New Daysack : Repo old German mil. 30l Daysack

[Treeclipper]

Hi all,

Was getting fed up with all my modern type daysacks, most of the ones I have bought have been fairly cheap, so ripped or buckles have broken quite quickly. (lol maybe I'm just hashy with my gear).
so I decided to go old school and got my self one of these : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300613081072?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 .

will hopefully arrive within the next couple of days and I'll let you know what I think. Have any of you lot got one or similar and what do you think?

Andy

 

[RonW]

I have both an original and a copy....
And although they look alike, there are many significant differences. For instanse the loops to fasten a poncho or blanket on top. On the original these are all equally wide and can take a belt up to 3cm. On the replice they are all diferent and some barely can take a string!
The fastenings are very different, too, with toothed clips on the original and sliding clips on the replice. Even the fabric and overall finish feels very different and I don't need to tell you which one is better. The original is bigger, too. I hate to say it, but I do think you paid too much for a replica.
If you were looking for a daypack and do not want to push too hard, than the pack you have coming your way is just fine. It does have the same layout and compartments as the original and I feel that these are very handy for keeping your gear sorted.

 

[WildCamperUK]

I recently bought this bad boy - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Italian-Army-Alpine-Mountain-Backpack-Rucksack-NEW-/230704717938

After a trip to Albania with a friend of mine who had an old army hold-all, my bright red Osprey pack was a constant source of either amusement to the locals or attractor of undesirables.

I saw this on YouTube and was smitten.

It's about 30 litres, super simple and the two compression sacks on each side fold down to almost nothing when not used.

Old School is the best!

 

[Treeclipper]

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the info, if there are problems with it when it arrives it'll be fine a little bit of modding will be done to make it work the way I want. Price wise I could'nt find one any cheaper in that format, although I did see a similar one on Endicotts website so if the problems are insurmountable I'll go for one of those, I think the price was £2 pound less for a super grade one and anyway you can never have to much kit

cheers Andy

 

[Treeclipper]

Hi WildCamperUK,

Thanks for the link, it's been bookmarked and I might think about buying this one for my eldest daughter as she's interested in coming out with me.

cheers Andy

 

[WildCamperUK]

You are welcome. I suspect you might end up pinching it off her when it arrives!

 

[hermitical]

how comfortable are the straps on the old school stuff? I have pain issues and though I much prefer the look of the older rucksacks I worry that they will hurt when loaded up....

 

[Treeclipper]

Hermitical,

If mine arrives tomorrow, I'll load it up and go for a wander and let you know, although I have heard a few folks taping extra padding onto them. Hopefully it'll be fine.

Andy

 

[hermitical]

cheers Andy...

 

[Treeclipper]

can't see anything mate?

 

[Treeclipper]

well swmbo's just been on the phone, my parcel's arrived.

lol I want to go home now, new thing to play with.

 

[Treeclipper]

Well it's arrived and sorry to say, not really sure if I like it or not. It's a bit bigger than I thought it would be, but that's not a bad thing I suppose. It's reasonably heavy canvas and the stitching is not too bad.
The clips and fastening are all decent if a bit jangly, it is the toothed kind so they fasten quite well, but I still might change them to plastic clips for ease of use and being quieter.

It has a very large interior space, it's a lot wider than it's depth (think big rectangular pocket), to the back of this there is a internal Velcro’d pocket(I've put my sit mat in , but a folded tarp or poncho would fit too, I’ve tried all three), this helps with padding for your back. Nice draw string on top so nothing should fall out.
The lid is rather big and could probably do with a couple of darts sown into it to shape it a bit better and it has a cotton made pocket on the underside with another velcro'd opening straight across the middle of it. (Yet again a poncho or gloves and hat would fit in here; I wouldn't trust it with anything heavier or more valuable).

Next, the three pockets, these seem to be my biggest bug bear about this pack, the two side pockets suffer from being to narrow , can't get a water bottle in or any of my leather gear bags , although it will take a pair of work gloves and my mora and folding saw in one. The lid's also lift at the side so there is a chance of small stuff falling out.
The long back pocket gapes whether it is empty or full, not sure if clips are in the wrong place or if needs a bit of velcro or poppers in the middle span, here again I think plastic clips would be better.

When it's loaded it's quite comfortable to wear it hangs low on your back, which for me is what I want. The straps are ok the padding is rather thin but surprisingly works. I only wore it for about 10 min's and it really was ok, so there are some good points about it.

So not really sure if I should go to the trouble of modding it or keep looking for another pack, just don't like to waste the money I suppose. If I do mod it I'll take some before and after pictures for you.

All in all, not really happy with it, but it'll do just now, I stuck my BCUK badge on it, just to give it another plus point .

Cheers

Andy

 

[Magentus]

I have a Mil-tec repro of this bag and I agree with your comment about lack of space for water bottles in the side pockets. Very frustrating.

I found that I can just about fit a Dutch bottle in the pocket (see pic from Endicotts)

Though there is no telling whether yours will accomodate one as well.