Frag Out! Magazine

farther away. Soldiers solve this problem by burning small holes in the side of the left ammo pouch, and by attaching the bayonet cover with a piece of paracord. A more radical conversion is based on making horizontal incisions in the ammunition pouch, through which the bayonet cover fasteners are threaded. The third and the least invasive method is to attach the lower fastener of the bayonet cover to the interconnected side loops of two adjacent pouches and the upper fastener to the middle yoke strap (the one running at an angle) - directly or through a piece of elastic band or cord. USE OF PLCE Despite the fact that nowadays there are many better, lighter and more sophisticated webbings available, PLCE is still an efficient and comfortable solution for enthusiasts of the old-school military gear. Being copied by many private companies - including the top-shelf ones like Arktis as well as a lower quality like WebTex - proves the popularity of the classic design. A fully loaded PLCE can weigh up to 12 kg, so distributing this burden evenly is as important as good fitting. The wide, padded yoke main fulfils this task perfectly. Combined with a properly configured main belt and hippo pad it ensures comfort and stability of the webbing. PLCE can be worn in two different ways: • without a backpack PLCE can be placed high, at the waist level. Note that you will be unable to rest your arms down your hips and may look like a watermelon seller. • with a backpack PLCE is worn on hips. This combination has its benefits and drawbacks. Fastening your backpack's waist belt is now really difficult but PLCE should take on its role, however, unless properly adjusted, the yokes will severely hurt your shoulders. As a relic of the Cold War PLCE is perfect for green side operations or reconnaissance, everything requiring prolonged lying down or crawling. Standing, kneeling or lying down, the user has good access to the ammunition pouches, bayonet and water bottle, so - to the most important things. Using PLCE in vehicles is another matter. The big bulky pouches make sitting comfortably almost impossible, not to mention any additional movements. In such situations the legendary universality of PLCE is a bit overestimated. A considerable weight of the webbing is - for modern standards - also a drawback. These kind of imperfections inspired a number of independent companies not only to copy, but also to improve the classic design - with interesting results. But this is quite a different story...

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