How To Clean Ilbe Pack

lone_woodsman

Joined: Feb 2, 2014

Messages: 1,381

Likes: 6,359

Location: Somerset,Pa

jeremyctry

congrats and welcome to the family... I love mine to. Have you got any mods planned yet?

lone_woodsman

Joined: Feb 2, 2014

Messages: 1,381

Likes: 6,359

Location: Somerset,Pa

congrats and welcome to the family... I love mine to. Have you got any mods planned yet?

Not yet, but I can guarantee I will. Any suggestions?

jeremyctry

Pic 6 shows a tarp attached with the 4 added straps, pic 7 shows my concept for adding either a main pack lid or a custom flap/pouch, (if I do this I wouldn't need the 4 straps) and last pic 8 may be hard to see but it shows how well the straps have contact with my shoulders before I made the change to strap angle there was about a 1" gap in between my shoulders and the outside edges of the straps.

Pic # 6 WP_20150201_006[1].jpg
Pic # 7 WP_20150201_008[1].jpg
Pic # 8 WP_20150201_007[1].jpg

Additional thought; If the 4 attachment straps I have added become permanent I will replace the 4 pieces of 2" webbing with tooled leather.

Last edited: Feb 2, 2015

Hi, I bought two sets of these marine rucks at a super low price. however, they are filthy. any advice on cleaning these things? if I take out the aluminum pack stays do you think they are washing machine safe? I thought of taking them to the self-service car wash, boy are they dirty. kindof worried about all that padding. any attached tags are basically unreadable. thanks!

okcmco

I have washed packes...

I do not own an ILBE but I have washed commercial packs before. And the ILBE is made by a commercial pack company I think (Arcteryx if memory serves) If using a washing machine, take the pack off of the frame and wash on gentle cycle warm or cold.I think a tumble type would be better than an agitator type. You might use some gentle soap on some of the dirtiest parts before the wash and rub it in with a cloth or soft brush. You could also hand wash in the tub. This is what I did. Some stains just did not come out but many did
The padding in the straps and hip belt should be fine. Think of all the moisture these get from rain and sweat. Anyway My Kelty suffered no ill effects and it smelled much better..... But I think soaking would be a bad idea. My washing in the tub lasted about 5 minutes or less

okcmco

DOES the ILBE have a separate sleeping bag compartment accessible from the side or is it just a one bag design?

NVRDONE

Joined: Aug 28, 2013

Messages: 1,660

Likes: 439

Location: Central NJ

DOES the ILBE have a separate sleeping bag compartment accessible from the side or is it just a one bag design?

Some bags do come with a divider for your sleep system. And there are zippers that run a good length down the sides making the entire bucket accessible without pulling everything out.

Last edited: Feb 2, 2015

jeremyctry

Hi, I bought two sets of these marine rucks at a super low price. however, they are filthy. any advice on cleaning these things? if I take out the aluminum pack stays do you think they are washing machine safe? I thought of taking them to the self-service car wash, boy are they dirty. kindof worried about all that padding. any attached tags are basically unreadable. thanks!

Your ILBE is washing machine safe however before you wash it remove stays, hip belt, shoulder straps, and plastic frame panel. And okcmco is absolutely right about the dryer either hang dry or low heat in dryer some dryer get hot enough that over time they can damage ABS plastic

lone_woodsman

Joined: Feb 2, 2014

Messages: 1,381

Likes: 6,359

Location: Somerset,Pa

DOES the ILBE have a separate sleeping bag compartment accessible from the side or is it just a one bag design?

Yes it does, my came with the divider. But my improved MSS fits very tight with the compression sack on, and that is the whole system ( both bags and bivy ).

lone_woodsman

Joined: Feb 2, 2014

Messages: 1,381

Likes: 6,359

Location: Somerset,Pa

Hi, I bought two sets of these marine rucks at a super low price. however, they are filthy. any advice on cleaning these things? if I take out the aluminum pack stays do you think they are washing machine safe? I thought of taking them to the self-service car wash, boy are they dirty. kindof worried about all that padding. any attached tags are basically unreadable. thanks!

If I were to wash mine I would do a hand wash in the tub,and try not to get the back padding to wet.

c713d

Tinder Gatherer

Joined: Jan 23, 2015

Messages: 3

Likes: 0

I'm a Sgt on active duty in the Corps right now and when I washed mine the best way was to detach everything and take out the plastic frame sheet and use a scrush brush, which is a small short bristled brush, kinda like a polish brush for shoe shining but with much stiffer bristles. Using that to scrub in combination with a bucket full of water as hot as you can stand mixed with laundry detergent always got those things clean after weeks of slogging through the swamps of Camp Lejeune. We have since replaced the ILBE with the "USMC Pack" which is made by Mystery Ranch. Maybe that is what you were thinking of okcmco?

Skotelawe

Scuzz Brushes ONLINE!

The ILBE was designed by Arc'Teryx (it's essentially a militarized Bora 95) & manufactured by Propper

Dana & Mystery Ranch were brought to consult on the FILBE/Marine Pack before the design was finalized but it was primarily designed in house by the 'Corps & Natick. It's being manufactured by both Propper & Eagle.

NYIrish83

Tracker

Joined: Jul 29, 2014

Messages: 20

Likes: 0

I got out of the Corps in 2012, they had started issuing all of the FILBE systems out to the boots, and guys on rotation, I was envious because they looked so high speed, my buddies tell me they aren't as good (in their opinion) at carrying the weight like the ILBE.

c713d

Tinder Gatherer

Joined: Jan 23, 2015

Messages: 3

Likes: 0

The main issues I saw with the new packs are the hip belts and the frames. The hip belts are huge, making it hard to transfer the weight to the hips properly, especially if you're a smaller guy like me. (I'm 5'5" and 135 lbs.) the frames were the bigger issues honestly. They would bend and break constantly. I had one snap on me in the middle of a 15k movement, when we were 5k in. Many of the other guys in my unit were having the same problem, if you put more than 60 lbs in it, you had to worry about a frame breakage.

Thanks for the breakdown, Skotelawe, I didn't know that about our packs, and I've been using them

A FILBE pic

OP, Are you a Mandalorian? Mandokarla?

lone_woodsman

Joined: Feb 2, 2014

Messages: 1,381

Likes: 6,359

Location: Somerset,Pa

OP, Are you a Mandalorian? Mandokarla?

Seeing as how I had to look those up to see what they meant I'd have to say no.

Thejeepster

Joined: Dec 19, 2014

Messages: 273

Likes: 34

good choice, I will be getting one soon. I have wanted one for over a year now and will get one with my tax refund.

I use a current army issue MOLLE II system and like it but I really want a marine ILBE.

lone_woodsman

Joined: Feb 2, 2014

Messages: 1,381

Likes: 6,359

Location: Somerset,Pa

good choice, I will be getting one soon. I have wanted one for over a year now and will get one with my tax refund.

I use a current army issue MOLLE II system and like it but I really want a marine ILBE.

I'm more than pleased, it is the most comfortable pack I own.

Skotelawe

The move to the FILBE was because the ILBE didn't work well with armor.

You guys should both count yourself lucky. Some of us were issued ALICE packs, shelter halves, the old intermediate bags & rubber bizzniches.

Exy

So these weigh 9 pounds empty?

I'd like to try one of these out.. I've got a large alice with brand new tac tailor straps and belt if anybody wants to work out a trade.

EricV

Tinder Gatherer

Joined: Feb 5, 2015

Messages: 8

Likes: 2

So these weigh 9 pounds empty?

I'd like to try one of these out.. I've got a large alice with brand new tac tailor straps and belt if anybody wants to work out a trade.

The main pack with Lid but without the assault pack is around that much.

Definitely not a light pack but its a very comfortable design for the money. I actually like mine more than the Bora I tried out(which is close in weight if I'm not mistaken), probably because the pads on the surplus pack were already broken in. The only downside is the camo which is why I tried the Bora but at double the cost for a different color its getting silly. Spare parts are abundant at the moment, Gen 1 buckles don't seem to like the cold FYI.

805gregg

Tinder Gatherer

Joined: Feb 6, 2015

Messages: 3

Likes: 1

So these weigh double what a good modern backpack weighs, what's the draw?

So these weigh double what a good modern backpack weighs, what's the draw?

Theyre durable. As in exceedingly durable for most people's needs. You can also attach a great many things to it. Also they are affordable compared to similar volume modern lightweight backpacks.

SHTFCO

Scout

Joined: Mar 23, 2013

Messages: 413

Likes: 58

Location: Colorado

Just picked one of these up also. IM gonna throw a Kifaru belt on it and trim down the fat on it. Will post some Photos once I get it done.

jeremyctry

The Alice pack is like an old GF as long as you know how to hump her she'll bring you home with a smile...

SHTFCO

Scout

Joined: Mar 23, 2013

Messages: 413

Likes: 58

Location: Colorado

The Alice pack is like an old GF as long as you know how to hump her she'll bring you home with a smile...

Im not even gonna ask on this one =) Lol.

EricV

Tinder Gatherer

Joined: Feb 5, 2015

Messages: 8

Likes: 2

So these weigh double what a good modern backpack weighs, what's the draw?

Carrying weight capacity is also triple that of the lighter weight bags and they are built accordingly with heftier padding and whatnot. I tripped on an icey descent today and basically road the bag down the ice and rocks for 30 feet with no real damage. Im sure my Deuter would have been torn up. Not the greatest bag of all time but they cost less than most decent daypacks.