For buying the stuff, both The Sportsman's Guide and Cheaper Than Dirt sell it, as do many suplus operations. The A.L.I.C.E. gear is the older of the two, and was US Army standard from about the Vietnam War to Desert Storm. The MOLLE gear is the current standard for the US armed forces.
The main difference is in the attachment mechanisms, plus the fact a wider variety of pouches and attachment points exist for the MOLLE gear. As I understand it, at least some of the ALICE pouches are compatible with the MOLLE system, but I can't swear to that of my own experience.
VERY experienced surplus buyer here. Order off sportsmansguide where you can get full sets of ALICE for $15 and ALICE sets with the buttpack for $30, I ended up paying around $50 for the individual components of mine and was RIPPED OFF! ALICE gear was made by the millions during the Viet Nam War and afterwards and is abundant and cheap! I paid $18 for the Y harness alone! Ugh.
MOLLE is good stuff but it is more expensive, lots of third party dealers sell it such as Blackhawk, Condor Outdoor and Specter. Condor Outdoor is the cheapest; the stuff will last as long as you want it to. MOLLE is just more expensive, people say its modularity is useful but whatever... I find it a pain sometimes.
To me the belt and suspenders setup is best!
Edit: I would also recommend the British Pattern 58 gear as it's inexpensive and rugged, buy it from Sportsmensguides.
Last edited by DesertRaider109; 03-29-2009 at 03:47 PM.
Thanks guys. Love the pics, thanks larmus. After posting this question I stopped around the web trying to find an answer but the only thing I did discover was the the Alice gear was the older of the two. Thanks Cyrano and Desertraider I'll check out those sites.
I have a Medium Alice pack without the frame, and a full MOLLE II setup. What do I take backpacking? The MOLLE, I don't even have to think about it.
A place here called Jax Outdoor had full surplus MOLLE systems in new condition with all the little add-ons for $90. That is a great deal. IMO it carries more gear more comfortably than the expensive civilian model packs. I have personally humped 70+ pounds of gear several miles with the MOLLE, I weigh in at 138 and am 5'10'' and the MOLLE gear was incredible. It is easy to set up and break down, very durable, and somewhat waterproof. I'm a huge fan of the MOLLE, when I travel I don't even take luggage, I just take my pack. Buy the MOLLE and all the stuff you can for it. You will NOT be disappointed.
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If the Founding Fathers were alive today, they'd probably rather be dead.
The basis of the ALICE system was the equipment belt and harness. Everything else was attached to it using metal sliding clips. A personal load was usually the minimum seen below. A 3-day or light combat pack could be attached to the rear harness straps and hung at belt level, or the medium ALICE pack with or w/o the pack frame could be used to carry heavier loads. This system evolved from the M-1956 heavy cotton canvas H-harness to the M-1967 and M-1973 heavy nylon Y-harness shown. It is an excellent well balanced all purpose individual load bearing system, but it is not compatible with the IBC protective vest now mandatory for all troops in a war zone. It is true that many components are mountable and interchangeable with the modular (MOLLE) load bearing system as demonstrated by the Marines who still use components from both ALICE and MOLLE.
I often mount weapon-specific MOLLE pouches to the ALICE belt, it works fine you just have to worry with it moving around sometimes. So I set it up in a position where the MOLLE pouch is locked into place and it works great.
Okay how do you wear a MOLLE backpack with the new style tactical vest? Does the backpack attach to the vest? My ROTC experience was 30 years ago, so the Y-suspender style belt I recognize. The MOLLE system is new to me.
