The Pouch Attachment Ladder System or PALS is a grid of webbing invented and patented by United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center used to attach smaller equipment onto load-bearing platforms, such as vests and backpacks.[1] [2] It was first used on MOLLE rucksacks, but is now found on a variety of tactical equipment, such as the American Improved Outer Tactical Vest, Interceptor body armor, USMC Improved Load Bearing Equipment backpack and Modular Tactical Vest. It is used to attach items such as holsters, magazine pouches, radio pouches, knife sheathes, and other gear.[1] A wide variety of pouches are commercially available, allowing soldiers to customize their kit. There are also a variety of attachment methods including the Alice Clip, the Natick snap, and soft, interwoven straps.[3] The PALS system has begun to be adopted by other forces, such as the British Army, who use it on their Osprey body armour.
PALS consists of webbing sewn onto the load-bearing equipment and corresponding webbing and straps on the attachment. The straps are interwoven between the webbing on each of two pieces and finally snapped into place, making for a very secure fit which can be detached with moderate effort.
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The PALS grid consists of horizontal rows of 1" Mil-W-43668 Type III nylon webbing (most commercial vendors use Type IIIa), spaced 1" apart, and reattached to the backing at 1.5" intervals.[4]
A wide variety of commercial products have been created to interface with the PALS grid, such as hydration bladders from CamelBak and backpacks from Arc'teryx. There is even a vehicle seat-cover made by Smittybilt that has PALS webbing to attach pouches and other items to the back and sides of the seat.