FILBE Pack set up

Is there a better way of rigging this pack? The vest with SAPI plates added girth that made the chest bstrap came up to my neck. AMystery strap set lower fixed that problem, so is there another way do do this?

My sleeping bag is in the lower half. It's the two man tent that has become a problem.

Mission drives gear selection... what are you trying to pack for? For how long, where, and with who else? Marines assigned to a STA platoon are going to have different requirements than those in LAR, etc.

At a glance, that looks like a lot more comfort items than a grunt would carry, in proportion to the rest of your ruck's loadout and capacity.

Well, I'm not a Marine and I do like comfort. I'm looking to transition from my old Army set up to this new configuration. I have that single person USMC round toss out tent and its too small. In all the photo's I have looked at I do not see any one humping that two man tent. I assume now that rides in some transport. The idea is to come up with a dedicated bug out that I can hump remote and spend time at a location. A 4x4 only takes you so far and then you have to hike. I like the FIBLE set up, I just gotta figure out how to make it work for me.

Got it. Context drives all content. It is easy to lose sight of that when trying to figure out why some kit is carried, and other items not. Weight and size constraints often mean that useful items get left behind in favor or required items. So it goes. I did a JRTC rotation a couple years ago with only a bivy bag because mobility requirements meant taking assault packs and not rucks - no sleeping bags, poncho liners, or tents would fit. Tents are not super common, especially when some logistical footprint isn't nearby. Tents are more common when you have a supporting mobility platform (tracks, trucks, etc) or when extreme cold weather requires additional protections (training environments like Bridgeport, Alaska, etc).

With a 'bug out bag' focus, you're more readily able to pack a tent than an 0311 who needs to save space for spare ammo, radio batteries, mortar rounds, demo, etc.. There are some other forums (EDC, AR15, M4Carbine, etc .. to name a few) that have sub-forums where some content might help inform your content for the 'bug out' context.

Just a guess, but you may get some utility out of swapping the foam pad for an inflatable one. The big green foam pads aren't a standard issue item anymore, and rarely seen in the field. Modern inflatable pads have been issued going on 15 years, and are around the size of a nalgene bottle. We do sometimes issue the folding foam pads for snow use, but not very common for the average infantryman.

Static line wrote:Got it. Context drives all content. It is easy to lose sight of that when trying to figure out why some kit is carried, and other items not. Weight and size constraints often mean that useful items get left behind in favor or required items. So it goes. I did a JRTC rotation a couple years ago with only a bivy bag because mobility requirements meant taking assault packs and not rucks - no sleeping bags, poncho liners, or tents would fit. Tents are not super common, especially when some logistical footprint isn't nearby. Tents are more common when you have a supporting mobility platform (tracks, trucks, etc) or when extreme cold weather requires additional protections (training environments like Bridgeport, Alaska, etc).

With a 'bug out bag' focus, you're more readily able to pack a tent than an 0311 who needs to save space for spare ammo, radio batteries, mortar rounds, demo, etc.. There are some other forums (EDC, AR15, M4Carbine, etc .. to name a few) that have sub-forums where some content might help inform your content for the 'bug out' context.

Just a guess, but you may get some utility out of swapping the foam pad for an inflatable one. The big green foam pads aren't a standard issue item anymore, and rarely seen in the field. Modern inflatable pads have been issued going on 15 years, and are around the size of a nalgene bottle. We do sometimes issue the folding foam pads for snow use, but not very common for the average infantryman.

I get what your saying about the foam pad. I have the inflatable, I hem and haw an it. The outer tent bags have slots to put a strap through. They don't quite line up with the ruck straps so I tied para cord to them and ran the straps between the slots to stop the tents from working out to one side or the other. I just couldn't see any other way to attach the tents. The deal is this. I will be heading out to look for a B-24 crash site with a few guys. The crash site is in remote in hilly terrane in the high desert and its freeking cold right now. My 4x4 will only take me so far and then we are on foot. The hike in will take the better part of the day then we are going to set up camp and do a lite hike to the crash site the next day. This pack is new to me. I have been using the older Army Molle two set up for years and that rig has a smaller main pack, but a larger three day pack. Normally base camp would be at the 4X4 ,but that is not possible for this hike. On my Army set up I have a bag that holds my climbing rope. I'm guessing my rope will go to a side that has that slot with the MRE bag on it and my metal detector will run through the slot on the other side. I guess the SPAX and e-tool will run on outside of the 3 day pack. Water and food seem to take up most of the outer space on the FIBLE main pack. My Army 3 day is set up that way now along with first aid gear and xtra things, but that rig has a set up to attach bags on the belt for things like my other first aid pouch and bags that hold my climbing gloves, GPS, note pad and other smalls. I like the idea of the FIBLE I'm just trying to figure out how to make it work for me. It just seems to me the Army set up allows for more things to be strapped on. I could redo that war belt to be a more practical hiking belt. It's not like I need the things that are on it right now and I am not hiking that vest in. I set that up to get a feel for what a combat set up would feel like.

So this was my issue. I did thread the strap through the loops and kept the para cord on.

Is their a practical way to add this to my pack?

P-59A wrote: It just seems to me the Army set up allows for more things to be strapped on.

Ah so this is a point that may benefit some readers..

Despite being covered with PALS webbing, very very few rucks are actually configured with 'expanded' load carriage options. Practically no one in the combat arms world does that.

The inverse is more common, the external sustainment pouches are often removed for a more 'slick' platform - closer to the original ALICE pack than some massive behemoth. Easier to move in the woodline, easier to jump, and lighter. This is most common in the airborne, where a 30" pack width requires that the side sustainment pouches either be removed altogether or emptied when rigged for jumping based on ASOP/CAASOP or the .220.

The era of the massive modified ALICE or MALICE packs was short lived, and ended a few years into the GWOT. Probably perpetuated longer than necessary because of imagery of SF guys during the invasion of Afghanistan. No one is humping that much kit in a modern maneuver environment; smaller, lighter rucks with more frequent logistical resupply is the norm.. and probably will continue down that path in years to come.

Afghanistan changed a lot - mobility suffered tremendously under heavy clunky loads, and adaptation occurred with what really is needed in the field. Simultaneously, similar advances were being made in technology and doctrine. While some guys had 10-12 M4 magazines on their kit in the beginning of Iraq, by the end 3-4 on a plate carrier was more common (and the remainder in an assault pack, stashed in a truck). If you can't climb a 6' wall, unaided, in all of your kit, how do you expect to outmaneuver an insurgent in sneakers, street clothes, and carrying only an AK?

All of that external PALS webbing you're seeing on the FILBE or MOLLE ruck is wasted space.

"All of that external PALS webbing you're seeing on the FILBE or MOLLE ruck is wasted space." Ok, well that is interesting. When I first started hiking the M-56 gear was what you found in the surplus stores. That, with a LBV and the old Korean war combat pack was pretty much it. The "H" suspenders with the web belt was were you modified your go to pouch's. That rig was ok, but it would swing around on your body. The new gear is more ergonomically sound and its just better gear. In the civilian world I will never be resupplied on a hike so I have to carry everything. I'm a big guy so the weight of my pack is not an issue. I have never had to scale a 6 foot wall in my Mojave hikes so what to do? I know LRRP's are not around anymore, but if they were how would they set this rig up for an extended stay?

True, LRRP, LRS-C/D isn't around, but there are still lots of elements that are doing Special Reconnaissance missions. Both on the conventional side (Scouts, Snipers) with the issued rucks, or on the SOF side with other rucks. Or in the USMC with Battalion and Force Reconnaissance. Load outs between those groups are not remarkably different either..

The FILBE is about 5,000 cubic inches.

The largest RECCE ruck for SOCOM is the Mystery Ranch Tactiplane. It is also about 5,500 cubic inches, not far off from the FILBE. [https://soldiersystems.net/2015/09/28/socom-seeks-new-family-of-packs/]

Our MR Tactiplanes have virtually no 'expansion' capacity - practically no PALS webbing to be found. And yet it is meant to accommodate very long distance movements, with lots of items of special equipment (hide site equipment, radios, cameras, tripods, specialty optics, batteries, etc.).

You're most likely carrying far more 'bulk' in your FILBE than the average grunt or recce guy. Just because the weight is less doesn't mean you aren't carrying items they wouldn't likely carry. Few LRRP elements would be carrying sleeping bags, foam pads, or tents for that matter either. People routinely through hike the Appalachian Trail with smaller packs than your FILBE. More than likely, the sum and substance of the items you've selected to carry are what is causing you to seek expansion.

It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that just because something was issued, means it is actually needed, used, or carried. That entrenching tool is a good example - its intended purpose is to dig fighting positions. Even in a training environment, they're seldom seen. E-tools are certainly a useful thing for an infantryman when needed, but not something that is critically important to anyone doing reconnaissance where digging holes runs opposite to signature reduction.. and ounces for ounces, a spare radio battery, a thermal optic, binoculars or spotting scope, or even a solar charger for electronics yields way more practical value. If space is limited, that e-tool is going to get left behind every time.

You are correct, I over pack. The vast majority of my high desert hikes in the Mojave are solo hikes. I don't normally have others with me so I carry everything I might need. Time has taught me its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Its in my best interest to be as ready for the unknown as I can be. On the hike coming up I will not be able to use my 4X4 as my base camp. The hike will be very rugged, steep hills with small decomposed rocks and boulders and soft sand in the ravines. The idea is to hike in that first day then set up a base camp. The next day will be assault packs and more hiking looking for the crash site. The shovel and trowel are used with a 12x18 inch sifter that will be used in conjunction with my metal detector that I'm packing in. We have something we are looking for. This is more like a recon hike looking something. Maybe I should say I'm not a young buck anymore so comfort matters. This is what my 4x4 as a base camp looks like.