WWII US Army Mountain Ruck

[East Scout]

I picked one of these up today at the fleamarket..Its dated 1942 and is a Messe Inc manufactured ruck...The condition on a scale of 1-10 is a good 9.9! Its khaki and not OD..It has all the accesories but the rifle sling that hooks onto it...........Its really a good looking peice of kit for as old as it is..I might even use the bloody thing this summer...

Anyone have a ballpark idea what its worth?

ES.......

[Enduring Freedom]

I have no idea what it's worth.

But do feel free to post some pics of it. :)

[East Scout]

Here are some pics of one..not mine cuz Im to lazy to get up right now and foll with my camera.......but mine is just about as good a condition...Major issue with mine is corrotion on the metal buckles but its no big deal......Other than that she is sound. Sound like the QM just tossed it over the counter at me kinda sound....


ES

[p51]

It largely depends on what someone is willing to pay for it. Mountain tropp stuff is a lot more rare than infantry from that time perio,d but there's not a lot of folks who collect it.
It also depends on where you are. Here in the Pac NW, a lot of them survived, and most collectors have at least one. I picked up a mint condition on two years ago, complete with rifle strap and clip, for $40.00.
Laregly depending on where you are, I'd say anywhere between $40 and $100...

[East Scout]

No its not a Nam LRRP ruck nor is it a Korean was ruck ..I looked it up by date and manufacturer..I thought it was a LRRP ruck when i first saw it hanging up on the guys truck.......

[East Scout]

It largely depends on what someone is willing to pay for it. Mountain tropp stuff is a lot more rare than infantry from that time perio,d but there's not a lot of folks who collect it.
It also depends on where you are. Here in the Pac NW, a lot of them survived, and most collectors have at least one. I picked up a mint condition on two years ago, complete with rifle strap and clip, for $40.00.
Laregly depending on where you are, I'd say anywhere between $40 and $100...


Id have to agree with that ..All the info i gathered from the net states the version i have was the biggest contractor to pump them out so there are a lot of them surviving today and its up to the person that wants it..Not a bad buy for 25$ though eh?;-)

Ebay had a Korean War issue version for 100$

[GeraldDuval]

can you type up what the tags say. If it's in that good condition, it might be a reproduction. Real ones are hard to find and expensive.

[Limeyfellow]

Its kind of weird that the lettering and condition are so perfect. Thats pretty much never seen ever, unless its a reproduction or had the writing redone. It really require some close looking at since theres so many WW2 copies of these rare items coming out.

[East Scout]

I considered that too......The stamp on the bottom is worne away completely (you can see it but not enough to read it)but the one on the inside of the top flap reads clear...I doubt its a repro ..the old guy said he had it in his closet since the 70s...........Ill post pics of it in the morning so you guys will get a better idea..........

[Roaming East]

the only repros of US mountain kit i know of cost some serious bucks so the guy who sold it would have been at a loss. probably is authentic.

[East Scout]

Yeah its authentic all right ...right down to the dry rot...I loaded it up yesturday and didnt make it out the door before i heard the stitches snapping..I stripped it down from the frame and sealed it up in a giant sized Zip Lock bag from Colemans....Sucks cause the frame kicked ass and I was really hoping to use it...

ES

[East Scout]

I managed to save the ruck for now...The cotton thread used to construct it is pretty much hosed so i shored up all the weak points and re-enforced all the seems under a sewing machine today.......I really like this thing. The frame fits my small stature well. Ill just use it till it comes apart, keep the frame and maybe look for an M52 to stick on it later..........I sparyed it with 3M fabirc water seal....Its sappose to also treat canvas and help preserve fabric..I dont suspect it will help much but is something.........

ES

[East Scout]

Took it to the swamp today for a day...It sat real well on my back and the frame was pretty comfortable for just having canvas straps and kidney strap w/o pads...Only thing i didnt like was the squeeking fart sound of the leather yoke moving on the frame..Drove me crazy.......I also gace it a good camo paint job when i got home.I figured WTF, if i was gonna use it till it fell apart may as well do it right. The brown just wasnt cutting it for me..

Also cought a snake today..I was gonna eat it but i set it free...Lucky for him i wasnt on an over nighter..

Who ever gave this thread a 5 star..Thanks!

ES

[maple.leaf]

Its authentic alright - I used to own one of those. I bought mine at a surplus store in Fayetteville for $5 back in 1983.

Mine was slightly different though - it was a British manufactured O.D. version and it wasn't in such great condition (the leather straps were a bit stiff and the cloth had torn on one of the pockets where the strap was riveted to it).

Anyways, I sold mine on eBay last spring for £50.

[East Scout]

Its authentic alright - I used to own one of those. I bought mine at a surplus store in Fayetteville for $5 back in 1983.

Mine was slightly different though - it was a British manufactured O.D. version and it wasn't in such great condition (the leather straps were a bit stiff and the cloth had torn on one of the pockets where the strap was riveted to it).

Anyways, I sold mine on eBay last spring for £50.

Only 5$..WOW..Even in 83 that sounds like a good deal...

[twominds]

It looks a whole lot like the old Ludvig rucks that the norwegian military even uses, mostly for torturing recruits during basic and special selections. :)

[East Scout]

It looks a whole lot like the old Ludvig rucks that the norwegian military even uses, mostly for torturing recruits during basic and special selections. :)

Its a good ruck..I love the blasted thing..I been using it since i got it and dry-rot or not its holding out right well....A buddy of mine picked me up another this past week-end at the East Coast Militaria show...Cant wait to get it from him....So now Ill have two....Some guys might say its obselet or what ever but to each his own..I have a small frame body and Im short and the frame on the ruck fits me well, rides high and dosnt conflict with my webbing..
ES

[kayaker]

Great looking ruck mate! Understand you like the old school stuff, immediatly got myself collapsable spade after watching Saving Private Ryan ;) Of course there is the functional aspect too...

[East Scout]

Great looking ruck mate! Understand you like the old school stuff, immediatly got myself collapsable spade after watching Saving Private Ryan ;) Of course there is the functional aspect too...

Thanks Ryan..I just got my other one today...Good looking ruck...Better condition than my first one.....Month ago I didnt even know they existed..Now I have two.......Both 1942 issue but dofferent manufactures..

What type of spade did you get? Tri fold or just single and what army is it from?

ES

[kayaker]

Wow too rucks! They must be good but for that price, why not!

it was very similar to yours when I saw it in the pic. Was first topic I spke about on the other place :D Trifold with "pikaxe" included. Dont know the country of origin though...