In a time before Multicam and it’s many offshoots were plastered on most gear put into combat, there were a lot of quirky and downright odd camo patterns. This gargantuan rucksack features arguably one of the most unique ones out there, Belgian “Jigsaw” camo. Specifically, for all of you camo nerds, this one is the third variation of jigsaw camo released in the late 90s when Belgium adopted a more universal camo scheme for their uniforms. The white part of the pattern in particular is usually one of the first things that jumps out at people. It was added to give more faux-3D depth to the pattern so it’d be harder for the enemy to make out the unnatural shapes of a human wearing equipment.
Many of the rucksacks of it’s time are similar, with many design cues taken from it’s Berghaus ancestors. What you get here is all that functionality and bomb-proof construction, but in a unique camo. It features a large main compartment with a closeable divider between the sleeping bag compartment and the main section of the pack and is closed by a drawstring cinch on the top. The pack's lid features one slim inside pocket for maps and a larger zippered exterior pocket for rain covers. The included side pouches zip on and off off to be used separately or to take the unnecessary bulk out of your bag if you want to travel lighter.
Because it’s made to carry pretty heavy loads, it features light aluminum frame strips that insert in the two spines behind the shoulder and kidney straps to give structure to the bag without adding the bulk of an external frame system. All that capacity rests on cushy shoulder and back padding adjustable for height, with an added kidney belt to keep the weight properly distributed. In addition, the shoulder straps have loops meant to be held in case you're carrying something really heavy and need to take some of the weight off your shoulders and hips.
It makes for a great hunting or long range hiking pack with its versatility and ability to zip the large side pouches off, and it won’t get lost among your friends’ pile of gear at camp because yours won’t be Olive Drab or Multicam.
Built like a tank with water resistant Cordura, huge capacity, and quite the unique camo. Definitely not something we see that often.
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Condition
Excellent
Good
This Rucksack was absolutely worth it. My daughter checked and she can fit inside. 5 star surplus smell. But the quality was absolutely pristine. Given the condition, I am unsure if it was ever used for anything but a pre beer tour equipment layout. Shipping was fast. BUY ONE NOW! Cause I may be buying more ASAP.
A little dusty and with a strongish warehouse smell. The pattern might be a little faded on mine, but I don't have a new one or any other jigsaw camo to compare it with.
One of the buckles had one of it's 'arms' knocked off, but it still worked. Other than that, perfect condition in terms of functionality.
If you do want to replace a buckle, I've found that the ITW Classic SR buckle (ex. https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/itw-classic-sr-buckle-black/31888) is identical as far as I can tell, and works perfectly.
Fabric type is listed as 100% PA, which I assume means polyamid
Amazing bag with great capacity, plus the pattern is sick as fuck.
Been living out of this for the past 2 months on friends’ couches. The detachable side bags are great for small excursions as well.
You might as well get the matching set
I do a TON of backpacking. That being said, my winter loadout never properly fit in my 45L Hyperlite pack, and the amount of crap I had bungied to the side of it earned it the name of "Medusa," both for the amount of nope-rope holding homemade hammocks on it and it's horrific visualization.
Despite my previous negative experiences with military packs, I went against my better judgement and decided "well, hell, I'll give this a try." Pretty damn glad I did.
For starters lets get the negatives out of the way. This thing is MASSIVE, and the average user will never need 100+L of storage, meaning you're carrying a tube-sock that looks like it's built for Ron Jeremy on your back. In addition, it does lack the modern(ish) suspension of a new-age pack; I have yet to figure out the hip strap, and the shoulder straps are "okay." Lastly, it depends entirely on one extremely large main pouch which will require that you have stuff sacks or other means of organizing your equipment, unless you're an uncouth heathen and just throw all your shit in there to figure it out later.
Okay, now comes the good part. The design is fairly modern, and incorporates numerous design features that are still seen in modern packs that are not typical of older milsurp; it loads vertically (in stern contrast is the ALICE, which loads horizontally, my god what where they thinking?), it has two main compartments accessible from the top or the bottom for your sleep system, the main compartment is modular, and…
This pack is huge at 110 liters, but its also modular - The sidepacks can be used separately with shoulder straps should you desire.
My bag came with two. Idk if that's the norm or if I just got lucky. Zipper compartment in the lid and a smaller one underneath.
Shoulder straps adjust asymmetrically, when correctly tensioned, you will have more webbing on one side than the other. This is Belgian and therefore correct. Why they couldn't run the buckle lower add a second quick release is beyond me, but maybe the euros just weren't in the budget that year.
Idiosyncrasies aside, this pack can carry anything and will outlast me.
