Comfortable, compact, durable, reliable – that’s what they’re all about. They were invented by the military, although in peacetime they were also considered a traditional attribute of travelers, hunters, fishermen, and airsoft players. They are convenient in camping and field conditions, where there is no room for suitcases and even backpacks cannot hold everything that needs to be at hand. So, today we will talk about an essential piece of military equipment in any conditions – a pouch, or more precisely, the tactical pouches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The history of pouches goes back a long way, as they appeared back in the days of army supply trains, when everything necessary for daily life and war was carried behind the army. Even then, soldiers wanted to have something important and personal with them, but there weren’t enough pockets. Today, pouches made of MOLLE and Velcro, 1000D Cordura, and Oxford fabric serve as additional pockets in which you can put absolutely everything you need to have at hand. And modern soldiers have a lot of these various essentials, which is why there are many types of pouches: for first aid kits and ammunition, for hydrators and magazines, for documents and radios… These are the details that make the dangerous life of soldiers more comfortable and their actions more effective.
Types of pouches by shape and purpose
Military pouches are usually designed to provide quick access to the contents without unnecessary movements and to protect the contents from moisture, sand, and dirt as much as possible. Some Ukrainian Armed Forces pouches repeat the shape of the item for which they are intended, such as a magazine. This helps recognize the contents by touch, automatically, which saves time and does not distract, and if there are a dozen pouches, this is important.
The classification of pouches into types in the catalogs of different manufacturers may not coincide, but the following types are generally recognized.
For weapons and ammunition. The Rarog brand, or more precisely its Rarog Exp series, has the following in its combat pouch section:
- pouches for different types of magazines – with a frame for convenience, single and double, as well as pouches for discarding empty magazines;
- for grenades – with special fasteners and locks to prevent accidental detonation;
- a special offer from Rarog – a bag for loose ammunition, durable, with three reliable straps for fastening, designed for significant weight.
For medicines. These are organizers for medicines and related accessories, for individual first aid kits. There are separate pockets for tourniquets, and since, according to the military, “you can never have too many tourniquets,” some combat pouches in the Rarog Exp series have additional space on the outside for attaching tourniquets.
Administrative pouch. A convenient horizontal pocket is usually attached to the chest and is designed to store documents and personal items. In Rarog models, the administrative pouch has two compartments and a secret pocket at the point of attachment to the bulletproof vest, a mesh for securing items, and an elastic band to secure a marker or pencil.
Utility pouches. They are used for various items as needed, such as for dry rations, as well as for storing a flashlight, thermal imager, power bank, and radio. Thanks to the MOLLE system sewn onto the pouches, which allows for secure, quick, and compact attachment, the pouches can be placed in any convenient location on the equipment. Among them, it is worth highlighting the chest rigs.
A chest rig is attached to the front of a plate carrier or body armor and is designed to hold items needed by a specific soldier, such as maps, multi-tools, extra batteries, etc. Rarog offers this type of bag with a ballistic pack, so it also protects the abdominal area.
Types of pouch attachments
Almost every description of equipment mentions MOLLE and Velcro, so it is worth saying a few words about them.
- MOLLE means Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. In simple terms, it is a system of straps for attaching equipment to each other, for example, pouches to a bulletproof vest or load-bearing system. This ingenious invention for organizing things – equipping pouches with MOLLE – was invented by the US military in the early 2000s so that soldiers could quickly and efficiently assemble their equipment according to the task at hand. The system is truly ideal for use in wartime conditions, as confirmed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Rarog.
- Velcro, or “hook-and-loop fastener,” is a fastener that works on the same principle as the well-known weed, whose thorns cling tightly to almost any texture. According to legend, Swiss engineer Georges Mestral was forced to rescue his retriever from thistle bushes and then remove the thorns from its fur. During this exhausting procedure, he came up with the idea of Velcro – a fastener consisting of two strips, one with micro-hooks and the other with felt. In military equipment, including the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ pouches, Velcro is used as a fastener and as a surface for attaching identification marks, such as chevrons.
Why Rarog pouches are valued
- The strongest fabric available today for military equipment is used – Cordura 500D or 1000D with an additional DWR coating, which enhances resistance to water and various external influences. Instead of straps for fastening, Cordura is also used in the pouches – a thin and durable strip with plastic at the end, which makes MOLLE attachment easy and convenient.
- The bags are treated with NIR impregnation and therefore do not show up on night vision devices.
- They have grommets for self-cleaning from sand and water, and the administrative pouches have rubberized zippers, which guarantee that rain or any moisture will not seep inside.
- All of them have reliable Velcro fasteners on the flaps and planes for attaching identification details. They are also equipped with a Molle Laser Cut platform – no hooks or clips, just rows of cells and a sling strap. Laser Cut is the latest version of Molle, with laser-cut slots for modular slings.
The conclusion is clear: tactical pouches are indispensable; there is no better way to organize and store all the necessary tools, equipment, and weapons so that they are reliable, safe, and quickly accessible. Efficiency, organization, and mobility on the battlefield are all possible with Rarog pouches.
