Got my old backpack functional again.

I have always been a fan of external frame backpacks.  This modern insistence on tiny internal frame packs is just a fad, I tell you.  I found a back pack I used when I was a teenager in my mom's garage.  Someone had removed the waist strap, rendering the pack useless, because the reason these packs work is by transferring all the weight directly to your hips and legs and supporting your back.  

New Army Surplus Waist Strap Replacement.

I found a new surplus army waist strap on Amazon for cheap, and it cinched in place with nylon webbing like it was made for that frame.  The new waist belt is much better than the original one.  Maybe next I will upgrade the shoulder straps next. :) 

Every zipper works on this pack, after being the main pack for three of us boys in our formative years.  No holes, no tears, no rips.  The aluminum tube frame was welded at each joint and it is unbowed and unbent after carrying literally tons of stuff over the years.  Amazing quality built to last.