Now that's a good idea, using the bags as mobile cover. Yet another thanks. Those are pricy but look like they're worth it.
I'd agree with the price, but remember, what the military takes in; they must live off it and that includes everything for combat operations. Its the same when discussing cheap gas masks, especially those cheap Czech ones that go for about $30. The model reminds me of the old M-17, if you used them, you know that it take a real pro and some serious training on filter removal. In a true NBC environment do you want to depend on a $30 dollar model in exchange for your life. I know some preppers will counter my thought, their opinion, I can respect it, but we shall see. My family does not practice donning and doffing like we did when we lived in Turkey, Germany or Japan, but I can assure you, the first time, that the new MCU-2P's and M-40's were on the market, I grabbed them right up to replace the industrial masks that I bought for them. So thats why I opted for the same on the pack.
The first SOF Extended Pack was similar to what you are seeing, it was issued to Army SF, Ranger and some Airborne units back in the mid 90's. Lesson learned from the First Gulf War. The Marine Expeditionary Unit Special Operations Capable (MEUSOC) and Air Force Special Ops units were issued the improved one. I think my unit was one of the fist AF units to get it. So the good and the bad with the first pack was this, butt/fanny pad was woven into the pack, this eventually wears and rips off bag. Also, the frame was built into the pack, the frame was two long (about 2 1/2 feet long metal strips) held in by material and a sliding restrain sytstem that was to take the weight off the shoulders and place it back along the back. We normally carried up to 70-120 pounds of material, depedning on ops, that included ammo (remember the weight here) and everything to sustain a warfighter for extended ops, I also normally placed my PRC inside the pack.
What you see with the ACU Large Pack version; the Army is using a little better version, thier is a plastic frame that fits the contour of the back, the shoulder straps and belly belt are then strapped into the plastic frame with the pack riding on frame.
With the MARPAT, everything is one one system, but has interchangeable parts that makes repairs pretty easy, it resembles the ACU, but its better for extended ops, not that you have to fill it all in, but if your doing extended ops or need to carry cold weather gear, a major plus. I recommended converting to the MARPAT because of the versatilty. Now I want to say, its not mandatory that our team convert, but I allow those that are skeptics to try one out during training and when we get back, they normally want to keep mine, so they are normally hunting on EBay or ordering directly for a new one.
About the only other pack that I really love is the new improved Bergen that the British Military use. You can find these on EBay, but just make sure that when you do the cost is not in English Pounds. I am sure the Canadian forces use them, so if you have a friend up North, mabe you can find a cheaper one. I've seen where some of the GI store, Amazon.Com or Ebay sell them, but not sure about the condition...again a big worry with me, a simple shoulder strap not being able to keep up with the ops...can make my day in a real ops. Training, not an issue, the support vehicle is there, we change out a ruck and presto, were back in the game, but get some serious ribbing from team mates.
So I am sure their are others that have a better slant, but late Spring, we did a 50 mile hike from our BOL. My former Marine teammate and I brought our MARPAT, two brought the Army ACU pack, one brought an old Alice with frame, and another brought a commercial frame packs. Each member was required to carry a simulated combat load or the real Mccoy as far as weapons and ammo. That week we had constant rain, we waterproofed all our gear because we had to cross a river and a few active creeks. After the second day of ops, the MARPAT stuff was pretty dry (note we had waterproofed them again), one ACU held up okay, the other the strap broke (under weight that he carried) and the old ACU pack fielded as a veteran would, but the guy didn't bring his TOE and was missing some mission essential gear (had to borrow from support vehicle) and the commercial pack, didn't hold up well under the river crossing. So, I guess it comes down to how you use your BOB. Not everyone is using the BOB the same way, but in our case, it was high mountaineering stuff and we carried climbing gear, extra set of boots, and a sleep system. Oh yes, just to mention, the one guy, who brought the old Alice, no longer on the team, he decided it was not for him, good guy, he wasn't up for the mountain stuff. We trained on this mission as the role of the blocking force had to traverse a circular route and had to go over some exruciatingly painful ridges before we hit our planned position.
This will be my last post of the issue, hope it helps you. Take care