58-being as in 1958 design.
In reality most things military obviously take a few years to come into general service. I was certainly still wearing the webbing up until 1989 when I left-and it was phased out to be replaced by the current PLCE issue-throughout the 90s to my knowledge.
Most soldiers either bought their own packs, or dependent on which regiment/role you were in had SAS or GS bergens-which carried far more kit-they were based on a frame and made from a nylon/waterproof material.
The large packs-once you had stuffed it with the huge 58 pattern sleeping bag-had difficulty taking much more!
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BMW GS650 Dakar and too much bling from Touratech!
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