Well guys got some MOLLE gear in today and promptly decided that some faster method was in order, looked online and saw the Magpul device for threading it faster and decided I could build something in a minute for free(since I had the materials). From what I understand theirs is patented or patent pending so not for sale, but you could make one yourself pending you've got the tools and bits.
Basically what it does is attach to the strap on the molle pouch with a longer piece of semi rigid material you can thread through the pouches then pull to pull the strap through the weave. If you don't understand take a look on youtube at one of the video's of the Magpul version in action this one does the same basic thing though admittedly not quite as well. Biggest problem is that you need to make sure it doesn't jam, not too hard you might have to poke the strap to make sure it's heading straight through the webbing but it's way faster than doing it normally and allot easier on the multiple tab pouches.
Materials:
Polypropylene plumbing strap(hardware store, used for hanging pipes under houses, around 5/8th in wide, wider around an inch would be better, and likely solve the jamming issue)
Line 24 snap and snap setting tool
Scissors or knife to cut the strap
Basic what I call bang rivets they are used in leather craft and other hobby type of applications. Basically a post and cap you hammer together with a setter or punch. You could probably tape this portion in place safely but it might fail down the road, I used this since it was handy.
Assembly:
Cut a length of strap around 14+ inches doesn't really matter as long as it's long enough to thread fully through. Cut the ends round so they won't snag, install a male snap on one end about an inch from the tail. Then cut another piece of strap around 2in. in length. Punch a hole in that at one end, round that end. Attach it to the main length with a rivet flush as a guard to keep the snap from snagging while pulling through the webbing. Your done.
Use:
Snap it onto the pouch, weave it through and pull, undo the snap then snap the snap onto the pouch.
Pictures: Sorry the pics are pretty terrible with a cell phone camera but they should give enough of an idea how to build it.
Cost well that depends, if you bought all the pieces it would probably cost what a real one would cost. That said when you have the stuff on hand it probably cost me 50 cents or so to make, maybe less. At that point I could make 4 of them and weave 4 straps at once rather than one at a time and make it even easier. With the magpul if you bought 4 your allot more money. So this likely won't make sense to someone without some or all of the parts on hand but for guys that do have some of this around it might save you some time and get some use from it;)
Take care!
Luke
EDIT: I should mention you could make the main part from all sorts of different materials, even nylon webbing etc depending on what you have on hand. But I had polypropylene strips on hand and one of the perks of the material is the ability to bend thousands of times without breaking so it's somewhat perfect for this application where your weaving through the molle webbing.
