Mil-Tec Flecktarn Rucksack

[Tanker Mike]

Hello,

Almost done with the closet clean-up. I did not think that Mil-Tec made issue items for the Bundeswehr. Yet check out the label inside this Flecktarn Rucksack.

Thoughts?
Mike

[Collectinsteve]

This is not a genuine BW contracted item, though the label is very deliberately similar.

Commercial items with labels that very closely mimic genuine issue labels is not uncommon. In the US most commercial uniforms pieces (jackets, trousers, hats, etc) have labels that are identical to military issue labels, including the NSN, except for the lack of government contract number. That is perfectly legal. Faking a contract number, on the other hand, is a serious criminal offense so only VERY rarely does one see that happen. The few examples I've seen were obvious Chinese knockoffs, thankfully with spelling errors or other indicators of fraud.

Specific to this Mil-Tec label, no BW item I know of allows a branded logo during this time period or earlier. In fact, branded logos are not often seen on genuine military issue kit for NATO/Western countries (there are exceptions, of course). Which means a branded logo on a BW item from the 1990s is a major red flag right from the start.

I have a genuine 1999 pack handy and the Mil-Tec label is almost identical to the genuine one except for three things. First, instead of the branded logo the genuine label has what appears to be a contractor code in the same place. The code consists of 4 digits, a space, and a letter in identical type used for the NSN and the date -> "2696 V"

The second difference is that at the end of the Mil-Tec NSN, which is identical to the genuine label, is capital T in parenthesis -> (T). Genuine NSNs do not have non-standard qualifiers like that as far as I know. This might indicate Mil-Tec altering the genuine NSN in order to avoid government objections.

Third is in the final line of instructions the Mil-Tec label includes "weichspüler" (softener), the genuine label does not. This may or may not be inconsistent with other genuine labels, so it's not necessarily a red flag.

In conclusion... the rule of Mil-Tec = commercial stands as firm as always

Steve

[Tanker Mike]

T

Thanks for the enlightening post. I figured as much but didn't know for sure. That T after the stock number I thought did not look correct and you confirmed it.

Mike