Restored a Pack

[Rally]

Bought a pack at our annual “Hwy 38 Sale” , which is about 40 miles of garage sales and people from all over attend. Hard telling how many people walked by this pack because I bought it the second day of the sale. It had laid against a wall in a garage with a dirt floor and the leather was really dry but all still intact. The body of the pack is rubberized canvas, leather trimmed , leather bottom, nice galvanized steel buckles / fasteners, with aluminum inside bottom corners. Got it for $5.
Got 1.5 jars of Sno Seal into the leather by the time I was done, with a heat gun, and about 4 hours. I’m calling it my best find of the summer.

 

[JustJim]

Milsurp or commercial?

 

[Hawk]

Man, are those empty ice cream tubs?!?

 

[glassparman]

Looks like the old Swedish mil pack??

 

[Ben]

The before and after photos really tell the story.
You did a great job.

Ben

 

[Rally]

Not sure who made it, not a single name or trademark I could find, and I scrubbed every inch of it a couple times. The 20 something lady I bought it from said she thought it originally belonged to her grandfather, whom she said was a forester. Only writing anywhere was on a Tootsie Roll wrapper in the front pouch.
Yep Hawk, and mostly chocolate. I have simple tastes! They contain snare parts now.
Thanks Ben. Hard to find a decent pack these days, plastic and nylon seem to be the rave anymore.

 

[JustJim]

I've seen some similar packs with the straps replaced with Alice straps, makes a nice rig for loose loads, mineral samples, etc. I've got a spare set if you decide to give that a try.

Some years back I snagged 4 or 5 German milsurp packs, maybe from the '80s-'90s. Straps are fabric; buckles on the pockets and flap are hard nylon quick-release dealybobbers. Body of the packs are OD canvas, with the bottoms and main flap rubberized. I keep meaning to upgrade the straps, but I've got other packs so no urgency.

 

[Kevin Stenberg]

Rally that is exactly like the pack I have used for 20+ years. Many day trip deer hunts with mine.
Have you had a chance to go to Dakota for Ringnecks?

 

[Dimner]

I've seen some similar packs with the straps replaced with Alice straps, makes a nice rig for loose loads, mineral samples, etc. I've got a spare set if you decide to give that a try.

Some years back I snagged 4 or 5 German milsurp packs, maybe from the '80s-'90s. Straps are fabric; buckles on the pockets and flap are hard nylon quick-release dealybobbers. Body of the packs are OD canvas, with the bottoms and main flap rubberized. I keep meaning to upgrade the straps, but I've got other packs so no urgency.

Bundeswehr mountain pack? Il

Those are my favs! I have 3 of them. Keep one in my jeep all season containing everthing I need for deer season as well as tracking a difficult deer and processing for quartering out and maintaining natrual ground blinds

I like to go into the woods as quiet as can be, so I keep a very minimal kit on my person. When the need arises, I'll take the extra time and walking to go to the jeep and back to grab the kit. I usually only need it every other year.

Also it's excellent empty when you find a couple wild pear trees or plumbs. Side pockets for service berries.

 

[JustJim]

View attachment 29839

That's the one.

Works fine for a grab and go bag, especially if you cut a piece of yoga matt to fit into the pocket on the inside back, or better yet two layers of matt. It gives structure to the pack without adding much weight.

 

[Bret4207]

I've got a very similar pack Dimner, actually I think I bought 2 from Sportsman Guide or some other surplus place a couple decades back. They used to be under $20 each, probably under $10! Great packs. Frame packs kind of took over in the early 70's and soft shell packs and pack baskets kind of died out. There are still a few people making good pack baskets but they aren't a buck an inch anymore!!!!! Soft shell packs seem to be limited almost to "book bags" too. The surplus stuff is still out there though.

Am I alone in wishing I'd purchased a whole lot more surplus gear back when it was flowing and cheap? Those good wool blankets for $12-15.00, the Swedish Army stoves, Norwegian rucksacks, coats! Good, heavy, warm surplus coats for under $10 each! The sad part is I was probably spending my money on a satellite TV bill or something equally useless.

Too late wise, eh?

 

[Rick H]

Back in the 70's and 80's I used to outfit myself with Scandinavian surplus wool jackets and pants on the cheap. Still have some of it, but there is no way I can wedge myself into it. Damned stuff must have a "shrinking" problem.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

The backpack in the first post is absolutely Swiss military, likely from the 1980’s.

Nice piece of gear from the Cold War. A lot of that European military gear from the 1960’s – 1980’s was made with rubberized canvas with a lot of leather straps, belts, and fittings. The European’s cold & wet weather gear remained rather “old school” well into the 1980’s. They tended to be a bit more conservative and held onto proven materials a bit longer than others.

 

[Rally]

Kevin,
Any info about your pack?
Was out to the Dakotas about two months ago doing a cigarette run. Mistake was we went threw when PR and Nevis had there city wide garage sales going. Amazing how much “loot” my wife can get in a Toyota Camry!
I have the first two weeks of December scheduled for vacation, but may sneak in a 3 day hunt before that. Too busy now trapping and working to get out yet.