Austrian "ALICE" Style Rucksack w/o Yoke, Surplus

Awesome and dirt cheap Austrian rucksack for DIY folks. The trick is that these don’t come with the carrying yoke. Worry not because a handy person can make the shoulder straps from scratch or modify some existing ones to fit here. This way you’ll get the most high-tech carrying system that the '80s can offer at a very nice price. Perfect for a few days' journeys back in time.

Features

In the golden '80s, Austrians had a carrying system that consisted of a largish rucksack and a smaller bag that could be carried as a front pack or a butt pack. The smaller one could also function as a shoulder bag or a small backpack. We have previously sold the ass bags, then we got the rucksack, and now we ran out of the shoulder straps. Maybe one day, we’ll have the whole set.

This is pretty similar in outlook to the US Alice pack, except that it doesn’t have any kind of a frame. The minimally padded and detachable shoulder straps are not included. The ALICE-style attachment points are, of course, there, and you can pretty easily make new shoulder straps and fix them to those permanently or with hooks.

The large main compartment has a separate compartment closeable with a metal buckle, where you can slide in e.g. the BW sleeping mat. The bottom is rubberized; on some on the outside and on others on the inside. This will prevent all your crap from getting soaked when you set the rucksack on wet moss or grass. The main compartment is closed with a double drawstring and a separate flap. The double drawstring enables you to overpack the rucksack to some extent or make really sure that your stuff won’t fall out.

The rucksack has a small pouch on both sides and a bit bigger pouch on the outside. There are rucksacks from different decades, so the colors and small details can vary a bit. They are all made from Nylon. The weight is c. 1.1 kg (2.4 lbs)

Condition

These have been used with varied intensity. So, they can have some surface rust on metal bits, small stains, slightly frayed straps, and other typical signs of use. These are in perfectly serviceable condition though.