My ALICE pack

Since my "cold wet weekend" I've made some mods to my pack. I've been meaning to do these things for awhile but always never thought about it until I have to use the pack.
None of this is permanent and if you decide to and don't like it it can be put back easily though I imagine that restitching the pack strap would be a PITA. I didn't want to have to sew anything so here's the way I did it.

First thing was to make the cinch straps more user friendly.
I cut the stitching on the pack strap so I could remove it from the slider at the bottom. Using 3' of 1' strap I ran it through the slider and attached a 1' buckle using another slider. I attached the other end of the buckle and have 3 adjustment points. The round table case is my pistol/rifle cleaning kit.


Close up.


Open top no straps in the way.


Next up was adding a shelf to the bottom. This will help me more with the pack off the frame but it does provide me with additional lashing restate.

Wearing the pack.
Right side
Tomahawk


Left side
Canteen and cup on top. 5 AR mags on bottom.

I'm still working on setting up where I want stuff so I'll be updating in a few days what is in it and where it's stuffed.

Looks good so far! I really enjoy seeing people rework gear to suit them better!

I've tried a couple of other packs but I just like the Alice. So might as well just go ahead and get it done the way I want. Just little things that are easily done make it perfect for me.

It's amazing the little modifications you can do with some extra webbing, buckles, grommets, and heavy duty thread and needle plus some ingenuity!

I actually have a medium Alice I use as my tornado bag. Biggest mistake the Army made was switching to the new MOLLE rucks, I’ve got triple digit miles logged suffering under a MOLLE ruck and I’d pick an ALICE over it every time and often did when afforded the option. I know the 82nd still has units that use the ALICE ruck because it’s a tough one to beat.

That being said one day I want to upgrade to a HPG UTE or an Eberlestock Little Big Top. But either way you’re looking at something $250-350 more than an ALICE ruck to do the same thing just a bit nicer and more comfortably, which is why it’s low of my priority list of things to buy.

2 things on a ALICE. #1 change that damn plastic buckle on the waist belt. in a word, annoying. I went with a cobra buckle.
#2 adjust /modify the frame to fit you. mine is easy. I have a flat back. I have 0 ) curvature.

With gear, as with anything else we deal with, the devil's in the details. And what's right for me ain't necessarily right for anybody else who lives or has ever lived on this spinning ball of rock.

I ran ALICE packs for years. Good packs. I had a Tactical Tailor MALICE pack that had a TON of miles on it, and still looked brand new when I gave it to a buddy, when I bought my Kifaru. I used a Mystery Ranch NICE frame with mine, and it was super comfy. I've seen the frames go for about 200, which is expensive, until you realize that you can turn your el cheapo ALICE into what is basically a MR pack for that price. Anyone that has ever carried a MR pack can tell you, they are incredible. Dana Designs, MR, and Kifaru are basically the most comfortable packs you can buy. It's hard to quantify just how much better a better frame made the ALICE.