Purchased in a bazaar in Uzbekistan
I am a military surplus enthusiast currently in Uzbekistan. I went to a local bazaar where I found this “Soviet canvas rucksack” according the kind gentlemen running the shop, and what I believe is a World War II red army steel helmet. If anyone is curious combined, I paid roughly the equivalent of $32 USD. From cursory research I am having a hard time identifying the pack itself, it has two large mirrored external pouches which look like they are for some sort of rifle magazines, possibly automatic rifle magazines. It also has one large exterior centrally located pouch, which appears to be for a canteen, might be a general purpose pouch. The top flap has a double button closure for storage within the flap, the main compartment has what appears to be a radio pouch located closest to the wearer’s back. And additionally, there are 2 D-ring tie on points located on the bottom of the pack. I am an avid outdoorsman who wants to use this pack on hikes here in the mountains of Uzbekistan, and would love to essentially replace all of the leather fixtures with modern replacement ones, due to the current original ones being degraded to the point of falling apart. I have also purchased canvas material, which matches the color pretty closely for patches which will be needed in a few spots. My question for the group here is would it be sacrilegious to try to bring this pack back to life? I don’t know if it would be more of a shame to replace the fixtures with modern ones, or to simply let it continue to decay. Also a note there are already modern replacements on the top flap buckles, and one of the buckles on the magazine pouch has already been broken, and the other one is on the way there as well. please help!