Two projects I completed some time ago but had not got around to photographing.
Textilage
The first project was to experiment with some textilage on rucksacs.
For this I used a British army “Northern Ireland” (NI) patrol pack and a larger (“Bergen”) rucksac.
I found a company that sells half a kilo of camouflage material strips. Most are PU MTP pattern and unlike most MTP, there is good contrast between the colour elements. Strips of hessian cloth or cord are also used.
Note the variation in DPM colours. This is particularly notable between the large pack and its side pouches.
This is the larger pack. Note that the side pouches can be removed. More on this later.
Harness side. The shoulder straps have a strap sewn down them in loops. These allow strips of fabric to be easily applied.
“Public” side of the large pack. Some netting, brown on one side and green on the other, has been added to the lid.
The netting does not show up much against the DPM, but can be used for attaching natural materials.
Note that there are are additional “ladder” straps down the outside. More textilage could be attached to these to further break up the shape. More modern packs often have PALS, which can be used as attachment points for textilage and foliage.
NI Patrol pack, harness side.
The shoulder straps lacked a looped narrower strap. Instead a length of paracord was zig-zagged down the padding and sewn at the curves.
As you can see, the paracord is totally hidden by the textilage and the shoulder straps themselves are well concealed.
Public side of the patrol pack. Textilage added to the pack top to break up the shape.
The above photo is the standard configuration with just the integral side pockets.
The side pockets are well constructed with a waterproof lining and drawcord top, the latter in DPM PU. Unlike the side pockets of the larger pack, these cannot be be detached. Detachable side pockets may have been added to later versions of the Northern Ireland pack.
Textilage is perhaps even more important for smaller packs. These are more likely to be worn in combat, and the pack will often be the part of you most visible to an airborne drone when you are trying to use cover.
Detachable Side Pockets for the NI Pack
This photo (above) shows my second project.
This pack has been modified so that a pair of the detachable side pouches can be attached. This can simply be achieved with some lengths of 20mm webbing and 20mm buckles.
Side pouches rigged for independent use.
Side pouches with their harness. The entire thing can be clipped to the NI patrol pack without needing to be disassembled.