On DayZ Stable 0.51.125720, it appears that every (or almost every) container (backpacks and tents always, other containers most of the time), do not show the full inventory of that container until something else is dropped inside. Sometimes it shows as completely blank. However, once something is dropped inside (or removed from the container if something shows), everything in there suddenly appears.
This is almost always the case when someone is looking at a container for the first time, but continues in a highly variable fashion afterward as well (sometimes does, sometimes doesn't).