The enduring "butt bag"

Many people know that the army will issue a kind of equipment called "field bag", of course, the more common name is "butt bag". First of all, we must correct a statement, that is, the term "ALICE card" is actually not accurate. Strictly speaking, this kind of clip that connects the bag and the belt first appeared in the M1956 outfit, a full 18 years earlier than ALICE. Butt bags generally work well with H-shaped slings, but not well with ALICE’s Y-belts. In fact, the butt bag has never been a component of the ALICE outfit. The medium and large backpacks in the ALICE system are sufficient to cover the application of the butt bag, and the butt bag issued by the public is not for soldiers to use with the backpack.

In the last month of World War II, the U.S. military issued the M1945 backpack set to replace the previously issued M1928 backpack and the M1936 backpack for paratroopers. The M1945 backpack set, although an improvement over older equipment, was not popular with soldiers during the Korean War. The M1956 harness is designed based on the design and feedback of the M1945 backpack set. The M1956 harness uses the more comfortable and stable H-slings instead of the X-slings of the M1945 backpack set. The M1956 equipment uses iron clips instead of the M1910 double hooks to mount the water bottle bag, magazine bag and other equipment on the belt. In addition, the position of the waist bag is moved to the belt directly behind the body, which can just balance the ammunition and grenades mounted on the front side of the body. weight. Since the butt bag is mounted on the belt, its weight will not be entirely borne by the shoulders. This design makes the butt bag of the M1956 suit very convenient to use.

The M1956 butt bag was improved in 1961: the capacity was slightly increased, the waterproof hose was added, and the cover was enlarged. The small holes on the side edge of the butt bag cover can be used to mount small pieces of equipment such as bayonet sheaths and wire cutter sets. However, since the M1910 mounting holes are always reserved on the belt, these mounting holes on the edge of the butt bag cover are basically unused. The number of production and actual use of M1961 butt bags is much higher than that of M1956. In the later stage, the butt bag in the M1967 nylon harness is the nylon version of the M1961 butt bag. The M1967 set was specially produced for the Vietnam War and was only issued to soldiers deployed to Vietnam. The 30-round magazine pack was very popular. This suit had a profound influence on the later ALICE suit. So actually if you ever bought or were issued a nylon bum bag when you were in the army, be aware that it is actually a "legacy" of the M1967 harness system, not part of the ALICE harness.

Strictly speaking, the M1961 canvas butt bag should have been completely replaced around 1978-1979 (a few years after the ALICE outfit started to be distributed), but it was not. Due to the army's traditional material distribution tradition, each soldier will be issued a butt bag, so the old butt bag maintains a considerable amount of inventory, and these inventory equipment continue to be issued for several years. Secondly, the M1961 butt bag is actually more suitable for use with the ALICE outfit than the nylon butt bag, which is even written into the army's training materials. In the TM 57-220 textbook, it is written how to wear the M1961 canvas butt bag and ALICE equipment under the umbrella. It says to loosen the belt and lower the butt bag as far as possible to make room for the umbrella bag. You can also do this with a medium or large backpack.

Because of its popularity with soldiers, butt bags are a perennial addition to the army's distribution lineup. So even after this kind of outfit was withdrawn from the distribution sequence, there are still countless outfit brands launching their own butt packaging products to meet the needs of soldiers. In the late 1980s, the Y-belt and magazine pouches of the ALICE were replaced by LBVs. But because LBV adopts H-shaped load-bearing structure, it is more suitable for butt bag than ALICE outfit. So until the 21st century, LBV vests and butt bags are still an inseparable fixed combination. Even in modern times, there are still a lot of modern butt bag products, and some products are renamed waist bags or waist bags, but they are still butt bags in essence.

Distributed together with the LBV vest at the same time, there is a piece of equipment called "field bag, training use". It's actually a plus size version of the earlier bum bag, which is a bit too big in my opinion. Unfortunately, this oversized size became a trend later, and many equipment manufacturers introduced "reconnaissance fanny packs" (MLCS/SFLCS systems with huge three-compartment butt packs, translation notes) or "optimized butt packs" such equipment. These butt bags generally consist of a main compartment that is about the size of an LBV butt bag and two to three or even more external auxiliary compartments. These new butt packs are even the same size as a backpack, and hanging on the back of a soldier makes the vest or gear light and heavy, not a good way to carry survival supplies, butt packs were never meant to replace backpacks . In a word, if you have to carry a lot or heavy things, an assault backpack, 3DAY backpack or a full-size large rucksack is better than a butt bag. Don't use it to hold supplies that are not suitable for it.

On the other hand, there are some butt bags on the market that are only the size of the ammo bag. In other words, the capacity of these fanny packs is too small, just a medium-sized general-purpose sundry bag mounted on the back waist. I have two similar typical products that I think can be used to draw the dividing line between "fit" and "too small": one is a mini butt bag made by LBT, and the other is a product of HSGI (I don't think it can even be called It's called a butt bag). They barely hold the basics for getting around: raincoats (or foil blankets for escaping in the event of a fire), a change of socks, and emergency rations. While it's big enough to hold the basics, I think it would have been better if it was a little bigger. I personally think that a modern product with M1961 butt capacity will be the best solution.

The birth of the MOLLE system provides a variety of load-bearing solutions for gear and protective vests. But even the smallest size butt bag mentioned can still get in the way of transportation. The small space in the chariot does not allow you to move around to find a more comfortable position. Therefore, the butt bag is not popular with tank soldiers. However, if your mission is mainly on two legs, then the butt bag is a very worth considering equipment. But don't hang it directly on the webbing on the back of the body armor, this position is reserved for the backpack.

Butt bags may not be as popular as they used to be, but they are still the most suitable carrier for some use cases.

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