MOLLE and PALS: working out what fits what
MOLLE is the attachment system; PALS is the grid of webbing it attaches to. The grid is built on two measurements, and once you know them you can tell from a photograph whether a pouch will go on your rig.
The grid is two numbers
PALS is 25 millimetre webbing, sewn in rows 25 millimetres apart, bar-tacked down to the backing every 38 millimetres. In inches, which is how it was designed: one inch wide, one inch apart, stitched every inch and a half.
It came out of the US Army's Natick Soldier Center and arrived with the MOLLE system in 1997. Those bar-tacks are what turn a strip of webbing into a row of loops, and everything that fits fits because it was built to the same two numbers.
Count loops, not centimetres
A pouch's width is the number of columns of loops it needs, and its height is the number of rows. Measuring the panel in centimetres and the pouch in centimetres is exactly how people end up one column short.
So count: the loops across the panel you want to fill, and the straps on the back of the pouch. A double rifle magazine pouch generally wants three columns and a single wants two, but count rather than assume, because a laser-cut panel and a sewn one can be the same width and offer a different number of loops.
How it attaches, and how people get it wrong
The straps on the back of the pouch weave alternately. Through a row on the panel, then back through the pouch's own ladder, then the next row on the panel, and so on down, so that every strap passes through both the panel and the pouch. The last pass is held by the snap or the hook-and-loop tab.
A pouch threaded only through the panel, with the strap never going back through the pouch itself, is held on by the press stud alone. It will walk loose. If a pouch keeps working its way off, this is almost always the reason.
Laser-cut and stitched are the same grid
Laser-cut panels are slots cut straight through a laminated face rather than rows of sewn webbing, but they use the same 25 and 38 millimetre geometry. A stitched pouch mounts on a laser-cut panel and a laser-cut pouch mounts on sewn webbing.
Laser cut is thinner and lighter and sheds water better. Sewn webbing is more forgiving on second-hand kit, because loops stretched by years of use still grip, where a torn laminate slot is finished.
The three reasons a pouch will not fit
Width. Three columns on a two-column panel - the commonest one, and the reason to count.
Depth. Cummerbund and side panels are often only two rows deep, so a tall utility pouch has nothing to weave into at the bottom and ends up hanging off its top row.
Belts and legs. A battle belt gives you one or two rows, not four, so a pouch designed for the front of a carrier may only catch on its top strap. Drop-leg platforms use the same loops and the same limit applies.
Questions
- What is the difference between MOLLE and PALS?
- PALS is the grid of webbing, the rows of loops. MOLLE is the system of pouches and the method of weaving them on. In everyday use people say MOLLE for both.
- What is the MOLLE webbing spacing?
- Webbing 25 millimetres wide, rows 25 millimetres apart, bar-tacked to the backing every 38 millimetres. One inch, one inch, and an inch and a half.
- Will a laser-cut pouch fit sewn MOLLE webbing?
- Yes. Both are built to the same 25 and 38 millimetre geometry, so they interoperate in either direction.
- How do I know if a pouch will fit my carrier?
- Count the columns of loops on the panel and the straps on the back of the pouch, rather than measuring either in centimetres. Check the depth too: side and cummerbund panels are often only two rows deep.
- Why does my MOLLE pouch keep coming loose?
- Usually because the straps were threaded through the panel only. Each strap has to pass back through the pouch's own ladder as well, alternating, so that the weave holds the pouch on and the press stud is only finishing it off.
Written by the person who sorts the stock, not by a copywriter. Corrections are welcome at [email protected].