Swiss Alpenflage Backpack, 1971

On Saturday, Sweet Pea and I took a quick trip out on the town.......... we stopped at the local Goodwill Store to see what kind of treasures we could scare up.  After a quick cruise through the store, I left with an unexpected item............ a vintage Swiss Alpenflage backpack!

The backpack is in new and unissued condition and is dated 1971.  I have seen these backpacks for sale on the surplus market for some time now and it appears that they are the packs that came with the M70 Alpenflage BDU set-ups.  The only difference that I can see is that the end of one strap has had a D-ring type adjuster sewn on so that both straps can be clipped to the upper snap clips to make two shoulder straps.  The stitching on the D-ring matches the rest of the stitching in the pack, both in size and color.  This makes me think that the Swiss Army may have had these packs converted from excess stock.......... or maybe they are a civilian conversion so they can be sold on the surplus market as a functional unit.  Either way, it was a great find........... especially at the $2.99 !!!!!!

Here's a link to my blog page on the original M70 Alpenflage BDU's:
 
sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2011/07/m-70-swiss-alpenflage-jacket-backpacks.html

Here's the pack: