Product description

The RP80 is a large, top-and-bottom loading sustainment pack that carries enough gear to keep you going for weeks. Although streamlined and straightforward the pack design offers almost endless possibilities for modular scaling and optimizing

Designed for the Nordic end-user, this requires large backpacks to be tall and slim, not short and wide as most European and American designs. This design keeps the weight closer and above your center of gravity and spine and allows for unrestricted arm movement when skiing.

  • Volume 80 l (4882 in3)
  • Weight: 3800 g / 8.4 lbs(complete)
    • Main bag only: 1700 g / 60 oz.
    • Frame only: 740 g / 26 oz.
    • Shoulder harness only: 600 g / 21 oz.
    • Hip belt only: 750 g / 26 oz.
  • Adjustable carry system for user heights 160-200 cm / 5' 3 - 6' 6"
  • Roll-top top closure, zipper access at the bottom
  • Cinch cord divider inside main bag
  • Hydration compartment inside main bag
  • Large open bottom corner pouches
  • Side and bottom compression straps
  • PALS webbing on main bag and hip belt
  • Quick release shoulder harness for emergency ditching
  • Materials:
    • 1000D Cordura
    • PES webbing
    • DUR-aluminium (frame)
    • Metal and ITW plastic buckles
    • All materials are NIR compliant

Assembly and height adjustment

The RP80 is delivered unassembled. Assembly and adjustment is your first challenge before taking your new pack into service. Understanding the construction, assembly and height adjustment of the pack are all equally important, so assemble and adjust with thought and care! Here are detailed instructions for RP80 pack assembly and adjustment.

The pack bag

  • Dimensions 85 x 37 x 25 cm / (33.5" x 14.5" x 10") + bottom corner pouches
  • Total volume 80 liters (4882 in3)
  • Two large bottom corner pouches. Volume approx. 2,5 liters / 150 in3 per pouch
  • Drawcord divider inside, top compartment height 60 cm / 23.5", bottom compartment height 25 cm / 10"
  • Roll top closure on top
  • Zippered bottom access with two security/compression straps
  • Two compression straps on each side
  • Hydration bladder compartment inside
  • Uninterrupted PALS matrix goes around the whole upper half of the bag
  • Two vertical attachment point straps along the back
  • Two fixed carry handles on the back of the main bag
  • Comes with three carry handle straps which can be attached wherever you want them!

Carrying system

The RP80 carrying system was designed from scratch instead of just using some ancient Finnish military designs or components. The end result is superior comfort in comparison to the old Finnish military issue systems. One of the most valuable features of the RP80 carrying system is the adjustable back length. The system can be adjusted to fit users from 160 up to 200 cm / 5' 3" - 6' 6" tall.

Aluminium frame

The frame was designed especially for the RP80 rucksack, we didn´t simply take some outdated design and recycle it. Compared to the decades-old Finnish military issue frames this one has a bottom shelf, wider and taller overall dimensions, and two parallel vertical reinforcement rods on both sides of the center instead of a single centered one.

Shoulder harness

The padding is thermal molded and stitched onto 1000D Cordura on top of which all the straps etc. are bar-tacked. What really sets this design apart from the old Finnish military issue harnesses is the big pads against the back which really make a great difference compared to just a flat length of wide webbing.

The rucksacks back length and overall fit are adjusted by lowering or lifting the attachment height of the shoulder harness. The load lifter straps that run from the top of the shoulder harness to the frame are used to adjust the balance on the go, by loosening the straps the pack hangs further away from your body and the weight is transferred onto the hips. By tightening the straps the pack moves closer to your body and more weight is put on the shoulders.

The lower adjustment of the shoulder harness is done using two, virtually indestructible, welded steel D-rings which also offer a means of quick release by pulling the attached webbing handles upwards.

Hip belt

And once more, also the hip belt was designed from scratch instead of just copying some ancient Finnish military design. The hip belt is thoroughly padded and topped with PALS webbing for pouch attachment. The big lower back pillow can be opened up for the hip belt to be tucked away when you don't want to use it. The construction is overall really strongly padded and rigid.

Modular and configurable

Overall volume and many other features of the rucksack are easily modified according to user-specific needs:

  • Tie-down straps: by running a couple of utility straps through the vertical attachment points on the back you can easily tie a sleeping mat or similar bundles to the far back of the pack.
  • Side pouches: add a few XL utility pouches for extra pack volume and added organizing options.
  • Hip belt: attach a bunch of pouches here for easy access to critical gear.
  • Daypack lid: a quick-detach top lid which transforms into a small daypack, possibly the smartest way of integrating a daypack into your sustainment load. Take a look at our illustrated tutorial on the subject: Särmä TST backpack use as daypack lids
  • Cargo panel: such as the Särmä TST Modular Beavertail a very simple and versatile addition which allows you to attach and compress all kinds of extra gear on the outside of the main pack.

Materials

Made of the same materials and hardware (1000D Cordura, webbing, ITW Nexus buckles, etc.) that are used in the production of the Finnish military M05 combat equipment. High quality, totally NIR compliant and all that, naturally.

Made in Finland and Estonia

These manufactured in co-operation with Finn-Savotta Oy (Finland's leading military and outdoors gear manufacturer and the main load-bearing equipment contractor for the Finnish Defence forces). Depending on the situation production runs are sewn either in Savotta's Finnish or Estonian factory, sometimes even partially in Finland and partially in Estonia. The little printed tags tell where exactly each particular product was sewn.

Reviews
4.6(11)

Cam W.

16.04.2023Verified purchase
I've used this rucksack for two years before writing a review but my opinion has never changed – I love it and can't see me ever needing another one. This truly is a cry once, buy once bag for life. THE 'BAD' – although not that bad. Just things I noticed in the first month before fixing easily and cheaply: SLIPPING D-RINGS: Most other reviews mention this and it's a genuine problem caused by smooth D-rings on the shoulder straps not providing enough friction. Solution? Wrap 1" cloth tape around the D-rings for an immediate fix. BELT PUSH CLIP: This seemed quite flimsy the moment I unboxed the rucksack and yes - it cracked the second time I wore it. Solution? Replaced it with an unbreakable Berghaus Bergbuckle, the gold standard of rucksack fasteners. INTERNAL BLADDER POUCH: While this provides very ergonomic tube routing out of the main pack and down the shoulder strap, I have two issues with this. The first is true of all internal pockets, in that you have to empty the main pack to replace the water. The second is specific to this bag, in that the internal pouch is so tight, I always struggle to jam a full 3-litre bladder in there. Solution? I fitted a Camelbak to the back of the pack and routed an extra-long 1.5m tube around the outside. HARD PLASTIC FRAME STOPPERS: These scratched my floor and made a full upright rucksack slip and fall over whenever I tried to lean it against something. Solution? Replaced them with rubber stool foot ends that I bought on eBay. FUGLY DESIGN: My friends all laugh at me because this is a fat-bottomed design that looks like a bunch of straps and bits have been strapped and velcroed onto a metal frame. Solution? I tell them all to piss off because I love the way it looks. Function defines form, right? THE GOOD - reasons why I will never buy another backpack COMFORT: No idea why it works but it really does work. Why do other rucksacks require a sternum strap when this one doesn't? How come other packs tweak my neck muscles when this one's fine. I've no idea… it just works. WORKS AS A DAY PACK: I'm getting old and my lower back is killing me but the frame and belt act as a brace to take the strain off, making this actually more comfortable than any of my day packs. When I go out for a few hours, I tighten up the lower straps, roll down the top as far as it goes and use it to carry my Thermos, raincoat, water and sandwiches. WORKS AS A HIKING PACK: The lower zippered pocked if far too big for any sleeping bag needed in the UK, so all my wet stuff – soggy tent, overtrousers, raincoat – goes in there, leaving the entire main bag free for sleeping bag and other dry stuff. For 2-3 nights, I add the Sarma DP10 as a lid, while for 4-5 nights, I add US Army sustainment pouches either side for extra food. It's very capable of storing more gear than I could ever carry. DID I SAY IT WAS COMFORTABLE?: The rucksack only contacts with your back at three points – two shoulder pads plus the hugely padded back part to the belt. This gives a massive air gap between your shoulder blades and waist that you'll appreciate when the weather's cold but praise the Finnish gods for in the summertime. So yeah. I love it, I think you'd love it and while I can see that I might tinker with the setup constantly, I can't see I'll ever get rid of this piece of kit. It's truly awesome.

Tanguy P.

20.05.2022Verified purchase

Jason P.

29.05.2021Verified purchase
This is a very roomy and comfortable pack. It takes a bit to assemble and fit but once you do it is golden. I have put 30 or so miles on my pack (30-70lbs) with minimal issues. The biggest issue I had was the shoulder straps kept slipping under load from the D-rings. I fixed that by riveting a cloth tab on the ring without the quick release loop, altogether a 50 cent fix. I am looking forward to putting many more miles on this pack. Edit: 30 APR 23: I have done two VRMMs with this pack and it is still a comfortable pack and I enjoy rucking with it. However the D rings do need to be bypassed with some quick release buckles to prevent slippage on the longer rucks.