Molle Water Bottle Thermos Bag Holder

Your water lives at the bottom of the pack.

Halfway up the ridge you want a drink, and the bottle is under the jacket, the food and the spare battery. So you don't stop, and you don't drink. Do that for a shift and you finish the day with a headache and your judgement off — and on a site, poor judgement is where the near-misses start.

This pouch puts the bottle on the outside of the rig instead of the bottom of it. Two MOLLE straps weave through the PALS webbing on a pack, vest or belt rig and snap shut at the back. If you'd rather not weave anything, there's a metal hook on the back that goes straight onto a belt or a D-ring, and a webbing shoulder strap comes in the box so you can carry it on its own.

Now the part these listings normally skip — whether your bottle actually fits. The supplier publishes the outside of the pouch and nothing about the inside: 270 mm tall, 110 mm across, 200 g empty. Treat those as a ceiling, not a fit. A bottle taller than 270 mm or fatter than 110 mm across is not going in. Under that we can't promise, because the internal diameter and internal height are not specified by the supplier. Stand your bottle against a tape before you order.

And read the name properly. It's called a thermos bag because a thermos fits in it, not because it insulates. There is no insulation stated by the supplier, and there's a drain eyelet through the base — a bottle sitting in this in the sun will warm up the same as one on the seat. Keeping a drink cold is the flask's job. Keeping it where you can reach it is this pouch's job.

What It Does

• Bottle on the outside: your drink hangs off the pack, the vest or the belt instead of being buried under everything you packed on top of it.
• Three ways to mount it: two woven MOLLE straps for PALS webbing, a metal hook for a belt or D-ring, or the included shoulder strap for carrying it on its own.
• Opens wide, not down a neck: the zip runs across the top and down the side, so a fat flask goes in and out without a wrestle.
• Keeps the small stuff separate: a zipped side pocket takes keys, a lighter, a snack bar or a phone so they're not rattling around in the main pack.
• Drains instead of stewing: a metal eyelet through the base lets condensation and spilt water out rather than pooling under the bottle.
• Carries other gear too: the body has three rows of its own PALS webbing, so a small pouch can hang off the bottle carrier itself.

Key Features

• Genuine MOLLE attachment: two vertical straps that weave through host webbing and close on snap studs at the back — two columns wide, not a clip pretending to be MOLLE.
• Metal hook on the back: a sprung steel hook for belts, D-rings and gear loops when you don't want to unthread webbing.
• Shoulder strap included: adjustable webbing strap with a snap hook at each end, clipping to the loops at both shoulders of the pouch.
• Fold-over lid: the top flap folds down onto a hook-and-loop tab, so the lid stays shut without a buckle to undo one-handed.
• Zipped side pocket: one separate accessory pocket on the side for keys, phone or a fire-starter.
• Vented base: a metal drain eyelet through the bottom of the main compartment.
• Nylon body: high-strength nylon with webbing-reinforced stress points and paracord zip pulls. Denier is not specified by the supplier.
• Five colours in stock: black, khaki, camo, desert digi and jungle — check the colour selector, that list is the one the checkout honours.
• Light enough to forget: 200 g empty, so the weight you notice is the water, not the carrier.

Building the rig out? Have a look through the MOLLE accessories and expansion pouches, or the full backpacks and tactical vests range. If you'd sooner drink through a hose than reach for a bottle, the hydration bladder packs are the other way to solve this.

Limits

This is a carrier. Here's what it will not do.

• It is not insulation: the supplier states no insulation and quotes no temperature figure. Left in the sun, your water gets hot in this the same as it would anywhere else. If you want a cold drink at smoko, that's down to the flask you put inside it.
• It is not waterproof: no water resistance rating is published, and there is a drain eyelet through the base — a hole in the bottom is the opposite of watertight. Rain will get in. Do not treat the side pocket as a dry bag for a phone.
• We can't tell you the internal size: the supplier publishes 270 mm × 110 mm on the outside and no internal diameter or height. Measure your bottle.
• A full litre swings: a kilo of water hanging off one hip moves more than people expect when you're climbing, running or getting in and out of a machine. Mount it on the pack rather than the belt if you're moving fast.
• It will not save a glass flask: soft nylon spreads a knock, it doesn't stop one. Bang a glass-lined vacuum flask against a bullbar in this and it will still break.
• It is not a hydration bladder: there's no hose, no bite valve and no port for one. You stop, you unzip, you drink. If you want to sip on the move, buy a bladder pack instead — we sell those too.
• It needs webbing or a belt: the MOLLE straps only work on a host that actually has PALS webbing. On a plain daypack you're relying on the hook or the shoulder strap.

Q & A

What size bottle actually fits?
The honest answer is that we don't know the internal figure, because the supplier doesn't publish one. What is published is the outside: 270 mm tall and 110 mm across. That's a ceiling — nothing taller or fatter than that will go in, and the inside is smaller again by the thickness of the fabric and the seams. The supplier's own photos show a standard PET soft-drink bottle sitting inside with clearance over the top. Measure yours.

Is it insulated? It's called a thermos bag.
No. The name means a thermos fits in it. The supplier states no insulation, no lining type and no temperature rating, and there's a drain hole in the base. Treat it as a holder, not a cooler.

Is it real MOLLE or just a clip?
Real MOLLE. The back has two vertical straps that weave through the PALS webbing on your pack or vest and snap closed at the bottom — two columns wide. There is also a steel hook on the back, so you get both. If you run MOLLE gear you'll recognise the fitting straight away.

Does the shoulder strap come with it?
Yes. An adjustable webbing strap with a snap hook at each end is included, and there are loops at both shoulders of the pouch to take it. Strap length is not specified by the supplier.

Is it waterproof?
No published rating, and there's a drain eyelet through the base. Coated nylon sheds a shower off the outside; it is not a dry bag and nothing inside it is protected from a proper soaking.

What colours can I actually get?
Five: black, khaki, camo, desert digi and jungle. Some of the supplier's own photos show eight colourways including army green, ACU camo and debris ash — those are not stocked here. The colour selector on this page is the list that counts.

How long does delivery take?
Ten to fourteen days from the day you place the order, and we'd say allow up to three weeks. Regional and remote addresses run longer again. Shipping is free to Australia and New Zealand.

Specs