Questions About Molly Mac Pack Experiences

[Singingcrowsings]

Without a bag you just need to get creative. There is no compression on the hard-sided items so you must think outside the box. Here are some things I have tried and how well they worked.

1) Use multiple straps. It is easy enough to add a strap around the horizontal of the axis of the bear vault or even add a third vertical strap. This worked well but required the extra strap.

2) Make the strap grippy. There are any number off aftermarket dips and coatings to put on the straps to make them more grippy. I cut a small diameter bike inner tube and slid it over the straps to give them a little extra gripyness. This worked perfectly, use small zip0tiees to keep the tube on the strap so you don't lose it mid trip.

3) Make a specialty bag. I made a bag with belt loops on it to attach, via the regular straps, to the back panel. Not like the 15L bag from Mac that uses its own straps and stays on the panel. This method worked great but you must make the bag, no one makes one with the belt loops.

4) Put a stuff sack that is compressible in with the bear can. Using the same strap put both the bear can and another compressible stuff sack (Like sleeping clothes, dirty clothes or something of the like) and compress them down together. The compressible bag will act like a chock for the bear vault and both will be held very securely. This is by far the easiest solution and works very well.

One thing I envisioned but never built was a small compression roll made of stretchy fabric. I envisioned something like a new moon back pack (but obviously sized smaller to fit the bear can) that attached to the panel via its own straps and then had buckles to secure the bear can. Think of folding the bear can up in a great big stretchy fabric taco and then buckling it all closed.

Of all these methods I like 4 the most, simple easy and it works great. Depending on the size of your bear can you may need longer straps to wrap around the bear can and a stuff sack.

Try this: with the harder items, they would bring a rigidity to the MMP that the softer items don't, thus allowing us to use more than one row of PALS, and eliminating the need for an extra strap. You mentioning of how it works with a molle pouch, which weaves through more rows of PALS made me realise this. So do a loop knot on one row and then one two rows higher and use it that way. The combination of that with the hardness of food items / vault will keep it in the correct position.

There is something about the MMP's, I don't have as many as Rat but I just purchased another one of the older versions that was for sale. I do need to get one of the new versions though.

But of course you do! LOL!