The Pouch Attachment Ladder System or PALS is a grid of

webbing red, blue and black auto_racing.html"_;"title="nylon_webbing_as_used_in_auto_racing">nylon_webbing_as_used_in_auto_racing_harnesses Webbing_is_a_strong_nylon_webbing_as_used_in_auto_racing_harnesses">auto_racing.html"_;"title="nylon_webbing_as ...

invented and patented by

United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center The Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Soldier Center, now CCDC SC, was formerly the United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, and is a tenant unit of the United States Army Natick Soldier System ...

used to attach smaller equipment onto load-bearing platforms, such as vests and backpacks. It was first used on

MOLLE MOLLE (pronounced ,, homophonic with the name Molly) is an acronym for Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. It is used to define the current generation of load-bearing equipment and backpacks used by a number of NATO armed forces, espe ...

rucksacks, but is now found on a variety of tactical equipment, such as the U.S. Improved Outer Tactical Vest,

Interceptor body armor The Interceptor Multi-Threat Body Armor System (IBA) is a bullet-resistant body armor system that was used by the United States Armed Forces during the 2000s, with some limited usage into the mid-2010s. IBA and its design replaced the older stan ...

, USMC

Improved Load Bearing Equipment The Improved Load Bearing Equipment (ILBE) is a United States Marine Corps program that had included individual load carriage equipment, individual hydration systems ( Source One Hydration) and individual water purification. Since the rucksack ...

backpack and

Modular Tactical Vest The Modular Tactical Vest (MTV or MoTaV) is a ballistic vest originally adopted by the United States Marine Corps in 2006. The MTV was designed as a solution to shortcomings in the Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) and was selected after a rigorous pr ...

. It is used to attach items such as holsters, magazine pouches, radio pouches, knife sheathes, and other gear. A wide variety of pouches are commercially available, allowing soldiers to customize their kit. There is also a variety of attachment methods including the

Alice Clip The All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment (ALICE) is a set of load-carrying equipment adopted as United States Army Standard A on 17 January 1973 to replace the M-1956 Load-Carrying Equipment, M-1956 Individual Load-Carrying ...

, the Natick snap, and soft, interwoven straps. The PALS system has begun to be adopted by other forces, such as the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, who use it on their Osprey body armor. PALS consists of webbing sewn onto the load-bearing equipment and corresponding webbing and straps on the attachment. The straps are interwoven between the webbing on each of two pieces and finally snapped into place, making for a very secure fit which can be detached with moderate effort. New types are laser cut out of single piece fabric rather than webbing straps sewn onto fabric. This is common on many new tactical items from backpacks to chest rigs. The spacing is the same standard so new lasercut ladders are 100% backwards compatible with older pouches made for webbing strap construction rigs.

Specifications

The PALS grid consists of horizontal rows of Commercial Item Descriptions (CID) A-A-55301A (replacing Mil-W-43668MIL-W-43668 C NOTICE-1 WEBBING TEXTILE TEXTURED OR NYLON
/ref>) Type III nylon webbing (most commercial vendors use Type IIIa), spaced 25 mm apart, and reattached to the backing at intervals. Although the specification is for the stitchings to be spaced apart, stitching in the range is considered acceptable in practice. Newer styles come in various laser cut fabric, most commonly 1000D cordura nylon (some vendors use 500D - 600D). The benefits often quoted for laser cut single piece style is significant weight saving especially on plate carriers/rigs and items with large amount of ladder area as well as less bulk. Another consideration is fabrics can be made in new popular patterns without need to source webbing in compatible shades including viewing conditions under night vision devices. Many of these specialist patterns are also available in NIR treated forms for optimal camouflage viewed through such night vision devices.

Gallery

Man modelling early protoype of PASGT in 1975.jpg, A man in 1975 modelling an early ERDL-patterned prototype of the PASGT vest, with two PALS webbing strips on the front. Image:Osprey body armour.jpg, PALS grid on the United Kingdom's Osprey body armor Image:Future Force Warrior 2007.jpg, Pouches attached to

body armor Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...

using the PALS grid are clearly visible in this image of soldiers from the

Future Force Warrior Future Force Warrior was a United States military advanced technology demonstration project that was part of the Future Combat Systems project. The FFW project sought to create a lightweight, fully integrated infantryman combat system. It was one ...

program, including a

hydration bladder A hydration pack or drink bag is a type of hydration system built as a backpack or waistpack containing a reservoir or "bladder" commonly made of rubber or flexible plastic. The reservoir contains a capped mouth for filling with liquid and a hos ...

. File:Modular Tactical Vest components.jpg, PALS grid on a

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

Image:Molle Rucksack NG0805 1179.jpg, PALS grid on the MOLLE pack

References

External links

olive-drab.com: MOLLE Pouch Attachment Ladder System (PALS)
* {{US patent, 5724707, US patent 5724707 Personal military carrying equipment Military equipment introduced in the 1990s