ILBE Assault Pack

[sum1quiet]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forums and have recently been really itching to get back into hiking to get back in shape and enjoy myself while doing it. I figured one of the most important things is your pack, so I went out and got myself a brand new NI Patrol Pack. Unfortunately I didn't realise, the thing is absolutely enormous. Allegedly 30L, but I'm sure I could fit a small person in this thing and still trek about (caveat: I'm not going to!)

I've been looking around for a small (15-20L) daypack that I can use to carry the basics, with room for expansion with pouches if necessary, and stumbled upon the US ILBE assault pack. The thing seems to do what it says on the tin and looks pretty good to boot, so I was just wondering if anyone has come across one before and what their thoughts on it are. Here's a picture I snagged off the BCUSA forums for the uninformed:

Appreciate your feedback.

Cheers.

 

[woof]

Looks good, how much are they ?, but have a look at the karrimor sabre/predator 3o, berghaus munro/centurio.

Rob

 

[mountainm]

For hiking I'd get a dedicated lightweight trekking pack. Much lighter.

 

[Nice65]

For hiking I'd get a dedicated lightweight trekking pack. Much lighter.

Yup, and there's a reason they don't have pouches. Pouches bounce around while walking, they also snag on anything they can. I used to think they were a brilliant idea and bought Maxpedition stuff. All sold now.

 

[TeeDee]

Yup, and there's a reason they don't have pouches. Pouches bounce around while walking, they also snag on anything they can. I used to think they were a brilliant idea and bought Maxpedition stuff. All sold now.

Agree completely . Quite useful to keep kit apart IN a main back ( Think Bag of Bags ) but I'm also not a fan of the revolution that is MOLLE for 'customising'

 

[MertzMan]

The bag itself is pretty solid. Overkill in fact for the trail. If you can live with the Marpart it's a great bag.

 

[The Cumbrian]

I've been using one of these for hillwalking for the last few months:

http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/Tasmanian_Tiger_Trooper_Light_22L_Pack/?SelectedItem=641910

It's the best small daysack that I've ever had. The two wand pockets can fit a litre bottle in each, if you aren't usinga hydration system, and you can add a small molle pouch to the pack if you're carrying a little extra food, as I did here (there's a pic on there somewhere that shows it):

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123390

They also make a 35l version.

Cheers, Michael.

 

[sum1quiet]

Thanks for your thoughts all. I do want something tough as I like to climb stuff, and crash through branches, brambles, etc. Having read a bit more on that pack, it again seems rather large and at something like 3.5KG unladen, way too heavy for comfort.

I know not everyone is keen on it, but I do really want it to be MOLLE compatible for adding things. I might get a bit of stick for this, but this is really tempting. Nice small size but with plenty of room for expansion for longer trips, and places to strap a tent or sleeping bag to. I know it's a rip-off of the 5.11 Rush pack, but that is ridiculously expensive compared; something like 3 times the price.

Thoughts on this one?

 

[sum1quiet]

Odd, wrote a whole post earlier and it said it went up for the moderators to view but never appeared. Ah well, I'll try again.

I've been doing some more research and decided the ILBE is unnecessarily heavy; something like 3.5KG without anything in it which just seems excessive.

I might get some stick for this, but I've found this and this and they look like they might do the job as a small and light day pack. I'll keep the NI pack as it seems tough as nails and can hold a ton of stuff, which will be perfect for camping / weekends away but for a day on the trails and doing some climbing here and there, I think the kombat should be fine.

Any thoughts?

 

[crucible]

I have the Arcteryx LEAF version of this pack, called the Charlie pack.

The ILBE patrol pack was built around this design- it's built to a very high standard, it's tough but heavy. It doesn't carry as well as a dedicated pack for hiking and backpacking, but does allow for a lot of organization.

 

[brambles]

Thanks for your thoughts all. I do want something tough as I like to climb stuff, and crash through branches, brambles, etc. Having read a bit more on that pack, it again seems rather large and at something like 3.5KG unladen, way too heavy for comfort.

I know not everyone is keen on it, but I do really want it to be MOLLE compatible for adding things. I might get a bit of stick for this, but this is really tempting. Nice small size but with plenty of room for expansion for longer trips, and places to strap a tent or sleeping bag to. I know it's a rip-off of the 5.11 Rush pack, but that is ridiculously expensive compared; something like 3 times the price.

Thoughts on this one?

If you think the ILBE assault pack is too big and heavy, I have to ask - why are you then looking at something bigger and heavier? Don't get me wrong, I have the slightly larger version of the pack you linked to in coyote, bought principally because it would take my 17.3'' laptop in the main section and had lots of pockets and for the price ( around £30 ) it's been a great buy, however to me they are never going to be packs I would take on a proper outdoors trip. Principal reason? They leak like sieves because of all the zips. I once used mine on a cycle trip, got caught in the rain for 10 minutes and had to pour water out of the pack afterwards. Any pack with MOLLE will be heavy - remember you are essentially doubling the amount of fabric and stitching where it is used. Military packs are designed to be abused very badly for relatively short periods and then thrown away and replaced, they carry heavy ungainly items that need to be accessed very quickly, so they use heavy duty materials and lots of zips, so the weight keeps going up, up , up.
My suggestion for your stated purpose is to get a dedicated lightweight walking pack in a slightly larger size than you will normally use and just don't fill it when you don't need to, so you have the extra space you would otherwise have to add pouches for, with encumbent cost and weight issues. Unless you just want the "look" of a mil pack, in which case suck up the additional weight and leakiness!

 

[sum1quiet]

I thought the Kombat assault pack was much lighter than the ILBE?

I just need something that'll be tough and won't rip at the first sign of a branch or brambles, etc. I could be wrong, but a lot of the "popular" brand backpacks seem like they'll be perfect for general hiking but would rip at the mere thought of contact with something hard, hence my looking at the more military packs as I figure they're designed to be badly mistreated and still last.

 

[brambles]

I'll admit I was basing weight on my pack referred to above which is 3.5 pounds but is larger, the Kombat is a little lighter than the ILBE which is 3 pounds but the ILBE has a removable rigid back which can lessen weight. If you are going to be regularly squeezing through branches and tangly brambles , do you really want any pack with lots of straps and loops on the outside to get caught on braches and thorns? And as I said miltary gear is designed to be badly mistreated and then replaced or thrown away!

 

[sum1quiet]

OK, so what do you recommend for my stated purpose? It has to be hard wearing and only about 15-20L or so as it won't be used for overnight - that'll be the NI pack.

 

[ozzy1977]

Berghaus Munro

 

[The Cumbrian]

Again, the Tasmanian Tiger Trooper Light 22L is a fantastic daypack. It's a quarter of the weight of the ILBE, very comfortable, and (within reason) reason, extendible with MOLLE pouches. It's not even classed as a lightweight daypack.

When I was looking for pretty much the same as you ( with the slight difference that I spend more time in the mountains than in the woods ), I was surprised to find no mention of it on here. I bought it knowing nothing about it ( apart from the blurb on the website ), but using my 30 years experience of hillwalking and mountaineering, I thought that it looked good, and I'm pleased to say that I was proved right.

People who think that a rucsac has to be heavy to be hardwearing don't really know anything about modern fabrics. I bought a second hand Karrimor Hot Ice from a friend in 1990 and abused it for years ( dragging it up rock and ice climbs, using it a seat, loaning it to friends who were even more careless with it than me, etc ) before some scrote nicked it at Glastonbury. After all that, it looked as though it had been used, but was still in perfectly good condition.

Be kind to yourself. 1kg is a litre of water. Pick one up and see if you want to be carrying a small daypack that weighs 3 and a half times as much of one of them before you start packing it.


Cheers, Michael.

 

[brambles]

Funnily enough I was thinking earlier of the special edition Karrimor Hot Ice I bought in 1984, made in blue and grey Silvaguard, which has been used and abused for 30 years and still going strong!

 

[The Cumbrian]

It always amazes me that bushcrafters are think that they are the hardest users of equipment. Many think that they need a 4kg canvas or military pack to put up with the rigors of the occasional trip to the woods, when a well designed modern pack will save them money, and their back. There's a reason that nobody apart from bushcrafters advocate the use of outdated, heavy packs any more.

 

[sum1quiet]

The only trouble with the Tasmanian is that it's much more than I realistically want to spend, otherwise I'd probably go for it.

I've read good things about the Highlander Forces range and it seems to get some really good shouts on this forum, so I might get one of the 25L versions of those. Nice and compact, no exposed zips and only 200g heavier than the Tasmanian.

If I'm honest though, I'd prefer one that's a little more compact on your back, so less tall and perhaps slightly fatter on the Z-axis.

 

[The Cumbrian]

Highlander make decent packs. I had a Forces 33, but moved it on because I like a tall, slim pack. C'est la vie.

Cheers, Michael.