!
Incidentally, I also bought a S10 Respirator bag (
http://www.endicotts.co.uk/content/british-gen-2-s10-resi-haversack-new-olive) as a front pouch for the pack. The top belt-fixing on the S10 bag attaches perfectly to the front mounting loop on the RU90, but I need to play around further to try and find a way of fixing on at the bottom. I don't think it will fall off if just mounted at the top, but I think it might flop around a bit.
