MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier is a contract kit for maintaining water and salt balance, included in the MOLLE II kit of the United States of America, and supplied as part of government defense procurement.
MOLLE II is the latest revision of the Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment (MOLLE) custom set. Together with a backpack and a pouch for transporting equipment, it also includes a specialized set for carrying drinking water - MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier. This kit includes a three-liter reservoir and a pouch for storing and carrying it. Quite often, under the name MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier, they can mean a separate tank, a separate pouch, and the entire system as a whole. Therefore, we will introduce you to all of its components.
Components for MOLLE II kits for defense orders may be supplied by different manufacturers depending on current contracts and purchasing conditions. Further in the review, the MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier kit will be presented, the reservoir of which was manufactured by Hydramax, and the pouch in Multicam camouflage was supplied for it by Propper International Inc.
Storage tank
The MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier is a 3 liter water container with elastic cling film. The reservoir is equipped with a flexible hose so that you can drink water on the go, and a lid through which you can easily replenish water supplies. In addition, it also has the following features.
- Plastic lid for filling and emptying the tank.
- A lever that controls the water supply.
- Elastic mouthpiece with a cap.
- Dimensions (cm.): 18 x 46 x 4.5 (width \ height \ depth).
- Weight: 190 g.
The front of the Tan tank features the tank fill cap, hose connection, hose, and two holes through which the tank can be hung and secured inside compatible shoulder pouches, pouches and the like.
The photo above also features the prominent "Not for use in NBC Environment" caption, emphasizing the refusal to use the tank in conditions of nuclear, biological or chemical contamination. This is due to the increased risk of contact of the mouthpiece with pathogens or hazardous substances, and their subsequent penetration into the body through the mucous membranes when drinking water. In such conditions, appropriate protective equipment with built-in hydration systems should be used, in other cases, the MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier will be an effective means of maintaining the water-salt balance.
Also worth noting is the lack of a hose cover. Without it, the water is contained in the hose, it will warm up under the influence of sunlight and ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, it will not be superfluous either to find a cover for the hose, or to drain the water back into the tank so that it does not stand in the hose.
In the lower third of the reservoir there is a plastic outlet, to which the flexible reservoir hose is fixed. Unfortunately, there are no connectors or valves here, so you won't be able to disconnect the hose from the tank. This fact will not allow you to remove the tank from the equipment separately from the hose, use it as an additional container for transporting water supplies, from which you do not drink yet.
In the upper third, just below the section for hanging the tank in a vertical position, there is a filling hole. The neck diameter is 5 centimeters, and it is closed with a plastic screw cap. The tightness of the lid to the neck is quite high, so there is no need for silicone seals, and the closed lid does not leak.
Through the opening, you can easily fill the tank with tap water, overflow from bottles with narrow and wide necks, as well as from a bottle with a volume of 5-20 liters. True, a diameter of 5 centimeters is not enough for normal maintenance of internal surfaces, because a hand does not pass through the neck. Therefore, you need additional devices and tools for wiping, cleaning and maintenance.
On the opposite side of the 108 cm hose is a lever and an elastic mouthpiece. The lever controls the water flow and has a fairly tight stroke. Thanks to this, it is quite unlikely that the position of the lever will change without your participation. In the extreme positions, the lever completely closes, completely opens the water supply, and in the intermediate positions you can control the speed of its passage through the hose.
The mouthpiece in MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier is longitudinal, with a slot with tightly brought together walls. To spread the walls, you need to lightly bite the mouthpiece that deforms the silicone and spreads the walls of the opening. To drink water from the reservoir, open the lever, bite down on the mouthpiece and begin to suck water through the hose. It is also worth noting that the cap for protecting the mouthpiece from dirt and mechanical damage is included in the MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier, so you don't have to buy it separately, as is the case with the Camelbak Long Neck Water Beast 3L, for example.
Also in the photo above, you can pay attention to the clip, which can be used to fix the hose to the equipment. You will need it if you want to attach a hose to the shoulder straps of a backpack, or shoulder cushions of body armor.
Pouch
The MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier pouch is used to transport a reservoir with a water supply. The design provides for the ability to carry the result in the hands, on the back as a separate backpack, as well as integration with PALS \ LaserCut interfaces and compatible equipment. In addition, the result has the following features.
- Adjustable shoulder straps and carry handles.
- Adjustable chest strap.
- Four ITW Nexus Grimlocks included for fixing to PALS \ LaserCut modular interfaces.
- Three slings for 5 columns for fixing additional totals and equipment.
- Dimensions (cm): 20 x 50 x 5 cm (width \ height \ depth).
- Weight: 376 g.
On the front of the MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier, the straps for carrying in vertical and horizontal positions, the opening of the tank lid, adjustable straps and an area for attaching additional equipment are clearly visible. But, before dwelling on them in detail, let's briefly dwell on the straps.
The straps are used to carry the result on the back, and it is in this form that it is transported in most cases. The top of the straps are one and a half inches wide and the bottom is an inch. There is a plastic fastex at the junction of the upper and lower parts, which performs two functions. Firstly, it allows you to adjust the vertical position of the total, adjusting the fit to the individual characteristics of the user and seasonal clothing. Secondly, thanks to these fastexes, you can drop the pouch without passing your hands through the straps.
On the front side of the straps there is an adjustable chest strap with fastex. With its help, you can adjust the width of the landing of the straps so that they do not limit the mobility of the arms but do not rub the armpits. Just above the chest strap, there is a large plastic D-ring on each strap. You can run the tank hose through it so that it is not lost and is always at hand. You can also hang various essentials to it: protective gloves, a case with glasses, a compass, a GPS navigator, and the like.
In the lower third, where the hose outlet is located in the tank, there is a modular platform on the pouch for three horizontal slings with five columns each. With its help, you can attach PALS compatible pouches on top of the pouch for transporting additional equipment. Therefore, if necessary, the MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier can accommodate a water supply and the required minimum of field equipment.
Plastic detachable ITW Nexus Grimlock carabiners, a couple of which can be seen in the photo above, are used to mount the pouch on PALS and LaserCut interfaces. There are four of them in total, and most often they attach the pouch to large shoulders, or to the back of plate carriers and body armor. This allows you to get rid of an extra pair of shoulder straps. The pouch's own straps are hidden inward through the holes in their base.
On the back of the MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier, the US mark is clearly visible, which indicates that it belongs to a contract kit. Below is a tag with basic information about the product: NSN number, contract number, manufacturer data and care instructions. There is a horizontal line between them.
By pulling this lanyard you will gain access to the inner space of the pouch. A reservoir is installed through this neck, and you can also remove it for further maintenance. The layers of material in this place converge so that the sediments flow down from top to bottom and thus do not fall into the interior space.
Also in the photo above, through the neck of the pouch, you can see the neoprene inner surface protects the tank from mechanical damage, as well as from heating in direct sunlight. This surface acts as a thermos that keeps the water temperature in the tank for some time.
All in all, the MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier is an affordable, reliable, self-contained and versatile kit for temperate to hot climates when you need a relatively large supply of water. Therefore, it is well suited for military personnel, hunters, fishermen and fans of active sports, in which there is no time and opportunity to use flasks and bottles. This is especially true for people who drive vehicles and do not have the opportunity to take their hands off the steering wheel for a long time to drink: drivers of cars, motorcycles, cyclists and the like.
If necessary, you can replace the complete MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier with a Camelbak Long Neck Water Beast 3L, because their dimensions and design features are absolutely identical. This replacement will unlock the benefits of the HydroLink modular system, further enhancing the functionality of the kit.
We thank punisher.com.ua online store for MOLLE II Hydration System Carrier provided for review.
Source: https://secretsquirrel.com.ua/snaryazhenie/ohliad-komplektu-molle-ii-hydration-system-carrier/
Author: MAD
