Club Obi Wan

I just got a Finnish Army gasmask bag for christmas. It's pretty cool. Pics can be found from http://www.varusteleka.fi/kauppa/tuotte ... sa-naslauk

hey whoa, that is cool! nice
-scott

I have no idea what any of the writing says, but the bag looks nice.
I like all the pockets inside. Now all it needs is a leather strap and
you'll be all set.

Cool bag!
And with the lift-the-dot-fasteners like on the American Mk VI-bag.
Do you know where to get them, me being in Sweden and all?

Regards,
Swindy

Sorry. I only know three online stores that sell them. http://www.milpro.fi is one shop that sells them and it even has an English section. But I don't know if they ship it to anywhere else than Finland.

As I posted yesterday I have a WPG MK bag on the way. In the pictures the strap looks nice and dark on the outside, but the inside is light in color. Is this correct? Can it be stained or does it get darker with use?

I can't wait to get this thing...I know wit's weird for a 34 year old to be so excited about this kind of thing...OK, I'll put it under my pillow and not sleep with it on! LOL! Wonder what my wife would say???

Am I seeing this right? 3 € for the respirator bag. Man, if only the MKVII's could be priced like that. Great looking bag by the way.

Sir Ernest wrote: In the pictures the strap looks nice and dark on the outside, but the inside is light in color. Is this correct? Can it be stained or does it get darker with use?

Most people would say that the strap is too light in tone and it is more common to change it for another one rather than coloring it. There are products out there for coloring/darkening leather but since the buckle also is the wrong color most people try to get a whole 'nother set. (Nickel instead of the brass it comes with.)
Also, the 65 inch length doesn't fit everyone in order for the right look by centering the buckle.
Again, I'd do a search to find out what has meen going on in previous posts.
Some people are all happy with the strap though and in the end that is what counts; You being happy with Your gear!

Regards

Swindiana

Interesting bag. How much stuff have tried to put in it?

auntsugar wrote:Interesting bag. How much stuff have tried to put in it?

Let's see.

• A water bottle
  A CD Player
  Three CD's
  Head Phones
  A book of 600 pages
  Gloves
  Sun glasses
  A measuring tape
  A headlamp
  A yo-yo
  A small notepad
  Four pens
  An eraser
  A pen sharpener
  A lighter
  A magnifying glass
  A compass
  Two batteries

So it holds quite a lot of stuff.

VP wrote:

A water bottle
A CD Player
Three CD's
Head Phones
A book of 600 pages
Gloves
Sun glasses
A measuring tape
A headlamp
A yo-yo
A small notepad
Four pens
An eraser
A pen sharpener
A lighter
A magnifying glass
A compass
Two batteries

"...and a partridge in a pear tree!"

Glad to hear that they've got so much room - my first bag is on the way - a Canadian MKVII...

Hey VP... I've got one too!

I went to this surplus store and picked one up thinking it might be a US bag since I did pick up a US WWII entrenching tool earlier to put in the trunk of my car. (It's for snow, or rather to get rid of it if it's in the way. The spade was pretty cheap too, around $6 or so.)

Where was I... Oh, yes. The snaps didn't have the dot that the lift-the-dots usually do from the US and I didn't recognize the arrow or the markings from any Swedish bag. So after doing some research I found out it was from Finland. This is where I smacked myself on the forhead and remembered your bag! So, for $4.5 or so I'm now the proud owner of a Finnish gas mask bag. They did have three of them and I picked out the one that was all mint, though the other two wasn't so bad either. Production started in 1961 I believe and one site showed one from 1981.
So... Do you know if the Finnish army still use them, and what could SA and SM stand for? (The only two markings I could find on either of the bags.)

Other than that little story I must say it's a great bag. The strap is long enough to be adjusted to be even longer than my needs and the main compartment is big enough to come to use when the Mk VII is just a little bit to small for some stuff. It also seems to expand nicely depth-wise, about twice the Mk VII length. The 13 inch screen laptop I'm typing this on will fit inside! The flap will also close leaving no gap for anything to fall out if the bag is held upside down.
Even if it's not the screen accurate Mk VII we all love so much Ihghly recommend getting one if you stumble upon it. Tough stuff!

If anyone would like I could shoot some comparison shots with a Mk VII bag.

Regards,
Swindiana

These bags look very nice. Nice find, VP. I love how organized the inside is.

That was my first Indy bag! Great bag. I still use it for work. You can fit a ton of @#$% in them.

I'm sure you'd like it, Hem.

Mine lacks the divider and has a larger inside flap covering the pockets though.
One of the two left in the store had a more sand/mustardy color to it and the other was a tad more gray and distressed. Just in case you'd like me to pick one up for you...
The canvas is a tad more thick than the British Mk VII bags I've handled aswell.

Regards,
Swindiana

Swindiana wrote:I'm sure you'd like it, Hem... ...Just in case you'd like me to pick one up for you...
The canvas is a tad more thick than the British Mk VII bags I've handled aswell.

Regards,
Swindiana

Thank you Swindy! You're a good man. I still have to get an MK VII without the black stripe! I am a little behind on that front.

Cheers!

Swindiana wrote:Do you know if the Finnish army still use them, and what could SA and SM stand for? (The only two markings I could find on either of the bags.)

I'm pretty sure they do, I don't know exactly since I haven't been to the army yet. I saw one that was brand new with all the masks and stuff for 10 euros last summer at a surplus store. SA is Suomen armeija, the Finnish Army. I don't know what SM is, usually SM means Suomen mestaruus, the Finnish Championship.

I agree, great bag, VP - I'm all about extra pockets.

Are those bags still being issued, or old stock now?

*bump*

Stumbled upon this one while searching for something completely different, have some new info. 1961 sounds correct since I know that there were tons of these stocked in underground bunkers for all Finns during the cold war, in case of a crisis. I'm pretty sure they are still issued, you can buy them almost everywhere. Prices usually range from €1 to €10, some also come with the gasmask and stuff. Not rare at all. I can buy them from Army shops and send them to anybody who wants one to go with their tiny vintage bags.