The German army recently experimented with rucksacks in this size. They didn't develop an own design as before but obviously looked what's offered on the market.
At first they bought a couple of Berghaus Atlas rucksacks. They reinforced the frame and wanted it 10 litres larger with the result that the German army equipment now fits perfectly into the Berghaus Atlas 4, also into the smaller compartments, pouches and pockets.
The Goretex suit fits perfectly into the outer lid pouch, the toiletry bag into the inner lid pouch, the sleep system Defence 4 + Tropen and Carinthia bivvy bag fits in the bottom compartment if you use the compression bag, the German mess kit fits into the side pouch and on top of it the large French Army field bottle with mug, additional a German army cuttlery kit and even a Morakniv Garberg and a 250 ml rectangular Nalgene bottle with instant coffee still fits next to the French field bottle in its mug and pouch.
On the opposite side fits into the side pouch a Hilleberg Nallo 2 tent without tubes what follows Hilleberg's advice anyway to put the tubes into the main compartment next to the back in order to protect them. Most hikers will also prefere the weight there.
In the main compartment fits more stuff than I can carry. But if I don't overload it and give it the perfect shape it's the perfect full winter equipment and still portable. And if I write
winter I mean
winter, not just a bit ice on the puddles.
I think the Berghaus Atlas 4 is the lightest military rucksack of this size. And if we talk about factory new equipment also the cheapest because it is made in China.
Berghaus is a British quality brand though and their products are also in use in the Dutch and British army so far I know.
Obviously also the Chinese are able to produce quality stuff if they want to.
The smaller zippers in the lid look surprisingly weak but, well, it's tested by the German special forces and there is probably no stronger zipper needed.
When they created it together with Berghaus the German army still followed a consequent lightweight philosophy.
The Atlas 4 is the youngest and lightest and most modern Berghaus rucksack of that size.
I guess it was issued to 1/4 of the German army. That's approximately what I see in the railway trains. (A lot of our soldiers still use the older 65 litres Flecktarn rucksack that isn't comfortable as a trekking rucksack without the seperate belt pouches.)
I find that the Berghaus Atlas 4 is extremely comfortable at 16 kg, comfortable at 18 kg, portable at 20 kg and not so funny at 25 kg. But perhaps it's just me, because I am neither young nor used to such loads. The rucksack that I usually carry around every day has only a total weight of approximately 7 kg (3 Seasons equipment). I am trained to that on long distances but not used to play the pack donkey.
Recently the German army bought at first 30.000 Tasmanian Tiger Rucksacks of that size and 30.000 Snigel 100 litres rucksacks. And afterwards they decided to buy such a Snigel 100 litres for every soldier. It costs currently approximately 600 € in the shop. So, money wasn't the reason to buy these.
It looks for me as if they tested in wider and wider circles all interesting rucksacks and decided in the end for the best. They surely also would have got Savottas or Norröna Recons if they would have liked these or whatever.
The Snigel 100 litres rucksack is pretty heavy. It's such a case that allows you to carry the weight that's also caused by the empty rucksack. But nevertheless the lightweight freaks in the German army decided to get this and not to stick with the much lighter Atlas 4.
It has a very flexible belt attachment, most pouches and pockets can be opened from two sides, the main compartment can be reached from the top but also from the belly of the rucksack due to a wide opening under the MOLLE/PALS straps, what's surely pretty practical if you have it in the tent.
I have seen it at a railway station but the guy was so fast that I didn't try to stop him. It's a cool thing without any doubt.
And yes, there fits a smaller day pack onto the belly for those who need a little bit more stuff on the hike. You can see it in the pictures if you look it up on their own site. It's sold in Germany via Recon Company in Salzgitter Bad, what's an interesting shop with also English home page. But one can probably also order it directly from Sweden.
