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Bryan
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SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Sat Jun 11, 2016 10:12 am

A few years back Innovative Scuba offered SCUBA/MOLLE webbing in their catalog and was marketing it to Public Safety/Military Divers. I jumped on it right away and have been using it ever since. When the Argonaut went to market I wanted to offer this webbing as an option for folks who bought VDH plates with their new regulator....Innovative Scuba informed me they were dropping it due to lack of interest.
A couple of months ago I contacted them directly and asked if I could do a bulk purchase of the webbing through them from their supplier and offer it up here on VDH. The price they gave me per 50' roll was outrageous and even if it would have been sewn with gold thread would have been highway robbery.


Reasons I like it......There are TONS of ways to attach stuff and the accessories for MOLLE are dirt cheap and available anywhere......If you want nothing on your harness it takes just moments to remove it or vice versa. You can still use standard SCUBA D-rings, Sliders, Keepers and most everything else you use currently on your harness now.


So I had a vendor I have been working with for a while make me up this sample roll and I would like to solicit feedback from the VDH Forum member on pros and cons of it.....Good or Bad.....Yes or No please share your thoughts.
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Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

stephenws
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Sat Jun 11, 2016 1:47 pm

I would be interested in upgrading my harness with this, as it would allow numerous attachment points and facilitate quick interchangeability of accessories.

crimediver
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Sat Jun 11, 2016 8:12 pm

I would have a use for it. I have a lot of molle gear and it is handy.

rx7diver
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Sun Jun 12, 2016 9:38 am

I don't think I would switch out my standard nylon webbing for MOLLE webbing. Standard webbing accommodates the few items I attach, nicely/adequately. (I have been diving standard webbing since the early 1990's, for both technical diving and recreational diving, and have never wished for something different.) Also, I am pretty fastidious with my scuba gear, and I wouldn't care at all to spend time thoroughly washing and drying a harness constructed of MOLLE webbing after a dive outing. Still, having never actually *used* MOLLE webbing and, so, never actually seen for myself its advantages/disadvantages...

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

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captain
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Sun Jun 12, 2016 2:05 pm

rx7diver wrote:I don't think I would switch out my standard nylon webbing for MOLLE webbing. Standard webbing accommodates the few items I attach, nicely/adequately. (I have been diving standard webbing since the early 1990's, for both technical diving and recreational diving, and have never wished for something different.) Also, I am pretty fastidious with my scuba gear, and I wouldn't care at all to spend time thoroughly washing and drying a harness constructed of MOLLE webbing after a dive outing. Still, having never actually *used* MOLLE webbing and, so, never actually seen for myself its advantages/disadvantages...

Safe Diving,

rx7diver
The webbing itself is the same as any webbing, molle refers to Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. It is the small webbing strap sewn at 1" intervals that other webbing or items that can be used to attach other items. Actually PALS webbing is the webbing name, Molle is the system. I think black and red would look cool in conjunction with a Argonaut Kraken with red hoses.

For those unfamiliar with the military.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOLLE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pouch_Att ... der_System
Captain

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couv
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Sun Jun 12, 2016 2:26 pm

I'm not one of the creative types; so I'll have to wait to see what sort of clever ideas pop up before making any changes to my rig.
A sincere THANK YOU to all at VDH who make this wonderful resource available and to all the thoughtful contributors.

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Bryan
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Sun Jun 12, 2016 3:31 pm

The webbing dries just as fast as any other and requires no special care. I'm a fan because it provides easy options to add attachments without the need to re-thread the webbing, remove buckles or other stationary points. Want a D-ring for a specific task....You can add one in moments and remove it just as quickly when the task is done. Going on a night dive, easy to clip and store an extra light under one or both arms.....Back to diving during the day, remove the attachment points in moments with zero modifications or changes to your strap routing. Want a sternum strap on some dives but not on others...You can attach and remove it in moments.
It kinda sells itself once you use it. Look at the dozens and dozens of MOLLE attachment items out there on the web and you can get an idea of options you might like to try.
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

rx7diver
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Sun Jun 12, 2016 5:19 pm

captain wrote:The webbing itself is the same as any webbing, molle refers to Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. It is the small webbing strap sewn at 1" intervals that other webbing or items that can be used to attach other items. Actually PALS webbing is the webbing name, Molle is the system. I think black and red would look cool in conjunction with a Argonaut Kraken with red hoses.

For those unfamiliar with the military.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOLLE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pouch_Att ... der_System
Thanks, captain. I confess I actually had to google before I responded to Bryan's original post, as I was unfamiliar with the both the acronym, "MOLLE", and the acronym for the earlier "ALICE" system--even though I am/was an Army Brat. (Dad is a 30-year U.S. Army veteran/retiree.)

For me to feel that I have thoroughly cleaned any MOLLE Webbing, I would need to flood beneath each 1-inch sewn webbing section, with fresh water from a garden hose, after prolonged soaking. (Maybe "fastidious" is not a strong enough word...) Then I wonder about additional drying time. And additional bulk. And, as mentioned, I really don't know what I would attach using the MOLLE loops, as the couple of items that I do attach are readily accommodated using two chest D-rings and two waist D-rings (one of which is usually NOT used at all). And now that I've begun using a crotch strap (with my new VDH backplate), I have two additional D-rings!

However, I'm always open to new ideas. I would love to know how other divers are using this MOLLE webbing.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

pclarke1
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Sun Jun 12, 2016 8:01 pm

I have been looking for MOLLE webbing for this application for ages. I would definitely buy it (depending on price of course).

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Bryan
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Mon Jun 13, 2016 6:42 pm

Typical of website forums.......Over 100 people click on the link but perhaps 1/2 dozen leave comments or thoughts. :roll: :roll: .......Seems to be little interest in the product so I guess between the harness I've been using for the past 2 years and the sample roll I had made I'm probably set for life on the stuff.
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

uwstlth
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Tue Jun 14, 2016 12:28 am

Silence is golden...

It's overkill for recreational diving... unless you are carrying limpets or your name is Inspector Gadget :shock:

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Bryan
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:35 am

uwstlth wrote:Silence is golden...
And ignorance is bliss
It's overkill for recreational diving....So your opinion is that having task specific attachment options to use or not use is too much for recreational divers to handle?
.. unless you are carrying limpets or your name is Inspector Gadget :shock:
There are dozens of pictures and videos of me diving with this harness setup. I can't find ONE where I'm carrying mines or look like Inspector Gadget...Perhaps you can ?
I'll contact the manufacturer and see if I can purchase another sample roll and then send it out to a few divers willing to test my ideas and give some unbiased feedback.
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

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Creed
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Tue Jun 14, 2016 2:07 pm

I'd be willing to give it a shot. I keep playing with different harness configurations with my backplate and I'm not quite happy yet, so this may be exactly what I'm looking for.
"Haul the sheet in as we ride on the wind that our
forefathers harnessed before us
Hear the bells ring as the tide rigging sings.
It's a son of a gun of a chorus" - Jimmy Buffet

uwstlth
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Tue Jun 14, 2016 2:22 pm

Bryan wrote:
uwstlth wrote:Silence is golden...
And ignorance is bliss
It's overkill for recreational diving....So your opinion is that having task specific attachment options to use or not use is too much for recreational divers to handle?
.. unless you are carrying limpets or your name is Inspector Gadget :shock:
There are dozens of pictures and videos of me diving with this harness setup. I can't find ONE where I'm carrying mines or look like Inspector Gadget...Perhaps you can ?
I'll contact the manufacturer and see if I can purchase another sample roll and then send it out to a few divers willing to test my ideas and give some unbiased feedback.
Around the dive locker, that was what we call sarcasm ... since you asked...

2 simple D-rings at the shoulder is all that you should really need unless you are doing a technical dive and need to hook crap all over the place, I'll bet not 1% of the divers on this forum fit that criteria. As a part of my job I dive - a lot, and I don't even need it. SS D-rings and sliders vs plastic clips will always be my choice.
inspector-gadget-3.jpg
398.jpg

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ScubaLawyer
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Re: SCUBA / MOLLE Webbing

Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:27 pm

Looks like a great idea to me. I'm always swapping out harness material to try and find the perfect comfort and fit. Looks softer than standard 2" webbing but haven't touched it so don't know. Plus I'm always swapping out cameras for goodie bags for lift bags for fish stringers, etc... depending on the diving pursuit at hand. My 2 psi. Mark.
"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968) :D

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