2013 is the year of the gear!

All my favorite gear makers have been burning the midnight oil to come up with products more useful than TV mute circuitry that detects the voices of Piers Morgan and Chuck Schumer.

My latest find (score?) is the Vanquest Javelin VSlinger Shoulder Slingpack. Say that five times with a mouthful of Pop-Tarts.

The basic gist of this pack is…

• A single shoulder strap that mounts across your body
• It’s designed to “swivel” from front to back instantly for access to the compartments without removing the pack.
• It has a support strap which “fixes it” in place when you want to keep it steady on your back while walking, hiking or running from the IRS Obamacare Enforcement Division.
• Given the “swiveling” design, it’s oriented vertically when on your back, like a traditional backpack. When you rotate it to the front side, it turns exactly ninety degrees and acts like a desk of sorts – with all the main access compartments facing up. This provides visibility and easy access to the contents, and also prevents all your junk from falling out.

Let’s take a look at the rotated-to-the-front scenario. As you can see from the picture below, the main compartment has a serpentine zipper design for access to the main compartment. This is one of those things you have to see to understand. It provides unhindered access to the entire compartment. A straight zipper requires you to separate the halves like a stuck-together taco shell to get at the contents, and corners are hard to reach. Not so with this design.

You’ll also notice that the interior is bright orange ripstop nylon. The bright color makes it really easy to see what’s in there and find gadgets and gear that may have fallen into corners. Why are the insides of other packs always black by the way? I constantly find year-old M&M’s and the occasional Justin Bieber challenge coin lost in the bottom of mine…

You’ll also notice the main compartment has multiple dividers. There’s a full-width compartment across the back for iPads, notebook computers, files, or whatever else you want. The main section has removable padded dividers so you can configure it however you want. As shown here, I was using it as a camera bag with compartments for the camera body, external flash and an extra lens. All are individually protected by padded walls.

In addition to the main compartment, you’ll find a few others. A small one just on top of the main area has divisions inside and elastic cord on the outside for external attachment of gear. While at Gunsite, I used the external cord for toting around electronic hearing protection.

Remember earlier when I mentioned a dirty little secret? Lest we forget that this web site is called BEARING ARMS, the Vanquest Javelin VSlinger is a concealed carry pack. It’s designed from the ground up for that purpose. When you swivel the pack around to the front, you are presented with direct access to your gun. There is a separate compartment behind the main one for a gun and magazines. Vanquest sells holster and magazine attachments that mount to the large hook and loop panels on the inside. Or, if you prefer, you can get specific Kydex holsters for this compartment like the CrossBreed Ohai. Your choice.

Just a couple of other feature notes. The bag is hydration bladder ready and the shoulder strap has loops so you can route that big flexible straw up towards your face. And there are more straps, snaps and loops than I know what to do with.

Since this is a MOLLE bag, you can add whatever MOLLE compatible device you want. Need to strap on your MK-19 Grenade Launcher? As long as you have a MOLLE case for it, you’re good to go. Check out Vanquest’s ISOPOD fold up pouches. They’re designed to roll up tight until you need them, then just rip the cover and the pouch falls open. When you get around to hooking up MOLLE stuff, be sure to use the Vanquest MOLLE Sticks. I reviewed them over at My Gun Culture and they’re a lifesaver.

This is one awesome piece of gear. Everything on it is built like a cloth tank. The nylon is heavy, heavy, heavy duty and the zippers are beasts. You could indefinitely contain an irritable ferret in this bag without fear of its escape. Even the main buckle features a double-release mechanism. While you can operate it with one hand, it won’t come off until you want it to.

Highly recommended. You can get one here for about $135.
Be sure to check out our latest book, The Rookie’s Guide to Guns and Shooting, Handgun Edition. It’s available in print and Kindle format at Amazon: