Retro rucksack

tiger stacker

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Dec 30, 2009
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Glasgow
When you do find the right ruck, add some reinforced shoulder strap pads to prevent shoulder pinch pain. I loved my NI pack, the straps dug in when carrying weight. A good pack is used abused and cherished till it retires to the cupboard.
 

Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
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Your description fits to German grey police rucksacks of the fifties and sixties.

You could surch for "Polizeirucksack, grau, Baumwolle, Lederriemen:
Sold out at the surplus market but 10 years ago very cheap.

Savotta makes stuff like this and Essl too.
Attention, very different sizes!
All that is made in Europe.

Currently at the surplus market is a small chech military rucksack looking pretty similar and very very cheap, but without back frame system I guess.
It isn't a toy but a small pack.

Probably the blanked was rolled around of it. The German Wehrmacht pack was very small too and contained a complete personal equipment, which was attached outside too. The red army used a similar system but totally different constructed rucksack. I guess the chech pack is meant like that but I have only seen photos.

That was the usual lightweight system during WW2.
 

Erbswurst

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Mar 5, 2018
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If you have time, I can look for you in Germany for such German stuff.

Perhaps I have myself one left. I have no Idea, what I own currently. I had one, that's sure. But I don't know when I can look in my shed. May be Christmas...
 

Erbswurst

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Mar 5, 2018
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I have seen green BGS Rucksacks three month ago in a shop.
I could dig out the address, if you are interested.
 

Erbswurst

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Mar 5, 2018
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What's about the Norwegian army rucksack? It exists in cotton with leather straps too and is cheap but relatively heavy.

Or Bundeswehr Gebirgsjäger cotton/ leather?
A britisch surplus shop sells them.
That's light, 34 litres.

Swiss salt and pepper rucksacks are pretty similar too.
 
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Sundowner

Full Member
Jan 21, 2013
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Northumberland
If you have time, I can look for you in Germany for such German stuff.

Perhaps I have myself one left. I have no Idea, what I own currently. I had one, that's sure. But I don't know when I can look in my shed. May be Christmas...
Erbswurst, perhaps you could also look for an old hippy rucksack for me? The ones we used in the 60's and came with an external frame?
There should also be a "shelf" on the bottom of the frame, looking like a reverse L ?
I've been looking for one of those forever and a day!
Sorry Woody girl for hijacking your thread
 

Erbswurst

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Mar 5, 2018
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I will watch out for this too.

BUT this first plastic fabric outer frame rucksacks had been the first trials with that fabrics and zippers and aluminium frames.
Usually they were made in bad quality and the first owner broke them within the first years of use.

In Germany they came out of fashion in the late eighties and were replaced by internal frame stuff, because that's better in car, train or airplane and for car stop too.

Such rucksacks you look for I don't see often in Germany and usually broken somehow if I see one.

In my opinion you should ask Janne to help you, because such rucksacks had been in use longer in Sweden and Norway.
I think he can tell you the correct names of the models and the spelling in Norwegian and Swedish. So you can look for them at Ebay, but in Scandinavia.

And Fjällräven produced such rucksacks in cotton too, I guess Helsport and others as well.
Cotton rucksacks can easily become 100 years old if well treated. Plastic rucksacks usually don't become so old. (Cordura rucksacks perhaps are an exception)

Did you look at the Norwegian and two different sizes of green Swedish army rucksacks?
They have external frames and are made in long lasting qualities. Both exist in plastic and cotton versions. They are relatively cheap, only the big size of swedish army rucksacks is relatively expensive.
 

Woody girl

Full Member
Mar 31, 2018
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Exmoor
I bought the Fjallraven ovick one brand new several years back. It's a great pack but only about 20 or 25litre. I use it as a day pack. It also has a lovely back mesh support which makes it very comfy. The trouble is its nowhere near big enough for what I want. Expensive too!
Erbswurst thank you . I'm sure if anyone can find anything like this it will be you! I'm almost sure the style is a German or
mountain type. Take a look at post 2 on this thread and it will give you a good idea what I'm after.
 
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Sundowner

Full Member
Jan 21, 2013
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I will watch out for this too.

BUT this first plastic fabric outer frame rucksacks had been the first trials with that fabrics and zippers and aluminium frames.
Usually they were made in bad quality and the first owner broke them within the first years of use.

In Germany they came out of fashion in the late eighties and were replaced by internal frame stuff, because that's better in car, train or airplane and for car stop too.

Such rucksacks you look for I don't see often in Germany and usually broken somehow if I see one.

In my opinion you should ask Janne to help you, because such rucksacks had been in use longer in Sweden and Norway.
I think he can tell you the correct names of the models and the spelling in Norwegian and Swedish. So you can look for them at Ebay, but in Scandinavia.

And Fjällräven produced such rucksacks in cotton too, I guess Helsport and others as well.
Cotton rucksacks can easily become 100 years old if well treated. Plastic rucksacks usually don't become so old. (Cordura rucksacks perhaps are an exception)

Did you look at the Norwegian and two different sizes of green Swedish army rucksacks?
They have external frames and are made in long lasting qualities. Both exist in plastic and cotton versions. They are relatively cheap, only the big size of swedish army rucksacks is relatively expensive.

Thank you for that Erbswurst!!
I only remembered those frame jobs because it was easy to take off the actually rucksack and use the frame for other loads like fire wood etc. Actually found a Karrimor Totem of on eBay yesterday and I'm now watching it. Nochmal Danke für deinem Rat!!!
 
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Janne

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Feb 10, 2016
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Woody Girl asked about the frameless backpacks, a style that was common all over Europe before they got the brilliant idea of designing a frame.

The first frame gen was common all across Europe, they all were designed like the Swedish infamous LK35 and LK70.

I do not think it matters from which country the backpacks come, quality is excellent on all.
Military stuff a hair better quality than civilian stuff. I do not think it matters if it is made in Italy, Britain, Sweden or Norway.
In my family we all had the frameless backpacks until we got new modern, framed ones in the early 70's. Haglofs I think? I then went over to Fjallraven when they started doing backpacks, but the frames were to weak for my use.

The backpacks before those frameless ones were more rigid. Leather.
 
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Erbswurst

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Mar 5, 2018
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The swiss salt and pepper rucksacks exist in two sizes:
Round about 45 and 30 litres (perhaps 50 and 35?)

That is heavy incredibly long lasting material. Probably the highest quality nature fabric rucksacks I have ever seen!

But it's a lightweight design, made from heavy materials, so it isn't really to heavy to use it.

Unfortunately I boroght my 45 litres bag a college who stole it.

That was a totally convincing bag!

You can roll the coat or blanket around it.
You can attach the swiss bread bag in same quality and design perfectly over the outer pouch. (Schweizer Brotbeutel, Salz und Pfeffer , grau) Inside of the breadbag are compartments for Swiss, Austrian, German or Dutch Mess kit and the lovely swiss army cork closure flask. And a compartment for cutting board and spoon.
The swiss mess kit is tighter and higher than the others. I find the others better, you can get original Austrian ones from "Army Warehouse" in Austria.

I used the US Army rubberised clothing bag as dry bag inside of the Swiss pack for canoe use. It worked very well.

And this is exactly how you surch it!!!
Just better, with the large pouch and additional removable breadbag.
It is very nice to have the whole kitchen in that breadbag! You can fill food in the mess kit, and if you want to carry more, you can attach the mess kit with a leather strap outside to get another 1,5 litres food storing space.
(Eastern German mess kit, NVA Kochgeschirr, doesn't work well, by the way)

But the German military ruck sack constructions are lighter!

(Swiss material was made to stay in the hole, German stuff was made to visit the neighbours.)
 
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Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
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http://army-warehouse.com/63-bh-feldausrustung-75-78

That is a new original Austrian mess kit.

It is in use in Germany and Holland too.

(See at this site the prices for new (neu) olive green Austrian field uniforms too!
You can order them in pure cotton or round about 50:50 polyester - cotton mix, just write it with the e-mail, what you prefer.
That's very good quality very very very cheap clothing!!!)
 
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