When "Old School" is what you need
Classic Old School RuckSack meets the need! With todays rapid advancements in technology we often abandon the tried and true methods of years gone by in search of the "better mouse trap". Taking a step back and a good luck we often discover the old timers had it right! We've taken a step back and designed the ultimate gear bag for todays hunter.
Sometimes it’s tough for older outdoor folks to adapt to newer technology. Some of us have been kicking around the outdoors so long that we have abandoned tried-and-true products of past years for items we “thought” were advanced and more useful, only to find the older products really better served our purposes all along.
Take the tried and true “rucksack” as a good case in point. During the Civil War Era, the rucksack was first put into use by the military. The early versions were virtually a bag with shoulder straps, making dispersion of a load pretty rough on the back. Just before the beginning of WWII, the rucksack was refined and made much more serviceable with the addition of multiple pockets and a better load distrubitation. Today’s modern rucksack is the epitome of simplicity in design but ranks very high in “serviceability.”
As a youngster growing up in very rural Red River County in northeast Texas, I was given an Army surplus rucksack, purchased from the old Army & Navy store in Clarksville. There is no telling how much use this old military-grade pack had seen before I received it, but it had that well-used look. I carried it on camping and hunting trips until I was well into my teens, when it was replaced with a “modern” pack with many pockets that closed via zippers. These zippers gave me trouble back then and until the present when I recently began using my new “rucksack” from Hogman Outdoors.
My rucksack works with unfailing “old school” technology! NO outside zippers for the big compartments, only one small zippered pouch inside the pack. My new rucksack uses genuine leather straps and buckles rather than zippers. When using my “modern day” packs, I would invariably grab one of the zippers and without thinking, jerk on it which almost always results the fabric liner getting stuck in the zipper. The leather straps and buckles of my rucksack totally solved this problem.
Whether guiding in the mountains of Colorado in past years or hunting hogs close to home, I always carry a pack stuffed with everything I think I might need on a hunting trip. I carry it all, GPS, compass, a couple of knives, bone saw, rope, handy wipes to keep the hands clean, rubber gloves... in essence, everything except the kitchen sink! Now, during a night hunt when I need to instantly reach in my pack and retrieve a flashlight or compass, I don’t have to worry about getting a zipper all bound up with the fabric of the pack. Buckles and leather straps are fool proof, even in low light conditions! Modern day technology is awesome but when it comes to carrying items needed for a hunt on your back, nothing beats the tried and true rucksack.
