alice pack cleaning

[kilikina211]

Aloha everyone...i used the search feature and found a lot of alice pack info but havent found anything on this question...

i have a medium USGI un-issued surplus alice pack and the coating on the underside of the lid is very sticky. I have asked others and they said its normal and the coating will eventually wear off after heavy use...
is there any way to clean it from being sticky without completely removing the coating?

 

[bharen]

Not really. The stickiness is the rubberized coating peeling off. The peeling process exposes the rubber adhesive and once it starts that's it... Most folks just learn to live with it.

It's interesting that some packs start losing the rubber coating early in their life cycle while others never seem to have the problem. I've got a 20+ year old large ALICE that saw hard and constant use for 10 years in places like Panama and Kuwait and then sat in storage under less than ideal conditions for another 10. The rubber coating is still in good shape and servicable. On the other hand I've got a nearly new medium ALICE and the rubber coating is already peeling. My guess is it comes down to manufacturers and how they do the treatment.

 

[MJDavis]

I have a large and medium Alice. All the rubber is now gone from the large, but the medium is still hanging in there. Does not bother me in the slightest. My packs are tools, just like the rest of my gear.