webbing?

[webbie]

i have done a search and seen that a webbing seems to be a very valued and changable bit of equipment, but nothing i seen has really explain what it is used for, what its made up of (yokes etc) advantages/disadvantages etc

so really i am looking for a dummys guide to webbing.

cheers

webbie

[spamel]

Webbing is a system of pouches on a belt. A yoke can be used to help carry the load and make it more comfortable. Without a yoke it is often reffered to as a belt rig or belt kit. You can use whatever pouches you wish and tailor the kit to carry whatever you want. It is used mainly in the military and a normal belt rig will have two sets of ammo pouches on the front with a utility pouch for a mess tin and 24 hours rations, a watter bottle pouch for the obvious and a respirator pouch if in an NBC enviornment to hold your respirator. the respirator is usually ditched in the top of the bergan though and clipped on with its' own belt.

For civilian use, i would try and get hold of the green version or the old 58 pattern and waterproof it with a nikwax product. I would use it on a day walk away from the main camp to carry some food, water, binos and maybe a reference book, but to be honest a day sack will do the job better. A Dart 35 will carry a set of waterproofs, some brew kit and rations, a flask and a stove, reference books and notepads, FAK and any other nik naks you require for a days tramp from your house/base camp. You can stow it under the lid of a PLCE bergen fully packed for when you need to move off.

[h2o]

a lot of hassle youd be better off with a vest

[spamel]

Even with a vest, I can't see the point. These things are designed for blokes who need fast access to ammunition. That's it. Look at the French and Americans, they carry little else on their webbing. The Brits have made it a 24 hour life line in case you are seperated from your kit. Within 24 hours you should either be back with your kit or resupplied.

Saying that, a chest rig strapped to the outside of a simple bergan is a cheap way to add pouches to hold stuff you want to access easily. I did just that with my LK35 and an old green chest rig.

[LennyMac]

I regularly hike for four or five days using just webbing, without a pack (although I use a sleeping bag sling in its place) and I find it to be very comfortable and handy. I have used pattern 58 for the most part- it is heavy unladen but well designed and hardy, although it shrinks a lot when wet and gains weight. I will be using PLCE for the first time at the end of August but I can already see that there is more carrying capacity and it is much lighter.

Price wise, the patt 58 stuff has cost me about £40 with extra waterbottles and an extra poncho roll. I got a set of PLCE from Ebay for £23 but it will probably end up costing twice that with the addition of a PLCE poncho roll.

There are quite a few guides to setting up both PLCE and patt 58 on the web, with pictures and hints.

[Teepee]

A guy from Hammock Forums makes the Molly Mac pac-its webbing for civvy use.


http://www.mollymacpack.com/

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Here's a webbing thread, started a while ago, it includes some of my kit.

you'll notice some strong opinions! lol
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41983

[swampy99]

I use the Dragon supplies webbing.https://www.dragonsupplies.co.uk/catalogue/546-Airborne-Webbing-Tan When I go for a day walk in the Jungle. I carry in it 2 water bottles with a crusader mug. Tarp. Brew kit. Trangia with cheap version of the X plates from backpacking light http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product500.asp?PageID=110 and a honey stove. I carry clacky bars in the ammo pouch. If going over night then a patrol pack and more than a week a 100ltr bergan.

It's the way to go in my eyes.