Howdy folks!
Thought I'd show this off
Not really a review yet as I can't use it til after christmas, but a preliminary as it were...
I, like many, grew up knowing that if you're after cheap kit that'll last a lifetime or longer, army surplus is often the way to go. And I did that for a while, but at some point I foolishly decided that I wanted something fancier. That inspired this:
Some cheapo rubbishy shoulder bag from eBay. It has 6 pockets IIRC including the main compartment, eyelets on the front I used to attach junk to, I could hang just about everything from it and there was a compartment for just about everything I had. Well, as it happens, it was a bit too complicated for a simple fella such as myself, and I wound up using the main compartment for everything and using the rest for stuffing rubbish in The canvas was thin and flimsy, the lining was just nylon, the strap was fixed, and there was no 'backbone' to it so unless you had a 1.5l volvic bottle in it, it just flopped around. The floppiness of the bag also allowed stuff to dig into my leg which was a PITA.
Enter army surplus. I found this bag while browsing eBay and couldn't pass it up - technically it's a christmas present from my dad, but I managed to bribe a looksee to take some pictures with a few cookies and chocolate eclairs :lol2:
It's french army surplus, the seller said he thought it was from the 60s. Pics:
Canvas is good n heavy, quite coarse - should be good n hard wearing.
Strap closures are thick leather with good steel buckles. Stitching's good too.
Stitching round the shoulder strap buckle, also riveted... good heavy buckle again.
Holds one yellow pages and what I think is a thomson local. They're really just there to straighten out the leather, as it was flattened for shipping.
What leather? This leather This is the bit I really liked, the inside is completely lined with stiff leather to protect the contents, you from the contents and keep the shape.
Shoulder strap is removable, heavy steel clip again, and the leather holding the d-ring is again stitched with heavy thread and riveted.
Closure straps where attached to flap
Also has belt loops - I think this'll be great for those trips up cliffs where you don't want a heavy bag bouncing around, should be able to put it on the belt while still allowing the shoulder strap to take most of the weight. I might just make a leather 'adapter' so I can put a knife sheath here instead, kinda like on Nessmuk's 'ditty bag'.
I'm not entirely sure what these are for. The seller said that the bag could be worn as a rucksack, which I suppose you could do and I might give it a try - the metal fittings on the strap don't fit through the d-rings, though, so you'd need another one. I think it's more likely that these are to allow a rolled up sleeping mat or the like to be strapped/tied onto the bag, which I'll definitely make use of.
I forgot to take a pic, but the flap also comes down over the sides a little bit which should help keep water out when it's raining.
I'll be EDCing this to work when I get it at christmas, so I don't have to carry around a carrier bag with my work shirt and bottle of water, so I'll no doubt come back with more a more final opinion - but things are looking good And I love that army surplus smell.
Pete
PS: Forgot to add, this cost around £20 including shipping - about the same as the first bag shown!
Thought I'd show this off
Not really a review yet as I can't use it til after christmas, but a preliminary as it were...I, like many, grew up knowing that if you're after cheap kit that'll last a lifetime or longer, army surplus is often the way to go. And I did that for a while, but at some point I foolishly decided that I wanted something fancier. That inspired this:
Some cheapo rubbishy shoulder bag from eBay. It has 6 pockets IIRC including the main compartment, eyelets on the front I used to attach junk to, I could hang just about everything from it and there was a compartment for just about everything I had. Well, as it happens, it was a bit too complicated for a simple fella such as myself, and I wound up using the main compartment for everything and using the rest for stuffing rubbish in
The canvas was thin and flimsy, the lining was just nylon, the strap was fixed, and there was no 'backbone' to it so unless you had a 1.5l volvic bottle in it, it just flopped around. The floppiness of the bag also allowed stuff to dig into my leg which was a PITA.Enter army surplus. I found this bag while browsing eBay and couldn't pass it up - technically it's a christmas present from my dad, but I managed to bribe a looksee to take some pictures with a few cookies and chocolate eclairs :lol2:
It's french army surplus, the seller said he thought it was from the 60s. Pics:
Canvas is good n heavy, quite coarse - should be good n hard wearing.
Strap closures are thick leather with good steel buckles. Stitching's good too.
Stitching round the shoulder strap buckle, also riveted... good heavy buckle again.
Holds one yellow pages and what I think is a thomson local. They're really just there to straighten out the leather, as it was flattened for shipping.
What leather? This leather
This is the bit I really liked, the inside is completely lined with stiff leather to protect the contents, you from the contents and keep the shape.
Shoulder strap is removable, heavy steel clip again, and the leather holding the d-ring is again stitched with heavy thread and riveted.
Closure straps where attached to flap
Also has belt loops - I think this'll be great for those trips up cliffs where you don't want a heavy bag bouncing around, should be able to put it on the belt while still allowing the shoulder strap to take most of the weight. I might just make a leather 'adapter' so I can put a knife sheath here instead, kinda like on Nessmuk's 'ditty bag'.
I'm not entirely sure what these are for. The seller said that the bag could be worn as a rucksack, which I suppose you could do and I might give it a try - the metal fittings on the strap don't fit through the d-rings, though, so you'd need another one. I think it's more likely that these are to allow a rolled up sleeping mat or the like to be strapped/tied onto the bag, which I'll definitely make use of.
I forgot to take a pic, but the flap also comes down over the sides a little bit which should help keep water out when it's raining.
I'll be EDCing this to work when I get it at christmas, so I don't have to carry around a carrier bag with my work shirt and bottle of water, so I'll no doubt come back with more a more final opinion - but things are looking good
And I love that army surplus smell.Pete
PS: Forgot to add, this cost around £20 including shipping - about the same as the first bag shown!
