Military Alice pack

W

Wildone39

Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Messages
815
Im looking to buy a new or used Alice Pack so I can use for backpacking and a BOB bag. Can anyone here tell me were I can find one cheap? My funds are low so the cheaper the better but in good condition. Thanks.
 
If you do a Google search for "alice pack surplus," you will have a number of choices at a range of prices.
 
Sportsman guide has med and large with frames. I have the large and they also sell the OD green waterproof bags that compliment the pack.
 
i have used one for 15 years...finally had to retire my issue and rplace with a new one....looking at 15 more years from that one and i am still on the original frame and straps.
 
I would get the large ruc and make your you get the frame with it.

I never found the "medium" to be big enough for much. However, it does carry easier without the frame if you want to ditch the frame.

It is a very good durable design! I like it better than the Lowe we had at 10th MTN years ago and would rather have a nicely modified one over the current issue molle.
 
The concept that the bulk of the weight should be on the pelvis -- via a hip belt -- instead of the shoulders was patented during the Civil War by a Union doc. The U.S. mil, traditionally backward, rejected the idea, along with magazine rifles.

The concept was rediscovered by Kelty in the 1960's. It took - what - thirty years for the U.S. mil. to acknowledge what that Civil War doc understood: the human body is built to carry weight on the pelvis and, thence, down the legs NOT hanging off the shoulders with all those relatively small, articulating bones.

The ALICE is back pre-Civil War in the sense that the weight is on the shoulders, pulling your shouldes together in a way the designer of your bod never intended. ALICE is tough as nails, but ALICE is very obsolete as load-bearing gear. But it's your back, shoulders, neck.
 
.....mine puts most of the weight on my hips....

still some on my shoulders but not alot...i guess from years of carry i have gotten used to it...100+ lbs is really no problem.

normal combat load for me used to close to 130lbs...

no that is not my LBE/LBV weight that was my total weight..food ammo clothes extras water Helmet rifle and such was 130+ lbs...
 
The only way to get weight on your hips with any haversack is to lean forward. This puts your body at a mechanical disadvantage and is hard on the back. Coolies in WWII regularly carried 200 pounds balanced on poles on one shoulder and for twenty miles a day. I know where one can buy a stout pole. It would last even longer than ALICE.
 
Thomas Linton said:
The ALICE is back pre-Civil War in the sense that the weight is on the shoulders, pulling your shouldes together in a way the designer of your bod never intended. ALICE is tough as nails, but ALICE is very obsolete as load-bearing gear. But it's your back, shoulders, neck.
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What's the waist strap for??
 
The ALICE pack will transfer weight onto your hips if you use it with the frame; without the frame it doesn't.

I've humped enough miles with an ALICE that I can safely say I'd never use one by choice. A good civilian backpack is much more comfortable IMO.
 
BlackHills said:
The ALICE pack will transfer weight onto your hips if you use it with the frame; without the frame it doesn't.

I've humped enough miles with an ALICE that I can safely say I'd never use one by choice. A good civilian backpack is much more comfortable IMO.
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With the frame, you have our version of the Bergen (Bergren?) Ski Pack, aka "The Kidney Killer." Does transfer some weight to the base of the spine (NOT a good spot.) if you tighten the unpadded belt. Oh, that feels SOOOO good to have that nylon strap cutting ito your hips and stomach. (Unfortunately, we didn't understand that the rig was for skiing - gliding - no up and down. I mean magazine rifles when you can stick to single shot black powder and save on expenditure of ammo.)
 
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