The First Mod: Fixing What Uncle Sam Issued
The Army issued me an ALICE pack, and like most things the military provides, it was functional—but that was about it. Comfort? Not a priority. Ergonomics? Barely a consideration. But the worst part? Mine came with a frame that had a slight bend at the top, which meant it dug into my neck and shoulders like a dull knife every time I rucked.
At first, I thought it was just part of the “embrace the suck” mentality. But after one too many ruck marches where my traps felt like they’d been worked over with a sledgehammer, I knew something had to change. So, one night in the barracks, I grabbed two 25-pound dumbbells and got to work. One in each hand—one as the hammer, one as the anvil—I started whacking that aluminum frame until it was perfectly straight. No more bending it over a bunk or struggling with brute force. Just good old-fashioned problem-solving, courtesy of the gym.
Next ruck march? Night and day. No more sharp pressure on my neck, no more pinched nerves—just a pack that finally carried like it was supposed to.
That small tweak was the first domino. Once I saw how much better a pack could be with just one fix, I started making more adjustments. I repaired small holes with reinforced stitching and patching. I swapped out the shoulder pads and waist belt for something that actually provided support instead of just shifting the pain around. Every change made the pack work for me instead of against me.
Then I did the unthinkable. I went down to Bragg Boulevard and had extra pockets sewn onto the exterior of the pack. Turns out, this really pisses off your chain of command. Something about “unauthorized modifications,” “not standard issue,” and—oh yeah—“not a uniform look across the unit.” One letter of reprimand later, whatever. Back to more mods, this time interior. I stitched pockets to the inside of the pack, so I could grab critical gear without fishing around or turning on a light. Because when you're moving in the dark, the last thing you want to do is announce your position with a red lens flashlight while digging for batteries.
That moment stuck with me. Because if I could take a standard-issue pack and turn it into something actually comfortable and functional, what would happen if I built one from the ground up?
Well, more than a decade later, turns out that’s exactly what I’d end up doing.