eBay find: Woodland Dana Designs

According to the auction this was one of twelve packs made for the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team and was built off an arcflex pack.

eBay find: vintage internal frame

This pack comes from the interesting space in history after pack makers switched to internal frames but before hipbelts were considered mandatory.

I will admit I have a soft spot for leather and felt shoulder straps no matter how outdated (or uncomfortable) they may be. The grommet matrix for strap adjustment is interesting, especially considering that with no belt torso length is a rather abstract concept.

The presence of load lifters is also interesting, as they seem to be pretty rare on older packs, and even more rare on beltless packs. Also notice the bottom of the shoulder traps is anchored directly into the frame stays via bolts.

An old McHale pack

Dan McHale posted this pack on his website as a "blast from the past." I think the most interesting part of the whole thing is his unique sleeping bag access. He said the customer didn't want any zippers so he used a side mounted drawstring protected by a flap:

I wouldn't be surprised if another older pack had the same feature but I've certainly never seen it anywhere else.

eBay find: Multicam FILBE

The only color variation I have seen to date, I full muticam FILBE pack:

Oddly enough the auction is from Poland, no theories on how it got there.

As near as I can tell there have been no modifications other then the color. Since the shoulder straps are solid cordura even the insides are printed. Apparently the interior stretch fabric for the waist belt could not be sourced and is boring old Coyote.