Testing the LK35.

[saxonaxe]

Went for a wander today really just to try out an LK 35 pack that I acquired recently. I've heard so much about them that when a good one came up for sale I bought it. I've got a few different packs.......never used to have a single Bergan until I joined this forum which was the ruination of me. Once an innocent packless virgin, I now have enough packs to equip 2 Para....

Anyway, that's my excuse...Really quite impressed with this pack, the previous owner had fitted a good padded surplus hip belt, but made no other alterations. The pack with brew kit, tarp and a few emergency bits and pieces just in case I have to overnight, weighed in at roughly 8 kgs ( dodgy fishing scale) The original shoulder straps I find are ok as they carry no weight, in fact the only " Improvement" I feel necessary is a chest strap or at least a tie across as the shoulder straps tend to slip off my shoulders because all the weight is on the waist belt.

I fixed a Swedish pouch on the waist belt by using the hooks already on the pouch and just slipping them into the Molle strips on the belt. It's useful as a camera/ battery/ trail grub pouch. Did a few miles and found the LK35 very comfortable,more so than my Northern Ireland pack of about the same size. I can put up with the frame weight as it keeps the air space between back and bag.

A few photos...

I added the Union Flag....

Brew time in the wood.

Evening Primrose in flower, they flower only briefly, usually for one evening/night and the Moths and night flying insects are attracted to the beautiful perfume of the flowers.

Where the rain runs off from the rocky outcrops, small ponds and wet areas form and now is the time when the Purple Loosestrife flowers. One of my favourites, soon the whole area will be a purple blanket.

Home past the lake which changes every week. A lot of the standing Reeds have gone, as have the Water Lillies. They have retreated down to the soft muddy bottom to reappear next year. Now the Swallows hunt the insects that the green weed attracts, and the Cygnets which were once balls of fluff are now well grown.

On arrival home..Oh! Dear! a Dutch Hooped Bivvy has arrived...See more bad influence..Save me someone..take me away from here......

 

[Bam]

Brilliant write up Sax, looks good and glad you like the bag.

 

[Oot]

Great wee write up and pics......to be honest I bought the lk35 because everyone on YouTube had one....apparently it was so great at everything......but......found it uncomfortable and if you didn't pack it right the one thing you wanted was at the bottom.....also bought a German army surplus flecktarn ruck.....same uncomfortable and side pockets where a pain to open....but everyone on YouTube had one.....so now tend to agree with 38th foots opinion that a good quality civvy pack is just as good ......now last count 23 rucksacks......I need help

 

[saxonaxe]

I really bought the LK35 to see what all the shouting was about too.... My first conclusion was that without the really comfortable waist belt that the previous owner had fitted, the pack probably would have felt a lot different. I think packs are a bit like boots, you need to try a few on to find the ones that suit you.
I've never owned a posh Civvy pack, even one of my first packs a CobMaster from about 1963 had an ally frame (still got it) . The LK 35 I've now got rides on the padded waist belt and only touches my back at the top where the fabric cross piece runs between the frame sides, making it really comfortable.

As far as loading it is concerned, I don't have a problem. I've sorted my personal admin system fairly well over the years and usually manage not to stow things arse about face. I'll only use it for day or one night trips, I'm pleased that I bought it but it will never replace my favourite RM Artic issue Bergan for serious trips. The RM pack is really comfortable and I can even run with it...............Hang on.correction.....I used to be able to run with it......

It's like an LK35 but with side pockets and ally frame, on steroids...

 

[Bam]

Sax, you should give some of the civvy ones a go, because they sell a lot you can get some decent bags at a reasonable price. They're built for comfort and are a bit more discreet than the military ones. Horses for courses and all that but no harm in a wee trip to Go Outdoors or the like for a play.

 

[saxonaxe]

" but no harm in a wee trip to Go Outdoors or the like for a play. "

I've got witnesses...Look what Bam said everybody....

GO Outdoors opening hours

 

[teef]

... it will never replace my favourite RM Artic issue Bergan for serious trips. The RM pack is really comfortable ...
It's like an LK35 but with side pockets and ally frame, on steroids...

that's a beauty pack! the frame is very much like that used on the Varusteleka/Savotta pack, Särmä TST RP80, that goes for just under £500.
i'd give a valuable body part to own one of your RM packs Sax, that's a family heirloom that is.

 

[teef]

i've been trying out a new set-up on my LK35 frame and that got me to thinking about the pack as it originally came and the path i've taken with it since.

imo the LK35's greatest asset is the frame itself. i ditched the original bag right at the start in favour of having something with a _few_ external pockets for organizational purposes. as i tried out other bags on the LK35 frame i soon ditched the original shoulder straps and waist belt as well since i found them not particularly comfortable to begin with and even less so as the loads i was carrying (wood scavenged from windfalls) increased in weight.

since then i've tried a number of configurations looking for a sweet spot in the 45-ish litre, 20-30 kilo load area that would give me good comfort and some of those external pockets i mentioned. this weekend i'm trying out a new config:

fwiw the main bag is a British 45L Field Pack, originally in Desert DPM but dyed monkey-shit-brown by yours truly. British Bergen rocket pockets on the side and a pair of Mil-Tec pouches on the back (front?).
the rigging is from the US MOLLE 2 rucksack. originally in ACU but (badly) dyed a bit darker by moi because ACU is evil and unsuitable for use by humans.

and, of course, all of that is hanging off the trusty old LK35 frame. which is my point: that frame is wonderful for such mucking about because it is (almost) infinitely adaptable. it's essentially a grid limited only by your imagination (and extreme loads) unlike the ALICE or "Telemark" frames, for examples, which are well suited to their specific bags but not so much for anything else.

the LK35 frame seems made to be used for whatever you care to dream up for it. i've seen guys strap everything from builder's bags to canoe barrels on the thing and everyone seems to get on just fine. i think i'm now on my fourth or fifth bag on my frame and this latest one is a great example: roughly 30 minutes to securely mount the bag on the frame _without_ any invasive mods on the bag itself. i could undo the bag from the frame, re-lace some of the original webbing and be off with the pack, frameless and as good as new, aside from the monkey-shit-brown of course.

i suppose i should mention that i have no particular beef with the original LK35 bag other than it isn't anything like what i want in a pack these days: no MOLLE, no side pouches, few compression straps, etc. the LK70 bag looks much more my kind of thing given its side and large front pockets but the costs for one in decent shape -- £100+ last time i looked -- didn't appeal to me, especially since i'm essentially just experimenting to find what i like, and don't.

 

[teef]

fwiw i've had some experience now with the rig pictured above and i have a few observations:

• the British bergen pouches on the side are huge and, for me, just too damn big. they tend to bulge way out. i've found i prefer something 1/2 or 2/3 their size for side pouches. this all assumes that have a fairly fixed bit of gear that you carry in each. for me the pouch on the right always carries my need-at-hand site gear (cordage, carving knives, current carving project, etc) and the one on the left is always my "larder" (water, trail munchies, tea and tea cup, etc).
• regarding the pouches on the back: i've discovered that 2 small pouches are about 1/2 as useful as one larger pouch. for me it's easy to organize a larger pouch to carry the gear i want there and a larger pouch gives you MUCH more versatility in what you carry. that's been a big step forward for me, though it sounds a bit trivial now that i'm actually typing the words. whatev's, works for me.
• a totally unspoken advantage of a sturdy external frame, such as the steel frame the LK35 has, is that it can also be a step ladder when you really need it. i'm short and many stone fences i come across as i head cross-country can be a bitch for me to climb over. not with my trusty LK35 along: tie a sling rope to the top of the frame and hang onto it, lean the pack against the wall, climb up and over, use the sling rope to retrieve the pack. simples!

when it comes right down to it i've discovered that i'm basically trying to recreate the LK70 pack which is the big brother of the LK35:

turns out these things are actually bloody hard to get, especially if you want one in decent condition at a reasonable price. so ...
next big project is to make one, or a rough equivalent tailored to my particular tastes. love me a good DIY project!

 

[lol]

Fabulous.........

 

[Bam]

Nice write up Teef, cheers.

 

[teef]

i should clarify a little maybe. i'm going to make something like the LK70 bag -- tall side pouches, large-ish square front pouch -- and mount it on my LK35 frame.
from the pictures i've seen i'm not at all convinced that the two packs use different frames, they certainly look the same to me.

also, building a steel frame is not feasible for me at this time. and as mentioned above i like to be able to use my frame as a step ladder in a pinch. at 15 stone i'm not going to be climbing up on an aluminum frame.

 

[Medwayman]

A question. I have just a normal camping bag standard sort of thing, what does the metal frame do how does it help?

 

[teef]

that's actually a good question Med. those of us who aren't into or haven't tried external frames often find the whole external frame evangelical thing a bit of a mystery.

imo -- and i do stress that this is just my opinion -- an external frame has three great benefits:

• versatility: you can pull off the bag and strap almost anything on to the frame. chainsaw, barrel of water, large cuts of wood, 1/2 a deer, you name it. for hardcore bush time it's unbeatable. another version of this is that you can try almost any pack on an external frame. for instance in those pics up thread i have a British Infantry Pack -- a frameless pack -- bodged onto my LK35 frame. took about 30 mins to do it, 1/2 that to get it off. why do this? if you are on a quest for the perfect pack -- or like me and just like trying every military surplus bag you can lay your hands on -- then it's great to be able to do it.
• heavy loads: you can't beat an external frame for packing a heavy load. 40, 50, 60 pounds or more: no problem. yes you can physically do it with a frameless pack, but not comfortably afaic.
• comfort: admittedly this is a totally subjective thing but most external packs allow you to offset the load from your back, meaning there is air against your back and not a sweat-inducing poly/nylon bag. if you run a high body temp or are prone to sweating this can be a pretty significant advantage.

as mentioned i've recently discovered a fourth advantage that i fully realize may just be me and the weird things i get up to but an external frame can be a great little step ladder: scaling over stone fences, tying something off well above your head height, etc. ok, esoteric i grant you, but no frameless pack i've ever seen will let you do this.

 

[lol]

i should clarify a little maybe. i'm going to make something like the LK70 bag -- tall side pouches, large-ish square front pouch -- and mount it on my LK35 frame.
from the pictures i've seen i'm not at all convinced that the two packs use different frames, they certainly look the same to me.

also, building a steel frame is not feasible for me at this time. and as mentioned above i like to be able to use my frame as a step ladder in a pinch. at 15 stone i'm not going to be climbing up on an aluminum frame.

...a stepladder!!!!!!!???????

 

[teef]

i guess this is a bit of a footnote: the thing with external frame packs is that they are basically a modular system.

first part is the frame and the rigging (shoulder straps and waist belt). here your focus is comfort and long-term wearability.
the other part is the bag -- or whatever -- you strap on to the frame. here the focus is personal need for size, organizational aids like pouches, etc.

in other words you can pursue your needs independently and, for instance, easily transfer your perfectly dialed in frame + rigging to one load after another.

for gear-heads -- aka "kit tarts" -- like me that is no small thing. it took me a good long while to find a frame + rigging setup that i was happy with, but eventually i did.
once that was under my belt (so to speak) i could then turn to finding the "perfect" pack to hang on the frame. as it happens i didn't find a pack to _really_ satisfy my hopes and dreams but i did learn a lot about what i want. so now i'm going to make my own.

 

[teef]

...a stepladder!!!!!!!???????

yeah, i know, wtf eh? but there it is. it works and it's damn convenient if i say so myself.

 

[lol]

I'm a sort of bale twine and hammer kind of guy so I'm really looking forward to this, having no capability at all

 

[teef]

i hear you, i'm the same when it comes to taxes and relationships.

as far as making things goes though, i've been doing that kind of thing my whole life. inherited that (bad?) habit from my father who made everything from our house to a dozer boat, including the 16" bowie knife / machette i recently dug out of storage and plan to start taking with me on my woodsy walks. nothing brings the spirit of my 'Da closer to me than that monster of a knife.

things like the pack are the type of project i've always wanted to get into but never quite got around to focusing on. now i have material at hand and a decent sewing machine lined up so my head is swirling with design ideas. it's very cool to cherry pick ideas from all the rucksacks and bergens that you've seen and have in mind a single pack that has the best of them. and because i just need to be able to strap it onto the LK35 frame it becomes so much more feasible.

 

[lol]

This sounds so good.....my Dad was not a particularly hands on practical guy (his Dad was.....), and I was bought up 4000 miles away sometimes. Farming improved things ...bale twine, marvellous stuff, holds buildings together!!!
As such, I can repair most things, just won't look pretty!!
(I should add, my people repairs were quite neat!!!)
Watching this develop Teef!!!