A lighter better pack to power our troops
BREAKTHROUGHWHO USMC Expeditionary Energy Office (E2O),* Arlington, Va. FIELD Military TechnologyACHIEVEMENT Lightweight solar power system for Marines on patrol. When a Marine suits up for a long patrol—say, five days— batteries and drinking water account for as much as 60 of the 90-plus pounds he carries. The water is vital. The batteries are equally important, because success in battle increasingly requires fast, coordinated, and precise movements at any given moment, and that kind of mobility calls for devices that eat up battery life: night- vision goggles, radios, GPS, a laptop, and more. It's a conundrum. The gear that enables swiftness creates a load that slows you down.
The solution is the Marine Austere Patrolling System, or MAPS. The U.S. Marine Corps Expeditionary Energy Office (E2O) led the development of MAPS, a vest that strips away up to 50 percent of the weight a Marine normally bears above the waist. Consisting mainly of a solar- energy harvesting and storage system and water-purification unit, MAPS has been through several field tests, most recently in July. The majority of the Marines who used it were impressed. "If I were going to Afghanistan, I would want this," one team leader said. Troops without MAPS found themselves recharging batteries in fellow Marines' USB-equipped MAPS packs.
Pretty cool deal in the magazine they had the usual load out for soldiers throughout history.
Surprisingly it's always been right around 90lbs. that's what they said you grunts tell me different.
That's a lot of shit to hump but with less battery and water weight you can carry more splodey stuff.What's not to like.
I have a goal zero in my bag but one built into a vest would be cool.Got comms?
BREAKTHROUGHWHO USMC Expeditionary Energy Office (E2O),* Arlington, Va. FIELD Military TechnologyACHIEVEMENT Lightweight solar power system for Marines on patrol. When a Marine suits up for a long patrol—say, five days— batteries and drinking water account for as much as 60 of the 90-plus pounds he carries. The water is vital. The batteries are equally important, because success in battle increasingly requires fast, coordinated, and precise movements at any given moment, and that kind of mobility calls for devices that eat up battery life: night- vision goggles, radios, GPS, a laptop, and more. It's a conundrum. The gear that enables swiftness creates a load that slows you down.
The solution is the Marine Austere Patrolling System, or MAPS. The U.S. Marine Corps Expeditionary Energy Office (E2O) led the development of MAPS, a vest that strips away up to 50 percent of the weight a Marine normally bears above the waist. Consisting mainly of a solar- energy harvesting and storage system and water-purification unit, MAPS has been through several field tests, most recently in July. The majority of the Marines who used it were impressed. "If I were going to Afghanistan, I would want this," one team leader said. Troops without MAPS found themselves recharging batteries in fellow Marines' USB-equipped MAPS packs.
Pretty cool deal in the magazine they had the usual load out for soldiers throughout history.
Surprisingly it's always been right around 90lbs. that's what they said you grunts tell me different.
That's a lot of shit to hump but with less battery and water weight you can carry more splodey stuff.What's not to like.
I have a goal zero in my bag but one built into a vest would be cool.Got comms?