Day pack recommendations please

[Erbswurst]

A lot of people do a lot in theyr sheds.
Usually they make the video before the constructions brake...

I think it is the best to try to pack it as light as possible and try it out how it is.

Should it be uncomfortable , I recommend to have a look to Essl Kaderrucksack and Berghaus Munro for hiking.
Everybody who uses them it absolutely convinced about it.

They are tough and relatively cheap, designed by the military and made in Europe.
And they are LIGHTWEIGHT equipment.

 

[Janne]

Most of us replaced the issued large backpack with own bought ones.
Many bought the Fjällräven lightweight Alu alloy frames, including me. Most of them broke within a month or two. Then we bought the Coleman large Nylon (?) frame. One piece, injection molded.
Mine lasted almost 40 years.

There is a reason the Swedish Army used steel frames. They wanted them to last for years of abuse.
Strenght through steel.

A better option than plastic tubes might be wood.

 

[Mowmow]

Veshmeshok is my favourite day pack.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[Erbswurst]

I also managed to break a Swedish made Fjällräven Aluminium Frame 30 years ago.

They sent me a knew ruck sack, the following model, which holds until now.

(But it was the last model they made in Sweden. The price of that ruck sack was 1000 Deutsche Mark, round about 1990. Buying force about 1500 € today.
That was to expensive for the most people.)

 

[Erbswurst]

By the way:
If you know this, you know the original price of the smaller Lk 35.
Minimum 500,- Deutsche Mark, when it was issued.
Perhaps a good reason not to cut around in the original material.

 

[Janne]

I do not recall the replacement value of the equipment but yes, it was high.
First class equipment was, is and will be expensive.

The Fjällräven frames broke close to the welding. Creating knife sharp edges. As the alloy was very hard, and the tubes very thin, this created Hell for us.
I used an axe to flatten the tube end, smash the remaing weld on the other piece, flatten it and then used the leather sling to lash it together.
I recall all frames broke by the top weld, left or right.

I guess the welding procedure did something to the alloy.

The Russian day packs are quite interesting, they have a vastly different design from the rest mil day packs worldwide. I think they used a sailor sack as idea.
Should do fine for a day trip, if you find a nice one.

 

[Erbswurst]

Welding Aluminium is very complicated. Technicians avoid it if possible.

Do you mean this russian bag here???

https://www.raeer.com/shopexd.asp?id=45126

Looks for me, as if that should be recommended to the enemy.
;0)

 

[Janne]

Does not load for me.
I mean the Veshmeshok, the Soviet kitbag as recommemded by MowMow.

Do not laught at it, they carried home most of eastern Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Hungary in it.
It maybe less than 30 liters, but you can easily fit a toilet in it. Uncountable Russian families still have a war booty toilet fitted as a sink in the kitchenette!

It is the inspiration for the Tardis.

 

[Erbswurst]

Of course!
Germany doesn't deliver military stuff to the Cayman Islands!
;0)
Perhaps you know that one of our politicians thought about to send the cavalry to Switzerland a few years ago, should they not start a real cooperation with our finance ministry.
;0)
(The word "cavalry" means in Germany horses, no motor driven vehicles)

The link shoes the original Sowjet Veshmeshok, black, new, 26€, and brown, used 20€.

I used the fitting canteen for years. The same simple design, I guess the same fabric for the pouch. It is surprisingly good and like the meshok an ultra light design. Its still alive, very light but tough.

Here blanket, coat and tent sheet are ment to be attached outside, like it was made in the roll around the Wehrmacht Tornister.
If you do it like that it's no problem to get everything in you need in 3 seasons.

Off course the roll around it has to be attached super correctly, if not it will cause a desaster.

Surely you will get no problems with the zipper after a couple of years.
;0)
That is russian engineering. Things are made so simple,that they can't break.

 

[Janne]

I was a proud owner if a Lada 1200 back in Sweden. Got it from dad when it failed the testing, drove it from Stockholm down to Osby in Skania, had it to transport stuff to the reclamation yard.
Brilliant.
I called it my motorized wheelbarrow.
Proper Italian engineering, improved by Soviet mentality and quality sense.

The old Tornister had a couple features we have lost since. It was leather, waterproof and was stiff.

Everything is soft and floppy these days, as it is made from plastic.

 

[Erbswurst]

The German Tornister of WW1 had a wooden frame. HJ kept it, Wehrmacht lost it. Shoe soles replaced the frame. The german soldier carried light spare shoes around.

WW1
http://www.ir63.org/Downloads/Packing the Tornister.pdf

WW2

http://www.dererstezug.com/packingatornister.htm

(As you see, the reenactor has to practice a bit more: His roll is 10cm to short, he began on top to attach it, but it is needed to start at the both lower sides, ending with the attachment on top.)



Swedish and Swiss tornisters kept the frame till they changed directly to "modern" ruck sacks.
Both models had been developed in the times of WW1, and because both countries stayed outside the battles, there was no need to replace them.

I own the whole stuff and can use it until now. But I think the Swedish is the strongest. It will survive another 200 years, I guess, the Germans and Swiss only another 100 years.

 

[Erbswurst]

My father had the identic FIAT.
It was a fantastic car in this times.

 

[Janne]

The Soviet version was stronger, so it could work on the fantastic Russian roads. Those roads were designed in case you guys invaded again, a Panzer trap every few meters.

 

[Janne]

Sweden stayed outside WW1 and WW2 purely because of business opportunities.
Also because they had no Armed Forces. (But that is irrelevant )
We sold to the buyer that had the most cash. Or Gold, like Germany.


After WW2 Sweden had the second largest investment per capita, after Israel, in the Armed Forces.
We were ready to fight anybody. Specially the Danes, as they have better food and beer, and Christiania is so liberal and progressive!

 

[Darryl of Sussex]

One word.... Trabant !

 

[Janne]

Dad had one. You only had to wait a year or two for one, but around 5 years for a Skoda.
Lethal stuff. Fuel tank above and behind the engine.

We did vacations all around Eastern bloc, except Albania. Nobody went to Albania, they shoot on sight.
To be frank, Trabants worked well, and were easy to fix. The negativevwas that you had to do a resto of the engine very often.
Dad did it just before we went, and had to do it maybe a month later, as we drove every day during our holidays.
He had a kit. Sparkplugs, some bearings, piston rings.

I still remember when he did just over 100 km/hour, a very long downhill road in Kaukasus.
He was very happy.

Of you removed everything metal on it, I am sure somebody here would convert it to a week pack.

 

[Erbswurst]

Yes, the Trabant was nice, and is surely not OT in this thread, because it has round about the size of a day pack!

 

[Darryl of Sussex]

If a Trabant was a daypack, which daypack would it be? Something by Amazon? Worse?

 

[Erbswurst]

The Trabant was misunderstood!

It was a day pack!

A german day pack, automobil!

Very modern! But everybody thought, it would be a bad car.

Incredible unfair!

 

[Janne]

The composite body used cotton fiber that was to short to make fabric from. Ingenious.
The negative with it was that it burned like a match.

So keep the Trabi daypack well away from your fire.