Jämä M91 Backpack

Here's a simple and rugged backpack with a size and shape people commonly need in their daily life. Backpacks make people happier than tote bags because your arms are free to move about. The design is basically the same as the Jämä Wool Backpack, but materials are military grade tent fabrics from globally established Savotta.

• Simple day pack for daily life
• Windproof and water resistant heavy duty tent fabric
• Comfortable shoulder straps from Swiss leather belts

The M91 camouflage was the standard Finnish Defence Forces pattern from the '90s to mid-2000's. In Finland, it is commonly referred to as "cucumber salad". Dimensions from seam to seam: 30 x 40 x 12 cm or roughly 12" x 18" x 5".

Materials and care

The main fabric is essentially very dense ripstop-reinforced polycotton, with PU coating on the inside and DWR on the outside, making the fabric at least water resistant. Stronger rain will find its way inside eventually, so protect sensitive things with a separate dry bag if you walk in the pouring rain.

The bottom is made from tent groundsheet (also from Savotta) which is waterproof and incredibly hard-wearing.

The shoulder straps are made of Swiss army belts, which were too short so no-one would buy them. You can punch extra holes in them if necessary, but the adjustments are good even as they are. Included is a simple stiffener cut up from rejected German sleeping mats.

We recommend washing by hand only if the need arises, machine wash doesn't seem to do good for the fabric.

Jämä is upcycled surplus

Click here for the whole Jämä selection.

Jämä is a Finnish word meaning leftovers or scraps. It’s also one of our house brands for equipment made from recycled or surplus materials. From time to time we accumulate stuff that doesn't sell well but is made out of outstanding materials. We've also got several capable seamstresses here, and the equation is pretty clear: cut that useless stuff apart and sew it back together to create something useful.

Because Finnish labour is one of the most expensive in the world, these are very simple, practical and rugged in design. Our development and prototype production remains in-house while most of the production is outsourced to Turku - still within Finland. Simplicity means strength: the fewer parts there are, the smaller the chance of breaking anything.