How to Attach Assault Pack to Rucksack- The Ultimate Guide

New to the camping and hiking world? And don’t know the right way to pack and attach assault packs and rucksacks? We’re here to help you. 

It can seem tricky to attach assault packs to rucksacks. Fear not buddy, we’ve got your back.

So how to attach assault pack to rucksack?

Well, attaching an assault pack to a rucksack is a simple task. Begin by emptying your bags and then placing them aligning the straps and buckles. Then you just attach all the straps to the buckles. Finally, fill up your bags with the gears and tighten all the straps. And that’s it.

This was just a brief overview. Keep reading our article to learn about attaching the assault packs and rucksack in detail. 

Features That Make A Rucksack Just Right

Before you begin packing your rucksack, it’s important to buy just the right kind. Rucksacks carry a huge load of equipment starting from clothing, food, guns, compressed fuel tablets like hexamine or trioxane , and many more. If you’re a militant then the list goes on. So, it’s vital to look for the features in your rucksack that make it convenient for you to carry and load up.

So here are the things you should be looking out for when using a rucksack- 

Material

The material of the rucksack will definitely be a major factor here. Your bag must be made from quality fabric because it needs to survive the wild. 

The rule of thumb is to use packs made from 500D- 1200D Cordura nylon fabric. Forget about the ones made from polyester. You see, nylon fabrics are much heavier and weather resistant. Moreover, they can fall down a mountain and still remain unscathed. 

Here’s our recommendation for nylon-made rucksack.

So, make sure to choose the right kind of material.

Strap & Buckle

Keep in mind that the pack you’re choosing should have the right kind of zippers and straps. Because you’re going to be carrying big loads on your shoulder. So, make sure to wear backpack correctly to avoid backpain. You don’t want the straps to tear on your way to the campsite. So, the straps and buckles must be strong enough to withhold a huge amount of stress and load. 

If you’re still confused about what kind of straps to choose, you can look at what’s written in the bag. 

Sometimes the brand names of the straps and buckles are written on the pack. So, if you’re a brand lover, you can look into trying out those. Or you can even customize your bag with your choice of straps and buckles. 

MOLLE

Now you want to make sure you use a MOLLE pack. MOLLE refers to Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. MOLLE rucksacks have straps and buckles on the external body for attaching other packs.

Moreover, these have a webbing system to insert the straps tightly.  The entire purpose of using these bags is to be able to carry extra pouches and gears that you can attach to these bags. If you remember correctly, the nylon rucksack that we recommended above has MOLLE webbing to it.

You can use these packs to attach external pouches depending on your purpose. For instance, you can change a small pouch used for a 3-day camping trip to a bigger one to carry extra load quite easily.

Volume

To understand the right volume for your pack, you’ll need to know for what purpose you’re using it. Is it a 3-4 days camp or hike? Depending on that, you can pick the right one.

Usually, people tend to go for bags with a volume of 15-26 liters if they are intending to go for light hikes or a 3-4 days trip. Your 3 day pack contents won’t be too heavy for that. If you are in for light hikes, Protector Plus 25L Military Backpack can be a good pick for you.

But if you’re thinking of a longer stay like a 3-week trip or hike, you’ll need a larger one. For heavier gears, you’d want to go for a larger volume bag of 30-60 liters. The heavier the gear, the larger the volume.

Time	Volume of Bag
3-4 days	15-26 liters
3 week or so	27-33 liters
Few months	330-60 liters

Comfort

If you’ve got a knack for comfort, you’ll have to try out the packs and see what works best for you based on your requirements and preference. Because the bag you’re carrying must be comfortable or else the entire journey will seem strenuous.

Another thing to look for here is the suspension system. Here’s the thing-

Suspension systems make a rucksack quite comfortable to use. And most bags come with a proprietary suspension system. This transfers the weight from your shoulder down to your hips. Again, you need super comfortable shoulder straps that’ll help you carry the stuff easier.

A popular choice for bags with suspension is the Mountaineering Bag.

Compartments

The compartments in the pack play a major role in convenience. The number of compartments and how well the load is distributed are correlated. 

So, having many small compartments is a waste of space since the load won’t be properly spread out. Thus, make sure to get a bag with the right size and number of compartments. This will also allow you to organize your gears and other tools properly.

Features That Make An Assault Pack Perfect

Assault packs are mini bags or pouches that are externally attached to your bag. These packs come in handy when carrying little gears, guns, extra ammunition, batteries, and things like that. 

Now selecting the right kind of assault pack for the bag you picked is important. So, let’s look at some of the things that you need to consider while choosing your assault pack.

Volume

Assault packs must be of smaller volume. If you carry a large assault pack, it will be burdensome for you. To perfectly attach the assault pack to your rucksack, you must carry a small one. The ideal capacity for an assault pack is 15 liters. 

For a militant, it could be 20 liters at best. Because a loading backpack should not weigh more than 20 percent of your body weight. 

Too much weight on your shoulders can cause severe back pain and even harm your posture. So, buy the right volume of bag bearing in mind the amount of load you can carry.  

Your assault pack content list must be small because there’s not much you can carry in these. So, make sure to carry lightweight objects for convenience.

Cinching Straps

Now you want your assault packs with cinching straps so you can squeeze them in through your rucksack strap holders. 

Cinching straps are important for assault packs. Because if you pack light, you can easily tighten them. So, the assault pack won’t fall from the rucksack.

MOLLE

Yeah, we’re back with the MOLLE again. Now, here’s the thing- 

You can attach one smaller pouch to the assault pack if your pack has the MOLLE feature on top of it. So, get yourself an assault pack with MOLLE attached to it. This way you can easily carry another mini pack with your assault pack. Which is pretty useful.

Light-Weight Material

Assault packs aren’t generally heavy-weight as these are smaller bags. But make sure you get the pack with the lightest material. So that the weight of the pack itself doesn’t wear you out. Moreover, you won’t have a sore back after the entire trip. 

Now let us take a comparative look at the type of contents both the these bags can be used for-

Things You Can Carry In Assault Pack	Things You Can Carry In Rucksack
Extra ammunition	Ruck plates
Batteries	Energy food
Communication gear	Clothes and packaway jacket
Tools	Maps and compass
Cordage and emergency cordage	Towel
Extra water	Torch
Cleaning kit and lube	Essential gadgets

How to Attach Assault Pack to Rucksack?

Well, attaching the assault pack to your rucksack is pretty easy unless you mix up the straps. That can be a clumsy mistake. So to avoid any sort of hassle, let’s take a look at the method of attaching an assault pack to the rucksack.

Step 1 of 5: Empty Both the Bags

Before you begin attaching the two bags, it is important to clear out all your belongings. Empty the bags completely for easy attachment. When the bags are light and empty, it becomes easier and faster to attach the assault pack to the rucksack.

Step 2 of 5: Placement of the Bags

Now the placement of the bags is quite simple. All you have to do is place the assault pack on top of the rucksack. Just make sure the bags are straight on top of each other and you should be done. The rucksack comes with many buckles so align the bags according to the buckles and straps.

Step 3 of 5: Attach the Straps to the Buckles

The rucksack will have multiple buckles on all sides of it for attachment. It should have two buckles at the top where there’s a handle. It should have two at the bottom and two on each side of the rucksack. 

Similarly, the assault pack will have straps and buckles on its body as well. 

You just need to cinch the straps of the assault pack and attach them to the buckle of the rucksack. Begin with the bottom ones and then move to the top. Once these are done, you can attach the side buckles as well. 

Make sure to not tighten the straps right away because your bags are still empty.

Step 4 of 5: Fill the Bags

Now’s the time to fill up your rucksack and assault pack with all the necessary tools, gears, and items you need. 

For a militant, it could be ammunition, ration packs, grenades, and many other things. But for a camper, there’s little to pack unless he or she prefers to be fully prepared for emergencies. 

Now first pack the rucksack with all the items. Once the rucksack is fully packed, move on to the assault pack. Generally, assault packs contain fewer items because of their size. 

Step 5 of 5: Tighten the Straps

Now that both the bags are filled, tighten all the straps. Cinch the straps until you feel the assault pack is completely secured to the rucksack. If you feel it’s tight enough, you’re ready.

How to Attach an Assault Pack with No Straps to Rucksack?

Now even though we’ve already mentioned buying the right kind of assault pack for your rucksack. What to do if the assault pack came with no straps? Well, don’t fret. You can still attach it to your rucksack. 

You can use an extra strap or rope to tie your assault pack to the rucksack. Now it’s important to tie the rope very tightly to ensure the pack is completely secured to the bag. 

Here’s our top recommendations for strong and durable straps.

XTACER Backpack Accessory Strap	Ayaport Utility Straps with Buckle	MAGARROW 78″ x 1″ Strap Buckle Packing Straps
-Each strap has adjustable loop -Suitable for camping, hiking	-Made of nylon -Won’t curl under heavy duty	-Adjustable Length -Wear Resistant
Grab it now	Grab it now	Grab it now

But don’t end up tying a knot that you can’t open. So always leave one end of the rope through so you can untie the pack.

You can also use this method in case your strap tears up in the middle of your trip or hike. Just to make sure you can get through the days.  

Attaching A Second Pouch to the Assault Pack or Rucksack

You probably didn’t think you could carry two bags in one. Fortunately, you can carry three packs if all of them have MOLLE attached. So, since you do have this feature, you can simply attach the second pouch or assault pack to your rucksack by cinching down the straps. 

These extra pouches are called Field pockets, in which you can only carry cartridges and batteries. But the size of the batteries and cartridges matters. For example, you can carry your 28 Nosler or 300 Win Mag cartridges or other ammunition. So, here’s how you can attach the field pocket to your assault pack or rucksack-

• The assault pack has the MOLLE webs that are used for attaching the straps of the field pocket. Expose all the vertical straps from the webs and start tucking them into the webbing of the rucksack or assault pack.
• Pack the strap into the first web of the assault pack or rucksack and then again pack it to the field pocket itself. Continue doing it till you reach the end of the webs. Now cinch the straps to tighten it.
• Now you just tuck in all the straps to the top of each of the web on your field pocket. The pocket will now be completely secured to the bag.

From these instructions, all your queries about how to attach an ILBE assault pack or MOLLE assault pack should be clear.

Quick Tip On Heavy Load And Body Posture

To get the maximum stability of your backpack and to protect your back, load it in an organized way. For example, load the heaviest equipment next to your back and keep it in the center of the pack. Pack the medium-weight gears towards the top and light-weight gears at the bottom. 

This way you’ll have a balance of the weight and feel more comfortable carrying it around.

Moreover, be very cautious about not overloading your pack. As mentioned before, try not to exceed 25%-30% of your ideal body weight, while loading the pack. This maintains a good balance and avoids back pain. Also, make sure the straps are tight enough. This way the weight will not be sagging on your shoulders and save your body posture.

FAQs

Question: How much weight can I carry in a 15-liter assault pack?

Answer: Assault packs are generally used for carrying lightweight gears. For a 15-liter assault pack, the ideal weight is 3 kgs.

Question: What is a MOLLE pack?

Answer: A MOLLE pack is also called Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment which is used in bags to externally attach other small pouches.

Question: How much do soldiers carry in their packs?

Answer: Soldiers and Marines carry about 60-100 pounds of gears including body armor, weapons, and batteries. For a heavy-duty mission, they may even carry heavier bags.

Conclusion

Attaching an assault pack to your rucksack is quite quick and easy. The tricky part is choosing the right backpack for your trip or the hike. But we’ve given a detailed insight on all the important factors you need to know for attaching an assault pack to your rucksack.

We hope we’ve cleared up all your concerns regarding how to attach assault pack to rucksack by now. And you’re successful in doing so.