How to carry a hatchet on a MOLLE pack.

If you are like me, you probably carry a pack that has some sort of PALS webbing on it for the attachment of MOLLE pouches. If you have ever wanted to carry a hatchet with you as well, you may have been left wondering how to do this. You could put it in the pack, but a hatchet is an item that just feels like it should be carried outside the pack. You could use some paracord to attach it to the outside of the pack, and that is a viable solution, though tying and untying it is not very efficient.

I read about this trick on an internet forum. I wish I could say exactly which one, but I can't quite remember. It may have been survivalistboards.com or it may have been ar15.com, or maybe someplace else. I wish I knew for sure so I could give them proper credit.

For this trick, you will need a 40mm grenade pouch. These are available as military surplus for under $5. They really don't seem to fit anything well, besides 40mm grenades, which is why they are so cheap. The one I have here I believe I purchased for $1-$2.

If you look at the bottom of it, you will see that it is partially open. This is why it is not good at holding anything other than 40mm grenades. 

In order to make it useful for carrying a hatchet, we need to open it all the way. Simply take a razor blade and cut the stitching that partially closes it. Here is the amount of stitching that needs to be cut outlined in red. This needs to be cut on both sides.

This is what the pouch should like at the bottom, completely open. Once you are done, the modification is finished.

This is the pouch mounted on a backpack. For carrying a hatchet, I like to fold the flap down into the pouch. You could also cut it off completely.

And finally, here is the pouch carrying a hatchet.

This could also hold a shovel or other similar tools with handles. 

This is a simple, cheap, and effective way to carry a hatchet on a MOLLE pack. I hope that at least a few people out there will find this useful on future expeditions.