MOLLE

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Rickk

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MOLLE stands for Modular Light weight Load carrying Equipment. It is the web straps that you see on a soldier's battle vest that allows different pieces of equipment like holsters, clips, pouches etc to be attached in many different configurations. It is also becoming more common on civilian backpacks and other gear. It really is a very versatile system for attaching gear together.

I am thinking about switching from a jacket to a BPW configuration and think that having MOLLE on the wing would be a great way to attach trim weights and similar pouches and gear. The versatility would let me move the trim weights around to find the best configuration or to change it easily if I changed exposure suits etc.

Does anyone know of any wings that have MOLLE attachments. I dive warm salt water so do not need a lot of lift.

So far all I have seen is a couple BCDs with MOLLE on the cummerbund and a couple single strap weight /utility belts.
 
I don't think I would want to connect weights directly to the wing, with MOLLE or any other method. Good way to trap air. The wing isn't remotely rigid, so you'll have no control over where the weight is at any given time.

MOLLE was created for modularity. It's in the name. If your objective is to mount one thing in one location and never change it, there's absolutely no reason to adopt MOLLE other than marketing. In the case of trim weights on a BP/W, there are a million ways to dial in placement effectively, none of which require adding a bunch of fabric, stitching, and (usually) some kind of fastener that are all going to degrade over time. The basis of the BP/W is simplicity. Why try to convolute it unnecessarily?
 
So far all I have seen is a couple BCDs with MOLLE on the cummerbund and a couple single strap weight /utility belts.

There's a reason for that...
 
MOLLE accessories in general are not designed for underwater use. Many have ferrous snaps.

I tied to use a small pouch and the snaps immediately started to corrode. It was eventually no longer usable. I suppose you could cut off any pot metal snaps and use an alternative Means of securing them.

But, if a MOLLE pouch comes loose on land, it’s not a big deal. If a MOLLE pouch holding a weight came loose underwater, it could be serious. So the security of the mounting system is paramount.
 
I don't think connecting weight directly to the wing would be a good idea. You would be better off connecting them to the backplate. Halcyon has a Traveler BPW system where the backplate is plastic and there are weight pouches attached. You can attach up to 12 pounds of weight. Deep Sea Supply made weight plates for their backplates. They are out of business now but you might find a backplate and weight plates for sell.

I find that my steel backplate and trim pockets work fine. If I really need the extra weight (Neoprene drysuit with thick undergarments) I wear a weight harness.

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I tied to use a small pouch and the snaps immediately started to corrode. It was eventually no longer usable. I suppose you could cut off any pot metal snaps and use an alternative Means of securing them.

What you do is fold the end of the strap at a slight angle and stitch the fold through. It's the standard way, actually, the snaps are the later addition AFAIK. Drill them out or wait for them to rust away and fall off -- I had one do the latter in February, I need to drill out the other half and do the folding-stitching thing.

I don't think it'll work for weights, it's OK for shears and such.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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