Fellow Arfcommer and RI resident TimJ gave me a used CFP-90 pack a while back.  It was OK except for a very broken "duck's foot" which is the interface between the shoulder straps and the pack.  Thin plastic and it is guaranteed to crack over the years.

What I did was to have my Gunsmith make a similar unit out of 3/16" aluminum plate, taking care that the holes for the attachment screws were the correct depth.  I then had him mill three 2" wide slots in the top of the unit, for webbing attachment points.  Next, I had my local cobbler sew onto the  ends of the shoulder straps that were formerly sewn directly onto the "duck's foot" lengths of very heavy-duty 2" wide OD webbing that I got from strapworks.com.  These straps ultimately get threaded through the 3 slots in ths AL duck's foot, and so attach the shoulder straps to the pack.  This arrangement is better than new for two reasons:  1) the AL ducks foot cannot fail, and 2), the shoulder straps are now adjustable for wrap-around so that the load-lifter straps have the correct down angle, and thus work properly.  Original version did not allow this sort of adjustment, and lack of such adjustment  would be a problem for either tall or short folks.

The rest of the project was straightforward.  Washed the thing, seared all loose threads and seams, inside and out, swapped out belt buckle for a new, coyote-colored unit, and seared the fabric ends inside the side pockets.  Good thing I did, because they were mighty frayed, and a likely failure point in the future.

I added a CFP-90 style patrol pack to which I added a sternum strap and a section of GI sleeping pad foam as a combo frame sheet and back padding.  Threw in a baggie of emergency field-expedient buckles, adjusted the stays to fit my back, and the old soldier is almost ready.  Since the polyurethane coating on the inside of the pack has deteriorated and flaked-off with age, I'll seam-seal the sew-throughs on both packs, and spray both of 'em but good with DWR once the weather warms up a bit.

Moral of the story:  If your CFP-90 pack has problems like mine did, but is in good shape otherwise, it just might be worth fixing.  I had to pay about $35 for the AL ducks foot, about $5 for the 2" webbing, and $10 for the sewing.

That's a LOT cheaper than buying a new pack of the same capacity.  No, the CFP-90 is not the equal of a brand-new Kifaru or Mystery Ranch pack of the same size, But then again the new packs are NO WAY $500 better than the CFP-90.

Just sayin'

 

Cool, man! Glad to hear its been rehabbed

You're correct about the differences between the earlier Lowe pack, and the later SDS versions (I have both), but both of 'em needed the AL ducks foot replacement.  The early Lowe packs are a world unto themselves; the later OD-bottom SDS packs had some dumbing-down issues, but also some improvements.  I've spoken about all the differences long ago, and posibly those threads are archived.  Most folks will never see a brown-bottomed Lowe CFP-90 pack, so that's not a big deal.

Thanks for your kind comments.

Well, I owe you.  Need a winter-sized pack?  IM me if so.

Yeah booooyy

 

Well, IM me if there is anything you need, all right?

I will!