Submitted by barber13f
The S.T.R.I.K.E. ASIP pouch sucks. It digs into your arms and doesn't fit over PPE very well. They tear up very fast and while the MOLLE pouches are a great thing to be able to put on you end up with a monster that is a bitch to carry around by the time you get done throwing mission essential items on the thing.
Look into the Camelbak Transformer, it is a very comfortable pack and has room for extra batteries, hand mic's, and whips along with any other crap you put in there. My RTO was able to keep 2 batteries, a soft or hard whip, an IZLD and an extra hand mic. The outside pouch has enough room to shove in extra maps, 3x5 cards and map markers.
I would recommend this pack to anyone that has to carry an ASIP for an extended period of time. It's a little more expensive but it lasted my team 15 months of humping through the Euphrates River Valley.
ED - barber, I'm beginning to think that this is going to be my only real option. Currently I've got the Camelback Motherlode, and as an assault pack it has done just fine. There's enough room in there for water, snacks, a poncho and liner, a radio or two, as well as NODs and batteries. The pack even has a couple of openings for the radio. On the plus side, it looks like the TransFormer is even cheaper than the Motherlode. Does it come in any color other than black though?
Check out the Camelbak TransFormer here.
