Boatman:

Short answer to your question about MOLLE being junk is, yes. And no. The MOLLE pack system is so complicated that it needs a video to show you how to use it. The frames on MOLLE I and MOLLE II were reported to be breaking pretty often in Afghanistan, and the manufacturing quality didn't seem to stand up to the harsh environments and the weights the Leather necks were carrying. <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> The major gripes I read about had to do with the pack/frame and, surprisingly, with the Camelbacks that come with MOLLE.

A complicated system may be fine for civilian tasks, but in the military, the K.I.S.S. rule, rules. As much as I hated humping an ALICE ruck while on duty, it was easy to handle and rugged.

This last July, the USMC adopted a militarized internal frame pack made by Arc'tyrex, with a new patrol pack. (Don't hold me to the spelling. I have an excuse - I'm an LSU grad!). But the system still uses the horizontal webbing that MOLLE used for adding additional pockets, so the MOLLE pockets should still work.

Disclaimer: I have a MOLLE II patrol pack and a MOLLE II waist pack. Put together, and with a few add-on pockets, I have my "basis only" weekend camping pack. It works well, and it has supplanted my old ALICE medium ruck/frame in that role.

Hope this helps,

…..CLIFF