# Why aren't hand carts used more by infantry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2017, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-hand-carts-used-more-by-infantry/783463 "2017-03-31T23:19:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-hand-carts-used-more-by-infantry/783463/21 "2017-04-08T17:15:55Z")
Also note that in the history of armed conflict, from way before motorized vehicles existed, handcarts have almost no role. Wagons, sure. Pack animals, sure. But almost no instances of infantry pulled/pushed small carts. Either you carried that shit on your back, or it went in a wagon, or it went on a pack animal, or you did without. So if Romans couldn’t make handcarts practical for infantry, I doubt it’s going to be that useful in today’s mechanized world. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-hand-carts-used-more-by-infantry/783463/22 "2017-04-08T22:31:59Z")
Short answer: not the nifty idea I thought. Thanks all. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-hand-carts-used-more-by-infantry/783463/23 "2017-04-10T21:07:32Z")
Here’s the [infantry cart option](https://www.grainger.com/product/4YFE1?gclid=CjwKEAjw2qzHBRChloWxgoXDpyASJAB01Io0BA4p4Yyuf871rHDu9CmXoPRQzRWJSqpPCDHN-XyOSBoCN1zw_wcB&cm_mmc=PPC:GOOGLEPLAA-_-Material%20Handling-_-Retail%20Carts%20and%20Trucks-_-4YFE1&AL!2966!3!166592705907!!!g!60473762122!&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!166592705907!!!g!60473762122!&ef_id=VyNlRQAAAeNUyezd:20170410210638:s). ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-hand-carts-used-more-by-infantry/783463/24 "2017-04-10T21:11:02Z")
A Donkey or Army Mule could go places the cart couldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-hand-carts-used-more-by-infantry/783463/25 "2017-04-10T23:19:41Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Here’s the [infantry cart option](https://www.grainger.com/product/4YFE1?gclid=CjwKEAjw2qzHBRChloWxgoXDpyASJAB01Io0BA4p4Yyuf871rHDu9CmXoPRQzRWJSqpPCDHN-XyOSBoCN1zw_wcB&cm_mmc=PPC:GOOGLEPLAA-_-Material%20Handling-_-Retail%20Carts%20and%20Trucks-_-4YFE1&AL!2966!3!166592705907!!!g!60473762122!&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!166592705907!!!g!60473762122!&ef_id=VyNlRQAAAeNUyezd:20170410210638:s). That only holds 625 lbs; do they make a reinforced version for Walmart customers? Oh, and I stumbled upon[this](http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/1-peddler-18th-century-granger.jpg)the other day. Apparently ye olde peddlers packed so much stuff on their backs they needed walking sticks just to help bear the weight; yet apparently that was still preferable to pulling a handcart. The roads must have been _really_ bad. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-hand-carts-used-more-by-infantry/783463/26 "2017-04-11T02:14:07Z")
We are 25 posts in and no one has said "_No, because war is hell and if you used a handcart your war effort would be going to hell in a handcart_? Tsk, tsk. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-hand-carts-used-more-by-infantry/783463.md?page=1)