[Hostile0311]

Originally Posted by bravo22b

This may seem like a stupid question, but here goes anyway.

I was just issued the MOLLE II large ruck and FLC vest. This is my first brush with the new generation of gear. I have been using an ALICE large ruck and traditional LCE with an M-1956 H-suspender since '91. I'm going to have to switch to the new gear, and I'm probably not going to have the option or the funds to buy non-issue ACU pattern equipment.

I've done a fair amount of research via the internet, and I have a current use and care manual for the MOLLE gear. I've set up my FLC similar to how I had my LCE, with two canteens as far forward on the hips as possible, and ammo pouches in front. The MOLLE ruck seems like a somewhat reasonable piece of gear at first glance, but that huge padded waist belt just will not sit comfortably, getting hung up on my canteens.

Obviously, with the old gear, this was also a problem, but I solved it the same way most people have, by either jacking their LCE up over their waist or dropping it down low. I also cut off the actual belt part off my ALICE ruck, since it never got used anyway. That has worked for me for the past 17 years.

With the FLC, I tried dropping it down, but that causes the bar across the back harness to come up and hit my neck. I also tried jacking it up, but I couldn't get it up high enough to clear the ruck waist pad.

Two other ideas come to mind: skipping the canteens (which just seems like a bad idea), or cutting the waist pad of the ruck back to a more manageable size.

I'm 5'10", so I'm guessing if I have this problem, so has everyone else, and I'm sure there must be an infantry-approved way to fix it, and I'm sure someone here knows what it is.

Anything I cut or modify I will have to buy new again someday when I turn it all in, so I'd like to make sure if I'm going to do it, that I'm not wasting my time rediscovering the wheel. Thanks in advance.

As Sinister said, "Good Luck." We were one of the first units in the Marine Corps to get the Gen I then Gen II Molle back in 99-2001. Fortunately we had a Bn CO who didn't like the MOLLE so he req'd us the Alice Mountain Rucks which you said are no longer permitted in your unit. If I remember correctly, when we had the Gen II, mounting the canteens on the padded waist belt was a pretty effective common practice in addition to the Camelback placed inside the pack. I agree that ditching the canteens is not the brightest thing to do. But if you ditch your pack you still have the Camelbak (I had the Vector model which is streamlined and rode comfortably in between the pack and my back even with armor on so I always had water with or without the pack). Unfortunately with this stuff there is no easy fix. I just played around with it until it felt "right" which was few and far between.