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IDing Issue MOLLE gear


MattOravik
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How do you tell if molle packs, vests, pouches, etc are US ISSUE molle gear and not the stuff made for the civilian market? Do they have spec labels or markings on them somewhere? I've seen packs and vests that are marked with a US and some others that are not. I would assume the ones marked US are actual issue items.

 

-Matt.

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Spathologist

A lot of airsoft stuff is marked US. A US mark practically means nothing.

 

Nearly all gear will have a milspec tag on it, giving nomenclature, contract information, and care instructions. Even this is not conclusive, though...many copies carry fake tags. If you know the contract number and manufacturer for the item, or can compare the info against a known genuine article, it will help guarantee authenticity.

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Guest danneskjold

All the issue ones should have NSNs.

 

That being said, there isnt a lot of replica issue shinola floating around - its not high speed enough for airsofters.

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Look for the NSN numbers,contractor name and contract no.

 

I get large box full of molle gear every week USMC Issue and US Army Issue and those are the things I look for.

 

regards,

 

Ko

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  • 3 months later...

Just because it doesn't have a tag doesn't mean it isn't issued either. The military is real big into COTS, Commercial Off The Shelf and if it fits the need, they will buy it in bulk and issue it. A good example, the OTIS cleaning kits.

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El Bibliotecario
...The military is real big into COTS, Commercial Off The Shelf and if it fits the need, they will buy it in bulk and issue it...

 

Glad to see this post, because it supports my own suspicions. To piggyback, when I go into an AAFES store I see all manner of commercial Rambo gear in digital camouflage with MOLLE attachments. Obviously they wouldn't stock this junk if people weren't buying it, and I'm not sure why any troopie would buy such stuff unless it was to supplement his/her field gear.

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When we were mobilized, being an aviation brigade, we were told at our RFI fielding, that unless we were an infantry brigade, we were not going to be issued magazine pouches. Even though we were required to carry magazines every day with our issued weapons, everyone had to go to the AAFES like you said and either buy the BQM or Spec-Ops brand non-issued gear. I had a six mag pouch that I kept my ABL in, guess what brand, yep, Spec Ops. Other things, buttstock mag pouches, pistol holsters, slings, balaclavas, gloves, knives, you name it, if AAFES sold it, Soldiers carried it.

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