Say what you will about Maxpedition's reviews - at first, I thought it was some kind of Tuscan Milk thing there were so damn many - the reason why they're all there is simply that Maxpedition makes a pretty damn amazing product. This is the sturdiest, best-built backpack I've ever had in my life. The fact that it's also the most practical weapon concealment option I've ever seen makes it a 5-star.
This is basically a weapons system and a bag. And it is a very, very elegant weapons system. It combines concealment and a degree of camouflage with rapid deployability for large hand weapons. The fact that it comes in incongruously cheery colors is an added bonus. I suspect few people would expect a stylish yellow man-purse carrying hipster to be able to deploy a full size handgun in under a second while carrying over 100 rounds of ammunition in reserve in easy reach. Leave a weapon and a flashlight in this, loaded up, in a secure container in your house and it becomes a simple matter to hear a noise in the night, sling this thing over your shoulder and be GTG for home defense or any other paranoid fantasy of your choice.
Outside, for CCW, this bag solves an almost impossible problem for large handgun owners. With a large hand weapon system - a government 1911, an M9, a Mark 23, or a Desert Eagle - you'll have a big, hard to conceal gun that with any holster, whether it's IWB, OWB, even maybe with your shirt "king tuk'd" over it like a certain very popular brand, will print an unmistakeable signature at a certain angle. God help you if you want to conceal large caliber magazines on you somewhere too. This means if you bend over, lean, turn around at the wrong angle, you may have some very, very freaked out - or worse yet, forewarned - people around you.
That's where this bag and holster shine. With a single pull on a rugged (and I mean crazily rugged, like seriously overbuilt) zipper, you can jam your hand into this oddly tactical looking hipster bag and pull out your gun with a firing grip, thumb on safety, finger off trigger. If you're about to go into contact or you feel threatened, it's a simple procedure to undo the zipper partway to ease access - not unlike unsnapping the thumb snap on a retention holster. Holstered up, the bag is comfortable, and spacious enough to fit an iPad (though emphatically *not* a laptop - you need a size up for a laptop) or other electronic errata for a day.
The holster (optional, not included, but highly recommended) is a loop that goes over the trigger guard of your firearm; its hook velcro backing adheres to a soft (loop) velcro field in the bag's CCW compartment.
The draw goes like this: With your eyes on a target, pull the bag forward by ripping the zipper open with your right hand then jam your hand in and find the weapon, wrapping the bottom three fingers of your hand around the handle as high up as you can, then pull the weapon out with your index finger *off* the trigger, right thumb on safety. Complete with the rest of your favorite n-count draw procedure where n=3, 5, 10, whatever. If you use your left hand to pull the bag to your side while you reach in and unzip the CCW compartment, you will find once you have drawn that your left hand will be in ideal position to join your right hand in front of your body, just like a normal two-hand draw.
With practice, I suspect this procedure could be refined to under a second. Since the bag is stiff enough to stand up on its own, a weapon can be drawn from within the bag from a variety of positions - standing with bag on the ground, standing with bag on a table, seated with bag on the ground, etc. - and deployed rapidly.
You'll want to practice with gloves, because the heavy-duty zippers will abrade your hand as if you're trying to enthusiastically fist some perverse nylon creature with serrated orifices. I also suggest wearing this while you shoot at the range to accustom yourself to how it'll feel if you ever have to deploy it.
I carry mine as a range bag, loaded down with a heavy shooting belt, mag pouches, holsters, trauma kit (you never know!), boresnake, gun lube, gun cleaning solution, heavy ear protection, and up to several hundred rounds of ammunition, with an FR-1 pouch clipped up top carrying my clips and other shooting supplies. It all fits perfectly and the load's no worse to hump for me than anything I carried in school.
If you have to carry an M9 and a bunch of gear - mechanics, medics, maybe even some beleaguered comms guy with a hundred pounds of radio - you could argue to your command that it is essentially a very, very large holster with a zipper retention system instead of a snap that also helps you carry gear.
If you live or work in a bad neighborhood *and* you have a CCW license (don't break the law!) this bag means you can walk around with the confidence of being discreetly well-armed.
If you're law enforcement this is a pretty good solution for discreet yet secure secondary weapons carry - like, say, off-duty law enforcement might need. Buy one and try it out and *practice* with it like you would any holster, you won't be disappointed.
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 13.89 x 13.86 x 3.9 inches |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 0.85 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 8 x 3 x 9 inches |
| Item Weight | 1.1 Pounds |
| Brand Name | Maxpedition |
| Model Name | MX412B-BRK |
| Color | Multi |
| Material | Other |
| Suggested Users | unisex-adult |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Manufacturer | Dreme Corp |
| Part Number | MX412B-BRK |
| Model Year | 2015 |
| Included Components | see description |
| Size | One Size |
| Sport Type | Hunting |
