Modular Load Carrying Kit

[Emdiesse]

After a night out last night... and a whole lot of kit packing the day before I have decided I really want to start leaving my kit packed and ready to just pick up and head outdoors. On the way back home from the site I started to think a better thing for me would be to have (say a) 30/40 litre rucksack what can hold everything I would need for a day in the woods, just my preferred bear essentials (water, knife, saw, SA firesteel, crusader cooking unit & spork, small FAK, small head torch and the rest of the space for if I collect anything on my day trip (birch bark, crampball, nettles, etc). When I want to head out for up to a day I can just pick the whole sack up and I am off out the door!

Then, if I want to stay a night. A single night, It would be great to have some sort of pouch which will contain my sleeping bag, liner, bivvy bag & roll mat. I can just strap onto the bottom of the day sack and I am ready for a single nights stay... Plus the extra space in the sack that I used for carrying stuff home on a day trip, I can use to carry stuff to site (food, water, etc) and use for carrying rubbish home, plus any bits I fancied picking up (as before)

Then, say I want to stay a little longer it'd be great if I could strap a few pouches onto the side of the (daysack + night sack) which may contain my tarp and in another my hammock.

Anyway, I think a picture says a thousand words so:

So I have notice there are a variety of systems that may or may not accomplish this for me. PLCE, MOLLE, ALICE, etc. For my vision here of a modular pack system which is best suited to allow me to chop change, add pouches of various sizes (Make my own pouches tailored to my kit size, etc) Make a leather shealth for my mora, strap that sideways to the pack, strap an axe to the pack, etc. I am thinking MOLLE is perhaps more suited and simpler in the sense that it's just a backpack with daisychain-like webbing loops all over meaning you can add and remove pouches any which way you want.

If I were to go the MOLLE route, what do you look out for? What is genuine and what is fake? What brands, items, etc are good quality bits of kit and what is utter tripe?

Many Thanks, Matt

I am learning very fast that vBulletin does not like Linux! It doesn't do newlines!

[Greek1983]

Thus far I'm satisfied with Tasmanian Tiger (Tatonka's Military division), and CamelBak.

FYI Tasmanian Tiger is making a Berghaus Vulcan-type backpack with MOLLE webbing.

http://intranet.tatonka.com/infosys/php/artintt9.php?7598_TT Field Pack

http://intranet.tatonka.com/infosys/php/artintt8.php?501_TT Backpacks@1

Sometime in the future I'll take a look on Eberlestock Tactical Packs
http://www.eberlestock.com/Tactical Master.htm

Other interesting designs also include Highlander, Karrimor SF, and Tactical Tailor.

Wish however the Berghaus Crusader and Centurio were covered with MOLLE/PALS webbing throughout the whole pack. (no connection with the store)

http://www.simplyhike.co.uk/products...0Rucksack.aspx
http://www.simplyhike.co.uk/products...0Rucksack.aspx

Edit: One design that might be suitable for you is this by Defcon5 (Italy)

http://www.ukmcpro.co.uk/index.php?p...art&Itemid=113

[Emdiesse]

Edit: One design that might be suitable for you is this by Defcon5 (Italy)http://www.ukmcpro.co.uk/index.php?p...art&Itemid=113

That pack does appeal to my modular set up vision

Interesting to see you also pointed out the kifaru duplex frame.... I really like the idea of a frame that you can then add bits to instead of a smaller pack and then adding to that as a frame would give far more support I think. Thhen you can have a day sack you can unstrap from the frame leaving the other bits attached to it until you reattach the day sack.

Wow, but then you see the price of them systems!

Noticed this thread here which may be of interest you you:http://www.kifaruforums.net/showthread.php?t=18012

[Emdiesse]

Really got my mind set on the frame idea now!

I store my bivvy bag, sleeping bag & liner in a drysack. I store my tarp in one also.

I could just buy some sort of backpack frame like this:

http://intranet.tatonka.com/infosys/...30_Lastenkraxe

Then since my stuff is in drysacks and then in my bag I could get rid of the bag all together and just strap all the drysacks too the frame

you can get drysacks of all sizes, I wouldn't need a pack per se, and all my kit would be dry

[Corso]

I've always prefer a setup where i've not needed to dig through one pack to get through another, i often carry mine completely seperate

[Emdiesse]

I'm interested about frame backpacks but can't really find any online other than the Tatonka Lastenkraxe. Are there any alternatives to this and where are they? The thing I like about it is I could just buy one of these and then just strap the drybags I keep my stuff in to the frame and away I go. Strap a daybag to it aswell and I can add and remove it once at camp, or even remove the whole lot and use the frame to carry fire wood, etc. External frame backpacks look the business!

[bearbait]

maxpedition.com have modular systems similar to that you're looking for. It's tough stuff and well made.

[Corso]

http://hillpeoplegear.com/

http://www.hsgi.us/

http://kifaru.net/

offer a bucket load of cool kit but these days I prefer retro kit

[oldtimer]

I've been wrestling with this one for years. Nowadays my main mode of travel is small camper van, but I'm also likely to make side trips from it and also to backpack on a long walk, canoe trip or to do day hikes. I also undertake long trips to France and need kit for different seasons. Even in summer it can get down to minus 10 in the Pyrenees. Also we sometimes go in Summer and may not get back till late Autumn. I'm a minimalist when it comes to travel gear but I needed a pack for all eventualites. My current solution is a 50 litre pack, a very light daysack foldable into its own pocket and a response pack rigged as fanny pack or shoulder bag. I tend to think of my kit as a kind of Venn diagram. One set is EDC; the next is the kit I'm always going to need whatever the season or length of trip including day hikes, like FAK, brew kit, water bottle etc. ; the next is sleeping stuff, wash kit food and spare clothing. Anything in the overlapping sets is in the fanny pack. Sleeping stuff etc lives in the pack. Day's food and waterproofs etc in day pack. All of this lives in the pack. On a trek, the fanny pack becomes a chest pack and resulting space in the pack is taken up by food and fuel. Like Emdiesse, I did try a frame with separate bags but I find stuff stuff saks inside a bigger bag works better for me especially when travelling in van car or train. It attracts less attention. The only real problem I find I now have is a tendency to be overequipped on hot days, but I never find myself without anything that matters with a pack of 50 litres weighing 12k. (less food). I don't think there is a simple solution. I've been trying to solve it for 50 years both by experience and avidly reading threads like this. Have fun finding your own solution and share the experience.

[Ahjno]

One word:

Kifaru

Omni Yoke (or equivelant) & Cargo Panel
http://www.kifaruforums.net/showthread.php?t=25946

Or a Mollex (38-ish litre, plenty of MOLLE).

Website:
www.kifaru.net

[Greek1983]

The only stand-alone frame backpack I can think of is the ALICE

http://www.vtarmynavy.com/alice-pack-frame.htm

Bergans of Norway offers the Finnmark 100L with frame that can be used individually, but it's expensive .

http://www.bergans.no/produkter/defa...innmark%20100L

I remember seeing an ALICE Pack with MOLLE webbing, maybe in an Aussie website.

EDIT: Yep, this one

http://www.harduseindustries.com.au/...-pack-2716.php

[Dangerous Dan]

I went down a similar line of thought. Ended up with a gen 4 MOLLE frame and homebrew pack and pouches. Works well but is by no means lightweight.

Gimme a moment, got a photo around here somewhere...

Found it
SNC00375.jpg

Currently liking the idea of the cargo panel idea - same heavy weight Cordura for the panel and lighter ripstop nylon for the internal pouches. Detach a couple of side release clips and you have a great way to lug fire wood

[Corso]

One word:

Kifaru

Omni Yoke (or equivelant) & Cargo Panel
http://www.kifaruforums.net/showthread.php?t=25946

Or a Mollex (38-ish litre, plenty of MOLLE).

Website:
www.kifaru.net

so 2011

check out

http://hillpeoplegear.com/

you will spend money and get more for it too....

[crucible]

I have found that the downsides to this modular pouch approach is weight and decreased waterproofness.

All of those extra add on pouches and attachment systems add to the weight of the pack- even before you put in your gear. The pouches also increase the potential for water to come into your gear, instead of a single bag.

My solution to the problem is to have different coloured sil-nylon stuff sacks for sub categories that can be easily seen inside the main bag of the rucksack- quick organization, but it can cut between a pound and a pound and a half in weight. I use a heavy guage orange bin-liner inside the pack for waterproofness- it can also do double duty as an emergency poncho, bivvy bag, and signalling device.

[Emdiesse]

True, what I'm sort of trying to work out now is, when we have the rucksack we fill it with drybags, compression sacks full of the gear we need. So what if we lost the pack and kept only the shoulder straps and the back support.... Then just tethered the drybags to the back support? I don't really see what kind of support the internal frame of my rucksack gives me other than to hold the thing up straight when it's half empty as all it is is two thin alu bars. That Kifaru Platform Hauler looks just the ticket, until you see the price and then try and justify it against what is technically half a backpack. However, tethering drybags to the outside of a frame and then just unlashing it from the frame looks easier than trying to fumble around inside a minimal diameter pack to repack it as tidy as it was when you came. Maybe I am just being lazy not wanting to pack a day pack, a slightly bigger pack for an overnight stay and a slightly bigger pack for a longer stay when I could just have a day sack, a night sack and other sacks that I could just tether to the outside and then have the added benefit of a removable daysack for a short walk around the woods or a frame for carrying loads back to camp, like wood.

[Greek1983]

You can also try having a large, 80-100 Litres rucksack, then hang behind it a smaller, 35-50 lts backpack with two bungee cords and two carabiners, and on top of these two a smaller daysack (aka Escape and Evasion pack). Sounds crazy and impractical, but after some reading I found that several Special Forces' around the world follow this principle.

[johnboy]

One thing you might consider is that the fabric of a conventional rucksack also acts as protection for those dry bags and liners. So if your walking through close country or hauling the pack up say a granite slab then the pack fabric takes the brunt. You could offset that by using heavy duty dry bags like Oirtleib's but then the weight will start to add up.

Then take into consideration the pack frame weight plus the lashing system you might end up with then. I guess you also might figure in you'll need a pack frame that is suitable and comfortable for the maximum weight you might haul.

I think such a system is doable but personally I'd start by looking for the most comfortable pack frame or pack board..

Have fun...

[Totumpole]

Sometime in the future I'll take a look on Eberlestock Tactical Packs
http://www.eberlestock.com/Tactical Master.htm

Some of those look good - and I have found the best quote ever on that site. With regard to the Gunslinger pack - "Great for laptops, or automatic weapons; the choice is yours!"

[sandbender]

I have found that the downsides to this modular pouch approach is weight and decreased waterproofness.

All of those extra add on pouches and attachment systems add to the weight of the pack- even before you put in your gear. The pouches also increase the potential for water to come into your gear, instead of a single bag.

My solution to the problem is to have different coloured sil-nylon stuff sacks for sub categories that can be easily seen inside the main bag of the rucksack- quick organization, but it can cut between a pound and a pound and a half in weight. I use a heavy guage orange bin-liner inside the pack for waterproofness- it can also do double duty as an emergency poncho, bivvy bag, and signalling device.

+1

When I was a lad I spent many years putting together a modular system like the one you are looking for, it was all built around a Lowe Vector Commando pack.

It weighed a ton, do yourself a favour, listen to crucible. One day you'll be my age and your back will thank you for heeding his advice.

[IanM]

I recall some 20 -25 years ago that BCB had a modular rucksack. It had a carrying frame and I think eight pack 'slices' that could be attached to the frame in a vertical stack. Each 'slice' was D shaped and zipped closed and by some magic could be unhooked one side and swiveled out for access.

Very expensive and very heavy as I recall. Any one else remember? have a photo? bought one?

[Emdiesse]

+1When I was a lad I spent many years putting together a modular system like the one you are looking for, it was all built around a Lowe Vector Commando pack.It weighed a ton, do yourself a favour, listen to crucible. One day you'll be my age and your back will thank you for heeding his advice.

Gah, we just weren't made for carrying loads were we.

I'm not aiming to carry all I have with me, just a modular approach helping me be lazy between a day trip, overnight trip and a longer trip. I guess as Greek1983 has said, perhaps I could look into a large sack and a day sack that join together. That would appeal to me since I could then have the day sack full of all the essentials and the big sack can then be packed with overnight gear, long stay gear and all the other stuff to make your longer stay comfortable (without breaking your back)

[Ahjno]

so 2011

check out

http://hillpeoplegear.com/

you will spend money and get more for it too....

Don't do that ... I'm drooling over that serape thingie and that Tarahumara pack for the last 2 weeks or so ...

[John Fenna]

I recall some 20 -25 years ago that BCB had a modular rucksack. It had a carrying frame and I think eight pack 'slices' that could be attached to the frame in a vertical stack. Each 'slice' was D shaped and zipped closed and by some magic could be unhooked one side and swiveled out for access.

Very expensive and very heavy as I recall. Any one else remember? have a photo? bought one?

I had one for review and I found it OK but heavy and difficult to keep waterprof...
It ended its days as a storage/bugout bag in my van.

[lannyman8]

if you like the pack with a frame have a look at an old rad op bergan, they have a metal frame and bergan attached to the frame, day sack size, you could sew webbing or zips for pouches onto the daysack part, from what i remember it sits quite high so you could attach a large pouch or 2 at the bottom....

i will try looking for a picture now... as its surplus it should be cheep as chips though.....

[tartanferret]

Are the PLCE utility straps (25mm) compatible with MOLLE fitting loops ?

I was thinking of getting one of these.
.hydration_olive_1.jpg
And mounting it sideways on my rucksack. (just strapped round the rucksack)

Alternatively , if I modified my pack to have quick release buckles, (the female parts, the males would be fitted to straps passing through the Molle fittings on the bladder carrier)

How would I go about fitting them?, I've got a rough idea ! Is there a link / lesson on this?

Also is it a case of using seam sealant just on the inside to waterproof my new fitting points?

Thanks !

[Greek1983]

MOLLE/PALS grid is 1'' (roughly 25.4mm).

What kind of rucksack you have? A picture might be helpful to see if you can attach it with bungee cords. I however prefer a bladder with D-rings at the sides, like the one below.

[jacko1066]

are these any good for you -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blacks-Lar...item41634c68e8

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-US...item416345223f

Could always modify them to siut your needs?
Cheers
Steve

[The Lord Poncho]

I have found that the downsides to this modular pouch approach is weight and decreased waterproofness.

All of those extra add on pouches and attachment systems add to the weight of the pack- even before you put in your gear. The pouches also increase the potential for water to come into your gear, instead of a single bag.

Yep- exactly right. Cheap Molle can also rip out of the fabric the webbing is sewn too. Remember also that rucksack manufacturers put a lot of thought and attention into the load distribution on their packs. As soon as you start covering the outside of the pack in pouches, that all goes out of the window. This is especially noticeable with pouches on the back of a rucksack, which will try to unbalance you backwards.

Molle is a bit of a fashion accessory right now, and to my mind has developed beyond its original design brief- armoured vests and webbing systems (where it works better because of the relatively light loads and small pouches).

[Emdiesse]

Cheers for all the replies. I'm starting to understand why an internal frame rucksack is perhaps more suited, especially for the lightness. However a part of me is still very keen on the idea of one of these...

http://kifaru.net/duplex_platformhaulers.html

But, my god! The price!

I almost feel like the perfect rucksack would be one that looks and wears like an ordinary internal frame rucksack.... but you can remove the sack itself from the backplate so you are left with something like the kifaru platform frame (just a question of how it'd be joined to the backplate). I'd then have the option of using it like a standard internal frame rucksack or taking the pack off and using it as a frame to attach all sorts to. It'd be great around camp when you could remove the pack and use the backplate to collect wood, etc.

But, that's just my view. Maybe that would help with the weight issue of a modular system but with the flexibility of one. Giving you the choice to adopt a modular or a non-modular pack depending on whether you are looking for lightness or not.

Partly tempted to get a cheap internal frame sack somewhere to do some experimenting with this idea

[sandbender]

I think your just making things difficult for yourself, an arrangement of bags and stuff sacks shoved into a conventional pack will make for a much more comfortable days walking, you will be able to balance your load, your pack is less likely to catch on obstacles, plants and trees and by labeling or color coding your bags it will be easy for you to quickly sort a particular load out for whatever your planned outing will be.

With that said...

One of my packs is a Kifaru X-Ray, all of their gear is very well built and put together so if you end up owning a 'Kifaru Platform Hauler' I want to see some pics and a review.

Edited to add:

This chap uses something similar to the Platform Hauler for his outings.