Tag Archives: Molle

Molle fittings, or Pouch Attachment Ladder System (PALS) as they should be more properly described, have become almost completely ubiquitous on tactical load carrying systems, such as battle belts, body armour and daysacks. When properly set up the fittings are incredibly strong with the interwoven fabric straps ensuring that even heavily laden pouches stay firmly attached under pretty demanding conditions.

Whilst this is extremely useful for the vast majority of the time, there are occasions when it would be useful to have pouches that easily detach. One such situation is when you’ve got a casualty and need to lay out medical equipment next to them as you start treatment. Another is if you need to quickly pass equipment in a pouch from one person to another, perhaps under fire or in a confined space.

A number of manufacturers have looked at this problem and come up with similar solutions. Basically they all comprise a large velcro pad with the PALS/Molle fittings on the back and some sort of quick release mechanism to which is secured the actual pouch. This isn’t rocket science but when you see one for the first time, it is difficult not to be impressed - often the simple ideas are the best!

Templar Assault Systems’ take on this is their Rip Off Medic Pouch (ROMP) which is now available in Cyre Precision Multicam. Capable of carrying all the issue personal medical equipment it’s ideal for mounting on your Osprey Body Armour or battle belt, as per your Brigade or unit SOPs. To give you an idea of how it works, we’ve taken a set of photos which we think illustrates it perfectly.

The bottom line is that this is a piece of kit that we think is a valuable addition to anyone’s load carrying set up. Fingers crossed you’ll never need to use it but like all the best insurance policies we think you’ll be really chuffed to have it if you do!

Over the last 10 years of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan the improvements to the standard of UK Military issue kit has been immense. The Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) process has meant that in theatre commanders can specify equipment that is then brought into service quickly and efficiently. This has meant that the MoD simply goes out and buys the best commercial boots, daysacks, gloves, torches etc that they can.

Despite this there are still areas that are not covered by issue items and it would appear that load carriage with body armour is one. The MOLLE webbing on Osprey allows soldiers to attach their pouches directly to it although they then tend to sit quite high which often interferes with the wearing of a daysack. This is why MOLLE ‘battle belts’ which sit underneath and below the armour are becoming more popular. No doubt the MoD will catch up with supplying these soon but in the interim we hear anecdotes of Regiments using non-public funds to buy them.

Vanguard is a UK company which works closely with a number of specialist military retailers and uses operational feedback to improve their products. Their version of the battle belt is the catchily titled All Arms Modular Belt Rig (AAMBeR) which has been around for a few years. Available in Multicam and Coyote they’re good quality, robust items which also feature Vanguard’s clever system to allow a yoke to be worn under armour without worrying about the buckles rubbing.

The latest evolution of this product is the AAMBeR Mk2 which features a number of significant improvements. The most obvious is changing the shape of the padding to provide more comfort over the area of the thigh and hip where your ammo pouches normally sit. Those with longer memories will remember the ‘hippo’ pads that used to go under webbing which featured exactly this design.

There are also changes to the belt which reduce sagging and make it easier to add a roll pin buckle, which is an obvious enhancement that we’d strongly recommend. Vanguard have also added a smaller size which is clearly designed to cater to the increasing number of females that are being involved outside the wire.

Its available in three colours Multicam, Coyote and the new Vista ATP although we’ve decided only to stock the first two.