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Hey, I just wanted to open a thread for members to show off their ruck sack or backpack set up. I recently have been working on putting together a simple cheap pack for myself, and thought I would start it off. So here it is.....
I started with buying a large Alice pack with frame, kidney belt and shoulder straps from my local surplus store.
I then ordered the radio shelf attachment that can be used with Alice pack frames off of EBay for $3.00. It basically gives you a shelf on the bottom pack side of your frame, for helping to hold heavy loads, and it comes off and on easily as you need it.
I then cannibalized an old Vietnam era Army Combat load bearing vest I had lying around, basically stripping everything off it to use on my pack.
Next I took two white water rafting dry sacks I had lying around (usually use these as pack liners) and put my gear in those. The bigger bottom one has my VersaShelter kit I built from videos off YouTube and the creators website. <broken link removed> I added an Army poncho liner to my versa shelter.
The smaller bag has my other gear, like my Katadyn Hiker water filter, fire starting gear, whetstone, knives, etc..
After attaching the load bearing shelf on the bottom (not necessary), I used straps from the combat vest I cannibalized to attach the larger bag to the bottom. Then used other strapping to attach the smaller bag above that.
Then, I took a molle SAW mag pouch that has a survival kit inside, and a molle canteen pouch, canteen and canteen cup, and strapped those to the very top of the pack for easy over-the-shoulder access while the pack is on.
Finally I took a surplus camo pack cover I purchased recently from the surplus store and stretched that over the pack.
This is the final result....
The end result is a comfortable, user friendly, very versatile pack that suits all my needs. Its also 100% water proof, so I could theoretically jump into water and have all my gear stay dry, or use it as a flotation device! Also, if I need to, I can strip the pack down to the frame and straps and have a pack frame I can use to haul big game quarters out of the woods back to camp. Or a multitude of other uses.
Please let me know what you think, ideas on improvement would be greatly appreciated, as I am still working on perfecting this pack.
Also, if you have a cool pack that you use, please tell me about it and post pics! Thanks!
I started with buying a large Alice pack with frame, kidney belt and shoulder straps from my local surplus store.
I then ordered the radio shelf attachment that can be used with Alice pack frames off of EBay for $3.00. It basically gives you a shelf on the bottom pack side of your frame, for helping to hold heavy loads, and it comes off and on easily as you need it.
I then cannibalized an old Vietnam era Army Combat load bearing vest I had lying around, basically stripping everything off it to use on my pack.
Next I took two white water rafting dry sacks I had lying around (usually use these as pack liners) and put my gear in those. The bigger bottom one has my VersaShelter kit I built from videos off YouTube and the creators website. <broken link removed> I added an Army poncho liner to my versa shelter.
The smaller bag has my other gear, like my Katadyn Hiker water filter, fire starting gear, whetstone, knives, etc..
After attaching the load bearing shelf on the bottom (not necessary), I used straps from the combat vest I cannibalized to attach the larger bag to the bottom. Then used other strapping to attach the smaller bag above that.
Then, I took a molle SAW mag pouch that has a survival kit inside, and a molle canteen pouch, canteen and canteen cup, and strapped those to the very top of the pack for easy over-the-shoulder access while the pack is on.
Finally I took a surplus camo pack cover I purchased recently from the surplus store and stretched that over the pack.
This is the final result....
The end result is a comfortable, user friendly, very versatile pack that suits all my needs. Its also 100% water proof, so I could theoretically jump into water and have all my gear stay dry, or use it as a flotation device! Also, if I need to, I can strip the pack down to the frame and straps and have a pack frame I can use to haul big game quarters out of the woods back to camp. Or a multitude of other uses.
Please let me know what you think, ideas on improvement would be greatly appreciated, as I am still working on perfecting this pack.
Also, if you have a cool pack that you use, please tell me about it and post pics! Thanks!