my experience exactly....iv'e been running the molle straps on both my Alice packs for nine years now...makes a HUGE difference...glad it worked out for you Mark...atb...woods
MTwoodsrunner even with the added expence of the new suspension system it is still cheaper than buying a brand new pack. Thanks for stopping by brother. Hope all is well?
I loved the ALICE, but I think that is more from nostalgia from being in the USMC, but I do remember cussing that dang pack many times, but for some odd reason I still love those packs! The ALICE is almost indestructible. Solid pack. Cool Mods and good review my Friend!
Lee Ralph ill tell you what. With the straps the way they were and the webbing going through the metal buckles it seemed I was always fighting with the pack. After switching those buckles up and the suspension system. It is 100% improved.
Very Cool. I still want to add an Alice to my packs, but I am sure I would not want to carry it until I had updated it a bit as you did. Congrats on getting the pack more comfortable, I know it will soon become a favorite of yours!
Although this uplink is a few years old, I just found it. Hats off to you on this informative video. You should have more likes, for content, script, and cinematography. JSOG6
WoW great mods for the Alice Pack. I have the medium Alice with frame. I haven't done any mods yet that's going to be a winter project for me. I couldn't possibly use it without mods for the same reason of back issues. Thanks Mark!
SouthPaw Bushcraft I have the medium aswell. pick your self up some molle 2 straps and waist belt it will make all the difference. I have a few more things in mind and will chip away at them when I can. thanks for stopping by Dawn. Its always good to hear from ya.
Hey Mark, first I have to say I literally laughed out loud with the diaper full of crap. (LOL). Then awesome and informative about the goods itself. Thanks for sharing and we'll catch you on the next one. ATB Mike
mfavia620 hey brother, thanks for stopping by. I kinda have a wacky sense of humor and I have been holding back a little up until now. It turned out to be a great setup after changing the straps. Always good to here from ya have a good week
Great video I have done this to my Alice pack I spray painted the ACU camouflage with khaki rustolem turns it a great base color thanks for the video just subbed
Great vid, yeah, there are a lot of great surplus packs out there, but a lot have crappy suspensions, great job on the upgrade! You'll love the Alice now...great bag all around.
Vinland Bushcraft I am loving it! Cant wait to do an overnighter with it and see how performs. It has done great so far on hikes. Have a great week brother. thanks for stopping by
Nice mods cool pack, I have a large Alice pack, I put the MOLLE ll waist belt on it and upgraded to the thicker Alice straps I found that it did feel like a birthday diaper when the pack wasn't full, so I sewed compression straps on the top and bottom of both sides and it keeps everything tight and close to my back, thanks for the video, I'm subbing your channel! Peace out boy scout!
Pete McPherson thanks for the support brother! I am thinking about picking up the large pack too for those longer trips. Good Idea sewing those straps on. Thanks for stopping by man. Take care Mark
What a difference eh. It really is night and day. My pack ended up wearing out and all the stitching started to come loose. I must have put a 1000 miles on that pack plus the 20+ years it was in service before I got it. I bought a Pack called the Deep Woods Ruck from the Hidden Woodsmen. It is designed to fit the Alice pack and is similar in design. Take care brother. Stay safe and healthy
New Sub, Thanks !! You must have the medium Alice because my Alice has the 3 pockets with 3 more smaller pockets above them .I'm sure mine is a Large Alice & I Love It after some mods . Thanks again !!
mrbakerskatz thsnks for the support. I do have a medium alice. It is good for an overnight in summer but winter you would need a bigger pack or a sled. I find the pack empty pack heavy on its own and I feel the difference between a full alice and my Teton sport bag. I tent to use my teton bag for hiking and my alice for bushcraft. Although the teton is good for both. The large alice is a 70L bag I think. That thing must weigh a ton when carrying a full kit.. how do you like it? Thanks for stopping by. Have a good week Mark
Nice! Glad the mods work for you! If you like the Alice, you would love the Eberlestock Warhammer! At least I do. I am definitely a fanboy of that pack!
I have never heard of Eberlestock before. I just checked them out and WOW! Amazing packs, out of reach price wise for me though. I no longer use this alice pack. The stitching started coming loose everywhere and after the third repair I went a slightly different way. I bought the Deep Woods Ruck made by The Hidden Woodsman to hang on the Alice frame. So far I love it. I did a video on it showing its features not to long ago. Excellent quality and made in the USA. Which is great for quality but terrible for the shipping and exchange to Canada. But I am very happy with it and it is a pack for life! Thanks for watching and the tip on Eberlestock. I will keep my eye on them.
@@AdventureTimeOutdoors I lucked out and found the Eberlestock Warhammer on Amazon for $251. That Hidden Woodsman Ruck looks pretty rock solid! Those Molle II shoulder straps and hip belt, that you have on the Alice frame should serve you well. Tactical Tailor produces some straps for the Alice pack called super straps and super belt. I figured I'd throw that in there just in case you ever get tired of the ACU pattern on your Molle II straps. LOL. Have a great one sir, and thank you for the video!
Mark brother nice review. I have 2 of these packs, the large one and smaller one. The one though is used for my PRC-104 military manpack radio that I use, the other sees bush time for sure. Durable packs by all means but yes the straps were not designed for comfort back in the days. Cheers and have a great week brother.
Adventure Time Outdoors not yet, the frame for the radio works just fine, but the second frame does indeed need new straps and will most likely change them out. I hope to do the 3x3 review this week
Hey Mark...been thinking of getting a medium size Alice pack but i have a question before i get one. Would the external pouches hold a Nalgene size water bottle(38 oz) ?, i know my Canadian rucksack doesn't, the pockets are not tall enough and will only hold a canteen, Thanks
Kijika Life I use the nalgene canteen. And that fits with the cup and lid with some room. The cantene is 32oz it also fits my pathfinder water bottle with room too. The cover for the pockets have adjustable straps so I cant say for sure but I am pretty sure it will fit. I keep my straps tight and have 3" of exrra webbing left for hight
Kijika Life just a hint, i saw them at varustaleka.com with the frame for a pretty good price earlier this week. Thats where I got mine and shipping was cheap and fast.
Where did you get it, for how much and is it a large or medium? Think they come in large and medium. I've been looking for one on ebay and not sure if I should go for a large or not.
Jim Kernicky I got it from Varusteleka.com. They are an army surplus store in Finland. Many of the alice packs I found on ebay were comparable in price but the shipping from the U.S to Canada was too expensive. Some how, some way, traveling over an ocean 10 x the distance is cheaper than a 2 hour drive from NY state to Montreal and faster. Imagine that. The pack in this video is a medium pack. It has tonnes of room in it and keep in mind you can strap all kinds of stuff to the outside of the frame aswell. I thought about buying the large pack but 70L is just too much pack for me and I would just end up filling it up with a bunch of useless crap. I think I payed $39 for the pack and frame with shipping I think it was $50 CAD. The molle straps and belt from ebay were $30 with shipping but I had to shop around to find a vendor that shipped to Canada at a fair price. If you are in the U.S I am sure you wont get killed with the shipping like we do. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. Thanks for watching and have a good week.
Doesn't appear that the load lifters from the molle harness are at the 45 degree angle, from the straps to the frame. Looks like the frame is too small for your torso size. Also, keep in mind that the molle belt is a hip belt, not a kidney pad. It has to sit at a particular spot on your hips to properly shift the load from your shoulders to your hips.
Brandon Steele I called it a kidney belt but yes it is a hip belt. The frame is a little short for me. I am 5'10" tall but I'm all torso which makes it hard to fit packs. I did manage to get this pack set up to sit comfortably with a heavy load in it. That's why my pack is setup so low on my back so I can have my hips take the weight. I just have to be careful how I fill my pack so it doesn't feel like it is pulling away from me. It may not be set up the "proper" way but it works for me and I am very happy with it. Thanks for stopping by. Have a good week
My first Alice pack frame I cashed it i l b e Marine Corps waste kidney belt it's like 206 semi rigid foam it is beautiful with the Alice pack but take some Rick jury-rigging to get it put on cuz it's not meant for the Alice pack it's meant for the i b l e
Absolutely you have found the update essentials to a great pack. Just to let you know a Molle sustainment pouch can snap to each side to plus the volume and convenience. Para cord jam knots on the bottom can be used to secure a large sleeping bag. You can spray paint the non matching camo. Checkout my channel: kurt Baier. ALICE might not be as pretty as MOLLE but she is a keeper.
Kurt Baier i will check out your videos for sure. Always looking for good ideas. I use a Canadian jam knots all the time to tie stuff to the frame. Works great. I am not really eorries about the camo not matching but If it can be done cheap enough I will give it a shot. I love the design of the pack. I think it is great with the molle suspension but with the original alice straps it was terrible! With the few mods I have done and all for under $20 this pack is awesome. To be honest I am surprised more people arent useing them.
