US Patent 6874163 Load carrying assembly

A load-carrying assembly (10) [FIG. 2] is disclosed comprising a panel (14) having a grid of holes (54) formed therein and at least one load-carrying pouch (26) attached to the panel by means of stud-like fasteners (40, 41) that pass through the holes (54) and through perforations (56, 72) formed in the pouch (26). The panel (14) is preferably formed from a woven textile mesh in which the total area of the holes is less than 75% of the area of the panel, in which the mesh is less extensible in the vertical (load-carrying) direction than in the lateral or horizontal direction, and in which the studs are preferably a close fit in the holes of the mesh and the perforations of the pouch.