eBay find: Vintage Karrimor

But not so vintage, this one is actually made in Korea. Classic straight foam shoulder straps with no contouring, and a simple rectangular backpanel. As stiff as the backpanel appears in profile I assume it may be one of the foam frame sheets with integrated metal stays.

Karrimor is one of only a few makers to put a hanging belt on an internal framed pack. This particular one is attached at both sides and bottom and appears to have a good bit of adjustment for ride height.

A wide attachment area provides stability, but it can't be too securely anchored or you can prevent the belt from contouring the body properly.

eBay Find: Mystery Ranch OD 3DAP

oddly right after I see the first OD MR military pack in my memory I stumble upon this oddity; an OD green 3 day assault pack with multicam webbing.

My assumption is that this is either a one-off for an employee or friend, or could be a limited run for the Japanese market.

Also interestingly the Futura Yoke appears to be Foliage green. If it weren't for this contrast I would have assumed this pack was foliage itself and only funny lighting was making it appear OD.

Even the seam binding inside is Multicam, someone had fun with this one.

eBay find: Custom ALICE panel

Appears to be a custom or small-batch MOLLE panel for an ALICE frame, no brand or label mentioned in the auction.

What I find most interesting is the shape of the pad on the suspension side, it has more coverage then nearly anything else I've seen slipped over the ol' girl's shoulders:

eBay find: OD green NICE frame

Just as it says, I haven't seen too much OD anything from Mystery Ranch (except of course the accents on the green and grey Mountain packs); I was quite tempted:

eBay find: Dana Designs Flip

A fairly simple, stripped down DD pack from what I assume is the early, leather-patch days.

A few features I thought worth calling out; like several Dana packs the compression is one continuous strap with the buckles on the user side. Some Dana packs are tacked in the middle of the strap to keep it from wandering too much, but the plastic slots imply to me that this one is not. Also like many Dana packs the top ladderlock is set on a longer piece of webbing then the bottom, I assume there is a very good reason but I have not found it yet.

The panel layout (distinct and contrasting front and side panels) with the zippered top-loading is an obvious ancestor to the current Hill People Gear Ute and Umlindi packs, probably even more so then the continuous panel Kifaru Lateseason and Day Stalker that is easy to assume is the main source of DNA for their packs.

The backpanel is kept typically spare, with a slight flare at the bottom corners providing a bit of wrap around before turning into a simple web belt.

The bottom shows two things, the dimension in the lower portion of the pack is actually supplied by darts, and not panels, as most modern packs use. Also the wrap around in the bottom corners is encouraged by the bottom panel, allowing them to be stuffed and shaped with the pack contents if the user is patient and fastidious enough.

eBay find: Down East MOLLE panel

Another bit of new trickle-down surplus, I assume a specialized bit for breachers or other heavy-hauling tasks.

The core of the system appears to be a slip-over flat PALS panel for the 1606 frame with a standard MOLLE II hipbelt and shoulder straps.

Additional pouches came with the kit, their non-standard size implies a fairly specific use but they are certainly beyond my abilities to ID. The panel also seems to include an integrated cargo flap similar to many hunting packs.

Flat PALS panels are reasonably common for ALICE frames, which would normally be compatible with the 1606, but this one at least appears to be purpose built for the newer style frame and the picture is too cropped for me to guess if it is backwards compatible.

eBay find: Mystery Ranch Tall NICE frame

A truly unique specimen, I can only assume this predates the current load lifter kit. The shortcoming of the Nice frame has always been its short height, this solution (simply extending the frame) presents backward compatibility issues since it would move every MR pack up too high on the frame.

I find it particularly interesting that they chose to change the basic geometry of the frame for the increased height, the center frame stay splits into a "Y" to the upper corners, rather then staying parallel like other MR frames.

A more studied MR aficionado could probably date this pack more accurately by the optifade colorway which I know was only offered for a short period.

While the new Guidelite and SPEAR frames solve the height issue handily with no backward compatibility issues, it is always fun to think of what might have been, if MR had went with this frame height from the beginning they probably would lost millions in government contracts, but perhaps had more market share in the hunting world.

eBay find: Jansport water bottle innovation

Not something I've seen before, and a placement I've only joked about:

Of course it would only really work with bike bottles which I don't care for, but it would likely allow for fast access with less contortion then is required for most low mounted bottle pockets.

eBay find: T3 Tora Bora Pack

The trizip is spreading.

I assume this pack has been out for awhile but I only here about most things when they trickle down to eBay:

http://www.t3gear.com/t3-tora-bora-back-pack/

Appears to be a stripped-down trizip bag, but with a worrisome omission of front compression.

Uses non-waterproof zippers, but they at least appear to be good #10s

This one is on some kind of updated ALICE frame, but it doesn't appear to be either the Tactical Tailor or TAG version judging from the flat crossmembers. Possibly LBT?

The belt and shoulder straps seem to share a lot of DNA with the now discontinued TAG ALICE stuff, I wouldn't be surprised if they manufactured these for T3.

As evidenced by the T3 homepage, the belt is both ALICE and MOLLE compatible, the version on their site ships with a Down East frame. If more ALICE upgrade makers built their belts this way there would be a lot more good MOLLE retrofit options.

Due to the lack of mention I think it is safe to say this design is not under license from Mystery Ranch. Since I do not believe the trizip is patented it is basically fair game, but it is still a bold move in a segment of the industry traditionally quite sensitive to IP and reputation in general.

The one real difference I spy between this design and a Mystery Ranch is the addition of a zipper pull at the bottom of the vertical zipper, allowing access to the bottom of the pack without opening the whole front.


I have no time table on such a prediction, but it certainly seems likely that this form of pack opening will continue to spread until someday it may even be considered a normal sight.

eBay find: More FILBE prototypes

Found some more for sale.
The first is just a carbon copy of the large MOLLE II ruck in coyote, the second is the missing-link pack I posted about last time:

eBay find: Mystery Ranch/Jansport hybrid

MR crew cap mounted to a Jansport K2 frame. Wouldn't have guessed that they were compatible, apparently the old Jansport frame width is similar to an ALICE. I can't remember what the seller said he was hauling in the pack, but it was obviously acidic.

Massive damage to the center flap/bag:

Frame fit is surprisingly good:

eBay Find: Velvet MR trizip

Certainly one of the more unusual MR packs I've come across, I can only assume it was a special run for some urban or fashion brand:

Notice the impression left from the QR buckle.

eBay find: Hybrid Scandinavian sweater

As I've mentioned before I like Nordic sweaters. I also have an ongoing curiosity towards hybrid knit/woven garments. Here we have both:

I woven upper yoke area, extending down the tops of the sleeves. The collar and placket are included in this, something I appreciate. I tend to dislike buttons on knits as they seem to pull at the buttons if you utilize any of the benefits of the stretch. The woven collar might also stand up a bit better then a knit one would, better protecting the neck.

In theory this design would add some weatherproofing and durability to the tops parts of the garment, the only thing I find odd is that the armpits are barely included in the woven section, perhaps one of the places where knit is the most desirable:

eBay find: Dana Designs Cold Creek

A while ago I wrote about the Lowe Alpine Double Dipper, at the time it was the only waist pack I'd seen with its peculiar water bottle pocket placement. Now I have found another and I begin to wonder if it was a more common arrangement then I thought:

In general the design details are much simpler, I'm not good at judging chronology but it strikes me as an early-to-mid era Dana pack.

The bottle pockets are small and appear to be neoprene-y.

Classic Dana lumbar pad and hypalon grip-panel on the back side, and a thinly padded waist belt.

What strikes me as the most interesting design feature is how the waist belt is attached to the far side of the pack and routed through a webbing slot to keep it pointed towards the wearer. My theory is this behaves as the compression mechanism and removes the need for the separate stabilizer straps that so many lumbar packs sport.

The search is on for more specimens!