Growing up I always had WWII gunbelts, pouches, canteen holders and a leather bandolier that has many pouches. I also had (growing up) and still have my web belt with brass slider buckle. I wore it one three expeditions and just finally had to replace the belt for a longer one, still using the original buckle as I am fatter... [censored] beer!
As I got older and went to Kenya for the first time I used the WWII belt, pouch and canteen holder (modern military canteen in place of original)that I had used as a child... It was well worn already as it had been through war, my father used it growing up and then my childhood as well. It survived 2 months in the Kenyan bush with no problems. The pouch itself actually has the name and rank of the man who used it in WWII. The modern Dutch military bush jacket as well as a modern US Army lensatic compass and case came with as well. Ooops, I forgot that I also used a Korean military ALICE back pack,as I did not want to use an American one with the metal brace and both tanker boots (American) and some other military boots, I forgot the maker.
That was in 2000... The in 2002 I went back but this time I upgraded to a Vietnam era gunbelt, puch and canteen holder... Yes, they resembled my WWII equipment, but these were in better condition. As usual the Dutch jacket and compass came with. In fact they came with me when I went back in 2004 and I use them to this day when out in the field. I have also added in 2002 a large square modern Army canteen to hold more water and a smaller flask canteen to put in my cargo pants pocket.
Now I also use Maxpedition and other modern packs with modern materials but the surplus stuff holds up and can take a real beating and I love the cotton canvas that makes this stuff durable.
I have my father to thank for this as he grew up playing with this stuff and went to Vietnam and still buys and uses this gear for outdoors and fishing excursions.
I have been using my Maxpedition fatboy for years in Africa and have now started to go back in the direction of surplus. I have two gas mask bags that I am now using... One is a British bad and the other Finnish. The Finnish is from the 80's or 90's and the British is WWII and tuff as hell! The Finnish even came with a modern gas mask and accroutments (sp?) I use one for my field archaeology use and the other (the Finnish) as my modern possibles bag witn my Scrap Muk, or similar knife. It is now my woods wandering bag and can hold quite a bit.
Here they are: The British MK VII on the left and Finnish on the right. I removed the original strap on the MK VII (I still have it) and replaced it with a longer leather one (Hmmmm, reminds me of someone??? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />) The Finnish has an adjustable strap that can be made long or short and another on the lower back that I can put around my leg (not original use) to hold the bag in place.
The British bag has many pockets, the small one on top with the white string has a Marbles compass attached. You can see my bandana, there is a county comm tube filled with my kit, a small roll of duct tape and another string to attach my SAK Cadet. The wide pocket to the right of the map holds my Nalgene bottle perfectley.
The Finnish bag has a large compartment and you can see snaps on the front. The snaps keep a flap closed and has more pockets inside. This has an elastice strap that I use to hold my water bottle in place
Here are the pics:
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Inside Finnish bag
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Inside the British MK VII
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Marbles Compass
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It should be noted the the Britsh bag has strings attached to it. The one on the outside goes around the back and attaches to a metal disk on the side. The bag was originally worn on the chest. I don't know what the string in the small pouch was used for. I removed the original strings and replaced them with cotton string of the correct sizes and lengths (I kept the originals). The other string for my SAK was my idea, as a lanyard in case I drop my knife.
These are durable bags that can haul a buick and I recommend them to anyone for woods or urban use. Both bags were unissued.
