We do love our gear that use MOLLE since we prefer modular systems to configure our loadout to meet the requirements of the mission or in the case of airsoft, of the game/event. That’s the nice thing about MOLLE,  which is short for Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment, you can have a loadout that is either heavy or light. All you need to do is add a pouch here, remove a pouch there, attach a backpack on the back of the MOLLE vest, or discard that admin panel up front. There are lots of configurations and it gives you the freedom to put together a loadout that is most comfortable for you.

But the big caveat we have with the MOLLE is that it is sometimes a taxing process weaving the nylon straps through the weaving. What you initially expect will take you just under a minute to do sometimes can take longer and worse, it can also get frustrating for some. The MOLLE needle can help but is there a better way?

You bet there is. Ripstay, claimed to be the fastest MOLLE connection system on Earth by its makers, is now on  Kickstarter and if it does reach its funding goals, can be mass produced and be widely available to MOLLE gear owners around the world.

You can quickly attach a Ripstay equipped pouch much faster than the usual MOLLE straps allowing to reconfigure your loadout much faster. You can also quickly detach the pouch when needed; especially if you want lighten your load in the middle of a mission without fumbling through your vest pulling out unneeded pouches and bags.

Garrett Lommatsch and Martin Evans, the team behind the Ripstay, tell the story of why they made this product:

Garrett and I originally developed the Ripstay MOLLE connection system because we wanted a simple solution for customizing our MOLLE configurations. When we looked around, we discovered nothing makes MOLLE easy. The entire MOLLE/PALS attachment and removal process is slow and cumbersome by  design. There’s no way around it. It’s just painstakingly tedious to remove each individual nylon strap.

So, we decided to create the ideal solution ourselves. This journey began two years ago. Since then, we’ve built and tested many iterations, leveraging 3D printing and thermoformed plastics to develop each prototype.

With hundreds of handmade kits sent to domestic and international experts in the military, police, SWAT, rescue, airsoft/milsim, and outdoor communities, we’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback from all over the world.

To get a RipStay kit, you can pledge at least US$23 to get Ripstay Single Panel Kit on KickStarter. If you want more, you can pledge up to US$180 which allows you provide for your squad or airsoft team.

If all things go according to plan, such as either the backers meet their KickStarter funding requirements or are able to raise the money themselves, then Ripstay will be delivered to customers starting in May 2019.