ALICE Pack: faults and fixes

As a child my brother and I used to love going to the army surplus store, which in those days was truly an army surplus store carrying many ex-military items. I have always coveted those olive drabs, brown and camouflage patterns. I have always appreciated the rugged construction and utilitarian nature of the articles. I admittedly also think army gear is just dripping with finesse.  

Instead of doing what everyone else does and buying an Osprey, I opted to buy that most infamous of all military packs the ALICE. The ALICE pack or, All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment was a modular system adopted by the U.S. military in 1973. The ALICE system includes a myriad of load bearing equipment, but this article will be critiquing and offering suggestions for the medium field pack and frame only. The pack itself is extremely rugged and when used without the frame is an excellent ruck sack. Although it does have a few short comings.

Firstly, the two main closing straps are permanently attached to the bag and must be loosed fully and pushed aside to gain access to the main bucket. This is easily remedied by inserting two quick release clasps to the original buckle. I highly suggest not removing the original buckles, for if the new ones should break you can still use the old ones as intended.

Second failing of the ALICE field pack is its frame. The ALICE system was designed to be best suited for an average build of man around 5’9” tall. I am my self 6’1” and thus the ALICE frame is far too small for me, and so the frame is more trouble than its worth. I wonder if it would even be of use to a man which it fits, as the frame holds all the weight of the pack at far too great a distance from the body. This distance seems to, through the powers of leverage, pull you backwards in a most disagreeable way. I also found that the ALICE frame offered no satisfactory place to attach bed rolls, sleep pads, or sleeping bags.

A third complaint although minor, is the lack of a sternum strap. This can be easily remedied, in my case I borrowed one off of another pack that I owned. You can see I used green electrical tape to secure any loose webbing.

I was thus contrived to better the ALICE pack myself by attaching it to a Kelty style frame which lifts the pack higher and puts the weight closer to the body, whilst being longer would also suit my height and provide space for sleep gear.

Fortunately, the ALICE field packs modular design makes fitting it to any type of frame easy. The bottom of the pack has two lengths of webbing and a buckle for attachment. In order to attach the top of the pack to a different frame I suggest inserting a small stick in the pocket where the original frame once attached, and then lashing this stick to your new frame. 

The frame that I used was purchased on Kijiji for five dollars, not only was it larger than the ALICE frame but it was 212g lighter. You could also make your own pack frame.

ALICE frame on left 957g
Secondhand Kelty frame on right 745g

So, to any of you out there who were thinking about buying an ALICE pack, or perhaps currently own one that you’re not quite happy with I hope that this information is helpful. As I said, the ALICE field pack is a rugged and smart looking ruck sack. I love that it can be easily attached to a good frame (just not the ALICE frame).

The ALICE pack manual as a PDF.

Remember,

Nature is our salvation