I have been searching for a nice little pouch for my Swedish mess kits. The criteria was:
a) it fits...
b) tough OG material
c) A shoulder strap and belt clips to fit large PLCE type belt
d) Cheap, though cost not bad if it's good for the task.
So, first on my list was a S10 respirator pouch.
Two arrived yesterday from Soldier of Fortune (with a ton of other stuff... Umm....) and initial reaction was how big they are! But they are not really. They comfortably take a mess kit with plenty of room to spare. They have three pockets inside, one either side and a flapped pocket with pen holders on the inside of the front. There are also a minor pocket on the outside that contains a long 'lace' lanyard and a larger pocket on the other side. The back has a PLCE belt strap and a shoulder strap that is sewn one side and has an adjustable quick relase clip that fixes to the female clip on the bag. There are also two elastic retaining straps sewn on the inside of the lid flap. The lid fixes closed by velcro and a popper. They measure about 9" high 9" wide and 5" deep and are made from the usual mil spec heavy duty cordura type material that is all but bomb proof. And what is more, they cost £5 each for grade 1 issued!!! The only real difference between new (at about £10 I believe) is that the issue ones have a squaddies moniker emblazoned on some out of sight part and they have that lovely surplus store smell!!
So what are they like? Well, I shall give it a full field test soon and report back. At the moment they seem ideal for me. I can use the shoulder strap when just out walking the dog etc and want some hot nosh without carrying a large bag or webbing pouches on a belt. If I want to attach it to a belt, I can too. The S10 pouch has plenty of room for a 1 litre bottle of water to fit next to the mess kit and a bit of grub on top of it all. The front internal pocket takes powdered milk and tea bags (PG, of course...) and a KFS kit and lighter can be stashed in another pocket. It almost seems designed for carrying my nosh kit!!
The following pictures are leached off the net and of a DPM one, as my digicam is not workling now...
Front view showing shoulder strap.
Rear view showing strap fixings and belt fixing.
Belt fixing open. Lanyard lace on left showing.
Inside, showing elastic in lid and twin internal side pockets. Strangely enough, the plastic NBC kit containers used as survival kit containers fit perfectly. Odd that.....
Also visible is the internal pocket on the front.
I also have two OG Rhodesian pouches with shoulder strap clips on order from SASS. These are new and are about the size of two 58 bottle pouches stitched together. they come with PLCE belt clips and a male and female quick release clip affixed to the top which a fully detachable web strap can clip onto as a shoulder strap. They sell at £26.50 at the mo' (and only 2 more OG ones currently in stock) and are viewable here: http://www.sasskit.co.uk/products/militarywebbing/sassbuckles.htm
I would be interested to know other peoples solutions to my dilemna.
a) it fits...
b) tough OG material
c) A shoulder strap and belt clips to fit large PLCE type belt
d) Cheap, though cost not bad if it's good for the task.
So, first on my list was a S10 respirator pouch.
Two arrived yesterday from Soldier of Fortune (with a ton of other stuff... Umm....) and initial reaction was how big they are! But they are not really. They comfortably take a mess kit with plenty of room to spare. They have three pockets inside, one either side and a flapped pocket with pen holders on the inside of the front. There are also a minor pocket on the outside that contains a long 'lace' lanyard and a larger pocket on the other side. The back has a PLCE belt strap and a shoulder strap that is sewn one side and has an adjustable quick relase clip that fixes to the female clip on the bag. There are also two elastic retaining straps sewn on the inside of the lid flap. The lid fixes closed by velcro and a popper. They measure about 9" high 9" wide and 5" deep and are made from the usual mil spec heavy duty cordura type material that is all but bomb proof. And what is more, they cost £5 each for grade 1 issued!!! The only real difference between new (at about £10 I believe) is that the issue ones have a squaddies moniker emblazoned on some out of sight part and they have that lovely surplus store smell!!
So what are they like? Well, I shall give it a full field test soon and report back. At the moment they seem ideal for me. I can use the shoulder strap when just out walking the dog etc and want some hot nosh without carrying a large bag or webbing pouches on a belt. If I want to attach it to a belt, I can too. The S10 pouch has plenty of room for a 1 litre bottle of water to fit next to the mess kit and a bit of grub on top of it all. The front internal pocket takes powdered milk and tea bags (PG, of course...) and a KFS kit and lighter can be stashed in another pocket. It almost seems designed for carrying my nosh kit!!
The following pictures are leached off the net and of a DPM one, as my digicam is not workling now...
Front view showing shoulder strap.
Rear view showing strap fixings and belt fixing.
Belt fixing open. Lanyard lace on left showing.
Inside, showing elastic in lid and twin internal side pockets. Strangely enough, the plastic NBC kit containers used as survival kit containers fit perfectly. Odd that.....
I also have two OG Rhodesian pouches with shoulder strap clips on order from SASS. These are new and are about the size of two 58 bottle pouches stitched together. they come with PLCE belt clips and a male and female quick release clip affixed to the top which a fully detachable web strap can clip onto as a shoulder strap. They sell at £26.50 at the mo' (and only 2 more OG ones currently in stock) and are viewable here: http://www.sasskit.co.uk/products/militarywebbing/sassbuckles.htm
I would be interested to know other peoples solutions to my dilemna.
