- Joined
- Feb 28, 2009
- Messages
- 853
Hello everyone,
So, I picked up this milsurp ALICE pack from a guy down in Gilbert, AZ for $30--pretty standard except for the kidney pad not having a waist belt attached (he is sending me a new pad with belt attached, though). This is the pack, as worn, completely empty and compressed:
Well, it's nice and all, but there were some changes to be made--first of all, those stupid steel strap adjusters for the main pouch needed to be replaced with something easy to open. I purchased some aluminum side-release buckles with a matte black finish, cut a slot in the bar of the female component with a Dremel, cut off the strap adjusters, and slipped the buckles on:
I also added an antiqued leather nameplate made of ~8oz horsehide and hand-stitched with hemp thread--the stitching is all inside the map pouch in the flap so it won't rub against anything in the pack and wear or fray.
This is the pack filled with the basics we need for hiking or bugging out minus spare clothes, water (there is a stainless steel water bottle, though), and non-perishable food (aside from snack bars and Mainstay emergency rations). Plenty of room left for all that, though, plus I can strap a sleeping bag to the bottom or top of the pack, no problem, even if I fill the main pouch.
Much better! I decided I wanted to add an emergency whistle, though, as well as make a sternum strap with another aluminum side-release buckle and some 1" OD webbing to keep the shoulder straps in place a bit better, so it went from this:
To this:
The sternum strap is actually secured to the buckle with super glue and then melted so the fibers fused together--it's just as secure as the stitching on the rest of the pack straps (I know because I had to remove stitching on the main pouch straps to feed them through the adjustable male components of the buckles). All-in-all I don't think I did too bad, but obviously I need to put more stuff in it
. What do you guys think?
So, I picked up this milsurp ALICE pack from a guy down in Gilbert, AZ for $30--pretty standard except for the kidney pad not having a waist belt attached (he is sending me a new pad with belt attached, though). This is the pack, as worn, completely empty and compressed:
Well, it's nice and all, but there were some changes to be made--first of all, those stupid steel strap adjusters for the main pouch needed to be replaced with something easy to open. I purchased some aluminum side-release buckles with a matte black finish, cut a slot in the bar of the female component with a Dremel, cut off the strap adjusters, and slipped the buckles on:
I also added an antiqued leather nameplate made of ~8oz horsehide and hand-stitched with hemp thread--the stitching is all inside the map pouch in the flap so it won't rub against anything in the pack and wear or fray.
This is the pack filled with the basics we need for hiking or bugging out minus spare clothes, water (there is a stainless steel water bottle, though), and non-perishable food (aside from snack bars and Mainstay emergency rations). Plenty of room left for all that, though, plus I can strap a sleeping bag to the bottom or top of the pack, no problem, even if I fill the main pouch.
Much better! I decided I wanted to add an emergency whistle, though, as well as make a sternum strap with another aluminum side-release buckle and some 1" OD webbing to keep the shoulder straps in place a bit better, so it went from this:
To this:
The sternum strap is actually secured to the buckle with super glue and then melted so the fibers fused together--it's just as secure as the stitching on the rest of the pack straps (I know because I had to remove stitching on the main pouch straps to feed them through the adjustable male components of the buckles). All-in-all I don't think I did too bad, but obviously I need to put more stuff in it
. What do you guys think?
I've never seen an ALICE pack for over 70 in my short time looking at them online... Maybe I'm wrong but that seems expensive.
) because I like the pine-needle break-up you get from it, and we hike up in areas with lots of pine, so if I ever needed to ditch the pack and hide it I could (or hide with it if I was similarly camouflaged). Also because I'm a dork. Anyone have any ideas for keeping the thing from falling over? I don't want to add a shelf to it, but I'm thinking of some sort of a kickstand deal, haha.