So here’s the deal. I wanted a 3-day pack fitted to an ALICE frame. WHY? I wanted a pack to use while on patrol and what not that would comfortable commingle with my armour (RBAV) and not flop around like it was sitting on a turtle shell. I’ve always had success with ALICE packs but they seem to be a thing of the past. I have a MALICE from tactical tailors but wanted something smaller and more concise with internal pockets and what not. I had a CAMELBAK Motherload which I used to start with. It’s a good base pack for what I wanted and has: hydration slot, port for hydration tube, antenna port, plenty of storage, 500D Cordura and is near IR compliant so it served as a good base.
With an idea and base pack I went to my good buddy at Gary’s Shoe Repair located outside the main gate of Camp Lejeune. After about 6 hours of some serious work we came up with this:
Sorry some of the pics are grainy but if anyone else is interested I can take more pics.
Functionally this pack is exactly what I hoped for. Absolutely comfortable when worn with armour and holds everything I need with the option of more MOLLE pouches on the sides. the hip belt can be placed out of the way so the straps arent flying around but when worn around the waist secures the pack so sprinting/running isn’t a problem. Thanks for looking. Let me know what you think.
Pretty cool man. I still dig the medium sized Alice Pack/Frame combo.
Back in 2003 I ordered the Tactical Tailor Alice Pack straps and belt/kidney pad combo. I still have it, made my life easier. I dig the size of the pack in relation to the frame.
Getting a Rigger to do that work even for beer would have taken six weeks…
Thanks man. I thought about getting a tactical tailor kidney pad for this one but thought it would be too bulky for what I was trying to accomplish. I love it on my MALICE but its for a different use. Turns out the hip belt that came with this pack was easily modified to a very comfortable light duty kidney belt. I did stiffen it up with some hard plastic and made sure it was held together with some heavy duty thread.
There are MUCH better Alice compatible frame options than the old metal one. I switched to a Down East 1606A frame and didn’t look back. Made it feel like a modern pack that moves with you and not against you. Plus you have MUCH better shoulder strap and kidney pad options with the Down East 1606A frame.
I have a downeast frame but I wouldnt say its a “better” option. Since I wanted a pack to use while wearing my 2-3" thick armour the alice frame works better b/c it has more clearance for armour to fill the gap. BTW it looks like a strap bomb went off in your pack dude. cool tho
No one from Camp Lej has ever seen that silly black dude who does shirtless karate on the corner of western and n. marine? that’s the basis for my user name mr. ACU salsa pirate.
