Load configurations
| Configuration | Equipment | Mass (kg) |
| A—personal armour (LOW) (not a military dress state, but required to understand the impact of wearing protective equipment without additional load carriage) | Helmet (1.46 kg) Enhanced Protection Under Body Armour Combat Shirt Personal Clothing System trousers Boots* SA80 (dummy rifle matched for dimensions and mass 5.13 kg) Commercially available body armour vest with front and rear plates (~10.9 kg available in 5 sizes XS to XXL) | 20.94 (0.56) kg |
| B—assault order (MED) (includes equipment worn to fight through a position) | Configuration A Personal Load Carrying Equipment (PLCE) webbing pouches (×5) evenly distributed around the waist and weighted with 5 kg equipment required to achieve target mass | 26.12 (0.49) kg |
| C—patrol order (HIGH) (additional equipment carried to support longevity in the field) | Configuration B Daysack with chest belt fastened, weighted with 7 kg equipment required to achieve target mass | 33.28 (0.59) kg |
| D—marching order (V-HIGH) (associated with extended duration, overnight) | Configuration A PLCE short back bergen with waist belt fastened, weighted with 17 kg equipment required to achieve target mass The body armour was carried in the bergen | 43.37 (0.64) kg |
Mass represents dressed mass minus undressed mass and is provided as mean (SD). Variability in mass relates to differences in the size of the equipment worn.
*Participants were asked to wear boots that they would normally wear during loaded marching.