The Italian Military Has a Bad Ass Bug Out Bag – You Can Get One Too
Special Update – Old Grouch Emailed me about 24 hours after I uploaded the video. You guys must really have liked the review because he just sold out of these bags. Make sure to join his facebook page and/or mailing list and he will be announcing when more come in.
I have been looking for a truly modular, high capacity, rugged, well planned, water resistant and above all comfortable to hump bag for a long time.
It turns out that the Italian military has been building the perfect bag for their troops for many years now and they are now available on the surplus market.
Old Grouch at Old Grouch’s Military Surplus sent me one these Italian Military Alpine Rucksacks to review, check out the video below for my thoughts on it.
You can find these Rucksacks at http://store.oldgrouch.biz/itmialru.html
These are real Italian military issue packs, used but in great condition. The Italian military drew upon the countries long history of alpine exploration and excellent outdoor industry when they designed and made this pack.
Very light at just 4.5 pounds, the main compartment measures 14″x7″x28″, and the side compartments are 6.5″x4″x15″ each. These have lots of extra straps for lashing gear to the outside which is one of my favorite features, a bonus top compartment on the top flap, sturdy plastic frame, and great padded straps. The assault packs which can be broken off and run independently really increase the adaptabality of these packs both for trail use (think overnight gear and day pack) or as a BOB (think all your stuff and daily or often used gear).
That. Looks. AWESOME.
I
wantNEED one of those. 😀(btw, the beard is looking super awesome. Gonna go all out and do the ZZ top thing with TW?)
If you guys are interested they make also a solid dark green version, probably better suited for a BOB.
Jack keep up the awesome work and forza Italia! 😛
This is the new Canadian ruck entering service. It replaces the 1982 spin crusher 2000. It is based on 100 litre Mountain Equipment Coop pack:
http://www.forces.gc.ca/aete/rucksack-havresac-eng.asp
This is a rendition of the Canadian Patrol Pack:
http://www.surpluspontrouge.com/en/military/gear-bags-and-packs/backpacks-and-rucksacks/patrol-backpack-type-b/cadpat-canadian-digital/
I have my doubt is this particular one is issue. The CADPAT doesn’t look right. There are 4 modular pouches that attach to the main pack. I have see guys strap the pouches to their legs (whatever floats your boat I guess). The pouches in the picture above is kinda straped together like a dogs breakfast. I will take picture of mine and post them.
If you keep beating up the little woman’s table, (Those buckles scratch and break glass!) there will be hell to pay! Great bag.
This is great, Jack.
But do you know if there are any versions in black? Or are there any comparable packs in black?
I think I would go ahead and get one if I could find a black or brown one.
Thanks a lot!
-Woody
Sorry. I wrote my note before listening to the whole review.
I guess I could consider one in dark green. But yes, I agree: black or grey or something would be really cool.
-Woody
Quote from the post when you follow the above-mentioned link…
“Sold Out! Thanks to Jack and all the listeners at The Survival Podcast you cleaned us out in under 24 hours!! We are trying to get more, when we do we will update this page.”
Sorry, I just noticed Jacks update at the top of the page!
If you like this pack you will probably like the army’s new ruck sack that jack didn’t know about it is called the mollie pack and it is modular like this one and I believe it is better but I believe that tactical tailor makes the best ruck sack out there for quaility I have had one for two tours in iraq and on in afganistain and it is still serviceable.
Sweet! Ordered one for my son and one for me. Shipped today, can’t wait.
Hmmm…well got the packs on Thursday and used them for a Friday night through Sunday afternoon campout with my son. My pack was great, however my son’s pack didn’t fare very well. One of the cinch straps (on the top for bedroll, etc (behind the velcro closure Jack talked about in the video)) broke. Not at the buckle or stitching, but literally across the fabric of the strap itself. Almost like a knife cut but with a small amount of fraying on either side. Then when we were leaving, one of the shoulder straps did the same thing right below the padding and stitching. I called Old Grouch and he agreed to refund my money because he has no more and was very nice. I’d rather have the pack than my money back though.
Does anyone think a seamtress could do some heavy-duty stitching to fix it up? I’d love to keep the pack as my son really like it as well.
Any auto upholstery shop will have the right equipment.
The main bag is very similiar to my current BOB, The North Face Exocet, and I like it alot. It’s also maroon and screams rock climber. I do like the extra pack with this, but camo makes me a little nervous…I would still use it though.
“Bella grande”
I’ve had one for almost 10 years and it’s a great bag and has held up well. I’ve used it for backpacking Europe and trekking in the mountains. Just be careful about the weight in the day pack, it sticks out very far and can put a lot of pressure on your lower back when it’s attached to the main pack. Also, Jack, you didn’t talk about the fact that the side pockets are attached to the bag only on the sides and not the top or bottom allowing you to use the stap and pocket to secure poles or an axe by sliding it under the pocket.
This is the Italian version of the US CFP-90. The are some noticible differences in the two. The biggest is that the US version has a separate sleep system at the bottom. I prefer the Italian version for this reason. I don’t like the rucksack because it sticks out too far. When I received mine as a gift, it did not come with the plastic frame, but the Alice frame fits it perfectly. Ironicly, the US version doesn’t.
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