Back in 1980 I started college as s 4year, Navy veteran and 4 years work in the private sector. I was given an old, brown canvas rucksack that I carried my textbooks, notebooks and a jar of Folgers instant coffee in for 2 of the 3 years I attended college. After my 1st semester, I noticed everyone else started carrying backpacks - but modern nylon ones. That canvas pack reminded me of the times my best friend, Doug and I camped out under canvas tarps and made campfires inside rock rings. Just can't beat the vintage stuff!
I found mine from 1969 I couldn’t believe I found it for one But it was in excellent condition as well So back in the woods with it i go🤠makes a realy good day pack&meany Awesome memories
Been a Scouter for over 56 yrs. Carried my Yukka pack many miles, still have my mess kit and pack. Rolled our blankets / Army sleeping bag " U shaped " down and used old plastic shower curtains as ground cloths. Cooked over open fires and slept in canvas Baker Tents. Each patrol had " Chuck Box " which had our pots/pans , utensil roll and food in it , I still have one . We were bush crafting long before it became a phenomenon , we just called it Scouting !
Brings back memories. I did BSA starting in 1965. Canvas packs, canvas floorless tents, wool blankets, surplus gear. Pioneering skills (military mountaineering rope and structure skills), land nav and via constellations , woodcraft (including the use of an axe) and field craft, first aid, Morse code and signaling via flags, fire starting and types of fires, shooting and archery, canoeing. Great program then. By the 90s it had significantly changed to an indoor program, less military application, more social orientation, modernized outdoor car camping, the incorporation of women leadership and girls in explorer units. Definitely a philosophical perspective change from conservation to green political ideas, to the present where sexuality and I'm sure gender issues in the future will complete its transformation from the development of boys into men ready to serve in peace and war.
Kurt , Me too Me too😁👍 started weblos @ 1965 and into scout troop 513 Northeast Georgia council. Spent many summers at Rainy Mountain scout camp fall and even a couple of very cold Winter events lol. Man o man them was the good old days. I can still smell the hemp rope and the canvas tents with the dew falling in the early morning. Getting up and ready before the rest of the troop and hightailing it to the mess hall to set up for breakfast lol... Greasy bacon and eggs and flapjacks and butterd grits. Lots of toast and apple jelly. Then a full day of learning and working on skills .
I'm currently enrolled in boy scouts, as a 16 year old star scout I'm experiencing the changes that are shaking this organization. But in my small town troop we still do the older style camping and mountaineering style stuff for high adventure. And as often as i can i use my canvas floorless pup tent instead of the modern ones. (Mostly because the light doesn't seep through in the morning) I hope it makes all you old timers happy too know there are still some of the older styles of scouting out there
I was in the scouts back in the 70s. We didn't do nothing. Everything I learned I had to learn by myself or in the military. I still learn things off RU-vid new ideas. There's some pretty crafty old boys out there. Things so simple you never would have imagined it. Of course I have a pretty good collection of Boy Scout books. The amount of information is staggering. Wish I lived in a better area. Liberals have ruined the scouts. That Ruth Bader Ginsburg made it to where they had to hire homosexuals as scoutmasters. And also made them hire a percentage of diversity hires. Namely the aforementioned homosexuals. I mean talk about a recipe for disaster. And they let girls in even though there was already a girl scouts. So instead of Learning Without pressure now there's pressure. And molestation. I'm not sure I would let my kids go when they were younger like I was. Once they get in their teens I figure they're old enough to call out any of that funny business.
Thank you for your video. I'm a Scout Master, Antelope, and have been researching and working out a pattern to update this kit with modern materials for our scouts and your insight has been valuable. The Boy Scout 574 Yucca pack's roots are influenced from the late 1800's by the father of scouting Lord Baden Powell. He was an officer in service to the Queen in the 1800's and officially kicked of scouting in 1907 at Brownsea Island . The first scout kits evolved from his military influence and the materials of the time. It is also intriguing to compare this model to the modern UL thru hiker packs, in that the main body volume is very similar; we've also weaned off waist belts; are frame-less; and the base weight is below 6-10 pounds.We are in fact evolving back to this pack's simplicity.
Wow, that brings back memories. My older brother had a pack almost exactly like that in the 60s. He modified it to attach to an aluminum frame by sewing two short sleeves to the upper corners, and those sleeves dropped down over the top tubes of the frame which was built to support a pack by that method. I've forgotten how the lower part of the pack attached, but probably just with lashings. He used it for several years, and then I used it for a couple years before someone backed their car over it and wrecked the frame. If not for that accident, I might have kept that old pack to this very day! Not to be too much of a nitpicker, but here's something that you and other bushcraft people might appreciate. Even a lot of people who are good with knots have not considered the fact that the knot we all call a "bow" is also really just the same thing as a square knot or granny knot, depending on exactly how you tie it. Most people don't bother to make their bows properly to turn out as a square knot, and just as most people do, you tied yours as a granny knot. You can tell because the bow loops do not stick out parallel to the base lines as would be the case if it were a square knot, but instead they are cockeyed with one loop angled up and the other angled down (compare the tag ends of a standard square knot and standard granny knot to the loops of a bow-style square knot and bow-style granny knot and you will see the same thing). A bow tied like a granny knot slips under stress, or comes untied easily, just the same as what happens with a standard (bow-less) granny knot. I am not trying to be critical, but once you start tying a bow in the form of a square knot, you will see the difference and never go back (and this is especially true for knotting your shoe laces!).
I joined scouts in 1950 (still a member of the same troop) and I had one of those Yucca packs. It worked well, but it was a bit too small. I think I still have that pack, stored away somewhere, along with a lot of other old scouting equipment. Scouting was, and still is, fun, even though bad health has finally caught up to me.
I used a pack like in 1953 as a Boy Scout it costs $2.95 with the Boy Scouts of America seal on the flap. a surplus pack about$1.50 to $2.00 depending on condition one of my favorite packs
I have this very pack,mine came with an aluminum frame. My Dad bought it for me in 1975,when I started Boy Scouts. The two flaps on the top sides,you said "I don't use them", I did use them,they would help keep rain out of your pack.
We were taught by our scoutmaster to tie our hatchet, blanket and knife on the outside D rings. If its done right your tools are easy to get to. Our matches were in the right front pocket, if the pack is laying down. Love the vintage gear series, sadly my boy scout stuff was in my old pack and was looted from my house after a tornado in Grand Island NE. in 1980. Thanks for the good stuff. God Bless!
I may not comment on a lot of your vid's sir, but this one, it got just there, lol, brings back a lot of memories, I got my BSA pack in "78-79" still use it once in a while for bushcrafting, but I've been thinking of making my own take on the old boy lol.
That pack kinda reminds me of the old battle packs worn by the doughboys of WW1 I would almost bet they are one in the same. Good find Blackie! I would love to come across one of those. My Molle gets to heavy because I keep putting more crap then I actually need in it. lol
Love this kind of gear. Reminds me of a time when my father would drive Me and my best friend to Bonito Lake in the mountains of New Mexico and drop us off on a Friday and come pick us up on Sunday evening. We were the ripe old age of 12 at the time and you could do that kind of thing back then. Had to catch fish to eat, or you'd be stuck with a can of beans. I've watched this video 3 times, and have been digging out my old gear since. Enjoying every memory. Thanks for the vid Sir.
They still sell this stuff on eBay pretty cheap. It's never too late to have fun. You're right back then nobody locks their doors. I can put a tent up in the backyard and my parents didn't even worry about me. Can't do any of that anymore. We had 10 acres of woods and I could go to the very back. They knew I'd come back sooner or later
Oh absolutely! Can you imagine kids/parents doing this nowadays? You'd have the Marines/Coastguard, the Presidents Security Detail _plus_ Child Protection Services on your head in two seconds flat!
Sorry, I didn't get your name at the front of the vid. I just found this one while looking at other camping vids. I haven't camped since I was a Boy Scout in 1960---63 (best memory is Camp Dan Beard in the winter), and I still have my backpack, canteen, mess kit, utensils, pocketknife, sheath knife (it was a different time...) and sleeping bag. I bought it all used back then, so it's plenty old. I never figured out how to load and tie the backpack so I really appreciate your tutorial. My son-in-law is an Eagle Scout who now leads a troop of his own on camping trips and he's encouraged me to get the old equipment out of the crawlspace and go out to the trees. Thanks to you, I'll be camping "vintage style" Thanks. And say your name slower, will ya'?
As a kid in the mid 1940s, a neighbor gave me his old Boy Scout manual. It talked about making tents out of muslim, soaked in a heavy water solution of powdered alum to be waterproofed. Also pack frames made of wooden slats, and fastened with copper rivets. Advice from there that I still uses is “A successful pack contains a lot of little packs.” I was a Cub Scout, but never a Boy Scout. In later life, I worked with Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts. Now, I organize geezer canoeing and motorcycle camping trips. And still struggle to keep down the amount of gear to take along. sigh Courtesy of Half Vast Flying
Love Love Love 💕 these vintage gear videos! They are so informative and I am really into the vintage gear! This is a great way NOT to let the past become forgotten! Thank you 🙏 Blackie for keeping this knowledge alive and passing it down to us! God bless you my friend!!! Keep up the GREAT 👍 WORK! Your friend in North Mississippi!!!! 🙏👋
Love it. Went MFI rat thru hike on the AT with a wood frame and leather scout pack and a thirty five lb load out. Council a crate of my old scout equipment from fifty years ago and had a grand time taking it all out in the back country for some video fun. Thanks for sharing. Greg
Had one almost like that back in the 60's when I was in the scouts.... passed it on to my brother when I got older. He laier becsme s scout master..... Now he and my nephew have nothing to do with the scouts because of the mess the are in..... When I had my BS Pack it was not new. I think Dad got it at tge Goodwill for me. You could not wear it out. After I gave it to my little brother I got a surplus WWII pack that I used until the late 70's. I never needed much more space and my cousin and I never carried more than 20lbs even when hiking the Appalachian Trail. I have never understood why some people carry 60lb packs. lol
1. They don't know what they are doing. 2. They like shiny things. 3. Maybe they are practicing new skills. 4. Maybe they are trying new things out. 5. Maybe they are doing something else. Not everyone is a hiker. 6. Maybe they are planning to escape society for awhile. 7. Who cares. To each their own. If it works for them. Why should we care? They only person who worries about how someone else does things, is probably just trying to tear them down to feel better about themselves. If they can carry extra, let them. It's no skin off your sack. Just like if you want to go Rambo style and go out into the bush with just a knife and a smile. That's good for you. They are no less of a person because they chose a different path. Maybe they are learning. I mean I think alot of that stuff is crap too. But it's their back. They'll learn.
1960's i used demolition bag. held everything and dry! my momma gave me a blanket that was perfect. the only thing official was my uniform and mess kit. we had long knee socks with adjustible garters. we used the boy scout knife that attached by a hook. We were allowed to open our knife after earning our chit!
Hard to beat the old gear. New stuff isn't always great, nor is it repairable. Disposable society. Wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't also expensive! Take care.
Blackie, keep up the vintage woodcraft videos. I like all the historical videos you've done. Some times we forget that our forefathers didn't need all the high tech gear we see today. They did just fine and probably better than we do now. I remember camping with my father and he was by necessity of funds what people would call minimalist. He was the perfect example of the more you carry in your head the less you need to carry on your back. We've lost a lot of woods wisdom with the passing of that generation.
very true and as i like to point out at the time the vintage gear was being used they were the ultra light stuff..lol..compare my 3 pound steel vintage boy scout set to a 12 pound dutch oven..!!
It's funny you say that. I've been watching some of the RU-vid channels that go back to the frontiersman days. I know you've said that you did some of that in the past. I just don't think that's for me. I'm older now and going back to the 30's is about as far as I want to go. I'm getting more nostalgic as I get older. Those trips with my dad were some great memories. I see a lot of gear videos. My father would crap himself if someone told him he needed all that stuff. I remember going out for a night with just a hobo bindle stick with everything tied to the end of the stick. My dad lived through the depression and he knew a lot about hobos. He never said he was one, but he sure knew a lot about them. He would always correct you if you called a hobo a bum. He said a hobo was a working man looking for work. A bum wouldn't work if you gave him a job. You did a video a while back on a vintage Boy Scout pack. I have that same pack. It works great. It may not be a Frost River pack, but it didn't cost $400 either. I think I got it for around $30. Thanks for the bedroll tip. I'm going to try that next time. That's why I watch your videos. I keep learning.
I have my Dad’s Boy Scout Hatchet from 1938, in very good shape. It was made in Bridgeport, Ct. at Bridgeport Metal Products, which was a few blocks from his house, sad that Bridgeport Metal Products is gone like a lot of other companies.
The "good old days" really were , good ( at least in My mind's eye ) they remind Me of Family now passed on . Vintage things were , at the time ( in most cases ) were just standard get You by items ( sometimes more , but , mostly just what was a necessity ) . Likely as not , whatever it was was , was homemade ( where , and , when possible , and , or , practical ) . If not for People like You , subjects , such as this would be regulated to history , then , to the dust bin of history ... there , to be forgotten ! Please , keep posting , and I , for One , will keep watching ! Thank You very much for Your info and Your time .
Appreciate vintage gear!. Treasure 2 Old Hickory butcher knifes, purchased when I got married, over 50 years ago. Served as camp knife then, and can still do the job, today. Same thing for a large canvas tent and "dinning canopy" (tarp), purchased in the early 70',s that's still in my stash. Heavy? Yes. Durable? YES! Thank you for sharing your finds and for bringing back some fond memories this morn.
I have the two strap front model, bought at a garage sale. Your video helped explain the method behind the packs madness. Still tough as nails although well battle worn.
Excellent video Blackie! I am really enjoying these vintage woodscraft videos as well. I have an affection for old BSA gear as I have enjoyed using it and have picked up pieces here and there over the years. I actually just received yesterday an old aluminum frame to rig up with a Yucca pack I've had sitting around. I was actually planning a video with it so it was awesome to see you with yours. We have definitely been on the same wavelength with the vintage BSA gear lately. Keep them coming my friend! Take care.
I enjoyed this one very much. I was in the Boy Scouts in the late 1960's and used some of those items as hand me downs from friends older kids. There was never much wear or damage on any of it. My twin brother and I had the next generation of packs that were also frameless and killed our shoulders on backpacking campouts. Our family never camped out so we had no idea of frames. We were in awe when we saw other boys with external frames. The next time out our parents at least got shoulder pads to put over those canvas straps!
I've got one of these packs. I'm sending it to my grandson, Cameron, in Vancouver WA, for his 13th birthday. It will have several bushcraft knives and bushcraft tools included as well. thanks for the history lesson. great vid. Carry on.
Great piece of vintage gear! Goes to show how well canvas holds up over time. I think the ambiance that comes with old gear helps remind me if being a kid. That was when the world was new, and really big! Glad you like the spoon brother! take care -Chris
Loved this vid on vintage gear. Thanks for explaining how these scout packs worked. Got to have the old Rothco scout canteen to go with it. Still some nice stuff on eBay !
Kind of funny, those who never did Scouting......... My Scouting started in 1964 thru 2014 and all this " bushcraft stuff " was the basis for all Scouting skills. Still have my Yucca pack, mess kit, ax, sheath knife and pocket knife........ Be Prepared, a Scout is....
The USMC blanket roll had the shelter half visible and the blanket rolled inside. Rolled inside the blanket was the 3 section tent pole, a length of sissal rope and 4 tent pins needed for the shelter half. When the blanket roll was formed into the horseshoe shape and attached to the pack, the straps doing the holding were tight enough to keep the pins, rope, and pole in place, thus no lost equipment. The shelter half was a very useful piece of kit. You could form a lean-to or use as a ground cover. Of course, it could be used to make a tent provided you could find someone willing to buddy-up for the night. The two of you had to be good friends because the tent wasn't all that big.
It's a shame we have lost so much over time. And it's a shame liberals have destroyed the Boy Scouts. They're more worried about teaching them to learn other people's cultures, and gender studies. Instead of what it takes to become a decent human being. And a man. But they want soyboys now instead of men.
Found one in a boutique shop in Arizona and I bought it for 3$ . Gave it to my grandson because of its age and great shape he was getting interested in camping at the time. The one I had also had the Boy Scout Conference logo and scout pack number inside the insignia. It did not have the 2 front pockets. I was too big chested to use it unless I changed the straps and I did not want to have it loose it’s originally.
the vintage in my experience has been top. we went camping when I was very young and you know how most camp, packing basically their house into the car. well, with that I broke the synthetic use young, just feels a lot better carrying cotton bags with wax paper or tins for real food you know, nessmuk never carried plastic with freeze dried food. more useful too, basic materials have ton of more functions than synthetics, like carrying beeswax candles over parrafin; Ive gotten more use out of carrying a resource bag full of jute, beeswax and copperwire than i can say.
Well said, my friend. My vintage years correspond with my love of vintage gear, as well. Wax paper and tin cans are music to my ears. Thanks for sharing.
Say what? That BSA backpack is much nicer than the BSA backpack that I used as a scout during the late 1950s. I used that pack for twenty years and then lost track of it. By and large, I wouldn't give you a nickel for my old BSA pack. The packs I have today are much better. I like the one you have and it seems very well made. I wonder when the Boy Scouts decided to downgrade their packs. Great video. Thanks a million.
The wool blanket is an essential piece of gear. Add it to a poncho and a woobie, and you're sleeping fairly comfortably down to about 20 degrees, or so. When it's hot, you can rig it to provide extra shade.
That bedroll technique works better if you have it inside a canvas tarp. Or some kind of protection. I always worry about snagging the blankets on Thorns or picking up stickers. Where I live there's a lot of that crap.
Hey great vid man I just got one to use when I go to camping with my troop and now I know how to use it right thanks to you and liked how you put the blanket I'm going to use that method thank you.
I'm like you, I learned a lot of outdoors things when I was a kid. Unfortunately, all my gear from those days is gone along the wayside. One piece of gear I really wish I still had is a canvas haversack that my grandfather gave me. Besides a durable piece of kit, there are a lot of great memories of him attached to it. Thanks for some great videos!
I just picked up some old scout gear at a flea market last weekend A very nice cooking kit and a canteen. The canvase covers are a bit ragged but the gear is well made and looks durable. I hope to get some use out of it this fall.
Yes, that was my pack when I joined Scouts in 1963. I even did the horseshoe roll. But it was a terrible pack. I soon replaced it with the much better Camper Pack on a ladder frame - all official BSA issue, and that carried me through Philmont, three jamborees, and two summers on camp staff.
I still have my Boy Scout 573 haversack which is exactly as this one minus the two front pockets (only one). It´s like new and it must have been circa 1977 when I joined the BSA. I have been thinking lately of turning it into a haversack, not sure yet. Thanks for sharing and the memories!
Hey blackie love your videos especially the silver wolves series. I would like to present some info that I believe may have been lost over the years. Many people over the years have complained about the us army 1928 haversack and how they are so horrible. But if you get to thinking about it the design is kind of ingenious for the time. All the bush crafters talk about the multi function of our gear but every video I’ve seen from many sources don’t mention multi function of backpacks. The 1928 haversack does have multiple uses. It can carry your gear but it can also be used as a ground cloth to sleep on over a bush bed with the meat can pouch stuffed to use as a pillow. I would love to get your thoughts on that and maybe you can share this tip or trick with your viewers. God bless blackie keep up the good work!
hi there , I also love the "old school" my gear is 1938 moose sack , m38? i think off top of head,. a Russian plash palanka and or a canvas teepee , Czech, name escapes me at the moment, a Swedish cookset , heavy but bomb proof and i mean Nuclear bomb proof , I go into these camping shops and see high tech sleeping bags for near on a years wage, mine Czech wool blanket sleeping bag , the he small change in your pocket and good to minus five degree's C. keep on with these old school , ya got my interest , thanks and all the best from Tokyo
Dang kid killer packs...had one way back in the mid sixties, i reckon that bugger right there wore permanent grooves in my shoulders...a true torture device! It would have worked much better had they used thicker canvas webbing for the shoulder straps such as was used on the old military rucks of the day. Shoulder straps were fine till they got wet and started bunching up cutting into tender shoulders...i had my dads old tin plated steel BSA mess kit,(heavier en all get out) between that, a military wool blanket and all my other gear...well sir, it was a bit more than my skinny frame could handle for more than a few miles.... makes me smile nowadays when i hear folks complain about how uncomfortable alice packs are, which in my opinion were and remain a hundred times more comfy than my old scout pack could ever hope to be...though...them old canvas bags?...they are kinda cool lookin at that...atb...woods
we need to know about this equipment cause its still around and usable. being cheaper, if you find it at a yard sale or something, and better then most the modern yuppie stuff you find at stores
They sell it on eBay. I bought this very pack and a day pack for a little bit of nothing about a year ago. I also bought several missed kits. A Boy Scout compass a few of the knives, one for each of my kids. And of course the canteens. There's a lot more stuff but I'm not going to get stupid with some of the prices they want.
Just because something is new, that doesn’t mean it is good. Just because something is old, that does not necessarily mean it is bad. New things, often are untested. Nobody knows how they will work, when things are not going perfectly according to plan. Old things have survived good times and bad. The things that worked were kept, because they were useful. The things that didn’t were discarded, because they weren’t.
Hi Blackie, great video. I have a question I hope you (or someone reading the comments) can help with. I found one of these packs at a local flea market and one of the shoulder straps has started to fray badly. What can I do to stop it? It's easily frayed a quarter inch in from the side edge. I really want to USE this pack and not leave it in the house as a "trailer queen" (to use your phrase, lol). I've seen sprays, etc. online that are supposed to stop fraying on canvas but since its a shoulder strap it'll see lots of bending and stretching so I don't trust those things to last. Any ideas would be appreciated.
i would co to a craft store and look for fabric glue..then take another strip of canvas webbing and back the original strap..this would keep the original look but fix the fray and load carry problem..hope this helps..safe journeys
Dude! I have that exact pack. They said it was from the 1920-1930's I had to make repairs to the straps. (Sewing) but other than that it's cherry. Have my camping stuff in it right now. And just boiled eggs in the mess kit. It's stronger than any of that crap you can buy now. I also have the smaller daypack. The old metal mess kits are better than the aluminum ones. I have both. Walmart sells a stainless steel one for 5 bucks. Which is what my kits use. Boy scouts really had it going on if you were in the right group. I bought a collection of their books. It sucks what they have turned into now. All the books talked about God, honor and faith... no wonder liberals destroyed it. My troup never did anything. Most of the time it was at another scouts house. And their mom was the leader. Later, we got old enough for the older group unfortunately the old man who lead it turned out to be a pedophile. When my parents found out from other parents it was the end of it for me. Luckily I wasn't his type. He had a special group of boys for that. Never found out what happened to him. They kept stuff like that quiet back in the 70's. He had money and was respected by the community so I imagine he got away with it.
