Textilage on Rucksacs.

Two projects I completed some time ago but had not got around to photographing.

The first project was to experiment with some textilage on rucksacs. For this I used a British army “Northern Ireland” patrol pack and a larger 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 large 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. This 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.

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 top photo is the standard configuration. 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. This feature may have been added to later versions of the Northern Ireland.

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 patrol pack without needing to be disassembled.

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Shelterbox

I came across a charity called “Shelterbox” the other day. The contents tie in with my recent article on foundation survival kits.

 

 

 

 

A single shelterbox can hold materials for up to ten people, which is some impressive packing. The exact contents are varied to suit the intended location. I suspect many people might be interested in purchasing similar kits for their families. Such a box could do double duty as a table or footstool until needed. 

A bit of research identifies the box as 185 litre capacity.

You can carry a shelterbox on your back, but if you are smart, you find other means...

 

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Brick and Mortar Camouflage.

Way back in the 1980s I read an article about camouflage. In that article was a reference to the German army issuing a “brick and mortar” camouflage for urban combat. (Not the April Fool pattern above!) More information could not be found, and it was several years before I came across a single illustration.

Locating this image on line proved even harder!
 

Here is the illustration, taken from Funcken's “Arms and Uniforms. Second World War Part 2”. My recollection was of a red pattern with grey/cream swirls. My recollection is inaccurate, but it can be seen how the creases and wear lines on the illustration would create this impression.

This is actually the same pattern as shown in “Waffen-SS” by D.S. V. Fosten and R. J. Marrion.

In addition to this pattern the German army and SS issued a number of autumn patterns that used reds and oranges. These were intended for environments such as woodland leaf litter but might have also proved useful in some urban environments. Below is a German garment captured and used by the urban fighters of the Warsaw uprising.
 

Another German pattern that might be useful in brick environments: 

Future conflicts are very likely to take place in urban environments, yet most military gear is still being designed for verdant, rural environments. In some urban environments desert or semi-arid camouflages are useful. Other environments may need more red/orange dominant patterns. Correctly designed these patterns may also serve in some rural environments too. Smocks are the logical way to provide troops with the correct camouflage for the fight.

A friend of mine found this, originally a British army DPM item, it has been painted. 

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Getting Jigae

Various diversions took my thoughts in the direction of Korea the other day, and I recalled and located this image.

The soldier is Chinese, but the pack design is the Korean “chige” or “jigae”. The text notes that the frame can also be used to serve as section of tent frame. I spend a lot of time on this blog trying to teach people to carry less. Sometimes you have to be able to carry more, and one of the ways to do it is the jigae.

Yes, a floorboard!

I found some images of barrels being carried by jigae but so far no photographic evidence to back up the stories of 210 litre oil drums being moved by jigae

Rooting around the net I came across this company offering an aluminium version. This idea takes the idea further with what resembles a modified chair. Food for thought!

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