BORELLI CONSULTING: Tactical Equipment Reviews

Pack Your (BlackHawk) Bags
By Frank Borelli

Across the past eight years I've had the blessing (or the curse depending on how you look at it) to travel to various parts of the country either for my agency or for my own business. I've also traveled, as we all do, on family vacations. I've been through my share of "quality" luggage. Additionally, I transport weapons to and from the range on a fairly regular basis and I've found some gun bags I like, and some others that I just don't consider worth much. In this week's review I'm going to cover some of the various bags I've come to know and enjoy manufactured by BlackHawk. Specifically the three bags I'm going to look at are their Police Equipment Bag, their Advanced Tactical Briefcase (relatively new product) and their Rifle Case.

Let's start out with the Advanced Tactical Briefcase. This is a product that I first saw at SHOT Show this year. BlackHawk hosts a press conference to show off all of their new product lines and, surprisingly enough - in a room full of "gun writers" - this briefcase got a lot of attention.

This Advanced Tactical Briefcase (or ATB from here on) is what you'd expect from a company founded and run by a retired Navy SEAL: it has all the necessary pockets and pouches for administration concerns, but it also has a few hidden surprises. Of course, no briefcase today would be complete without a specialized compartment for your laptop and the ATB has one. In fact, this particular pocket is accessible through a waterproof zipper making access relatively easy but protection of your laptop thorough. The computer pocket has hook and loop (Velcro) lined padding so that you can configure it to suit your particular needs. This also means that if you're NOT carrying a laptop you have a ready platform to mount holsters, magazine pouches and more. Remember that easy access to your computer? If it's not a computer in that compartment the access is still quick and easy.

In addition to the easy access computer pocket, there are three additional external pockets that are ideally suited for things like your cell phone, PDA, charging cords, etc. And how many times have you seen people in airports stacking a briefcase on top of a rolling overnight bag but the briefcase keeps sliding off to one side or the other? BlackHawk resolved that challenge by putting a slot on the back of the ATB specifically to have pull handles slide through. The ATB won't fall off your rolling overnight. On the inside of the big flap is a clear page viewing compartment - designed for maps (remember that Navy SEAL thing?) but just as usable for directions or other documents you need to view conveniently without pulling them all the way out and then stuffing them back in.

The ATB is manufactured out of 1000 denier nylon and has a waterproof lining. Bear in mind that anything with open topped compartments is only waterproof if water is falling down onto it. If you drop it in the drink (pool, river, lake, fountain, etc) it's not waterproof. The shoulder strap and carry handle are suitably strong and even with the ATB full, the shoulder strap is comfortable on your shoulder. There's an external clear-cover ID pocket that can be moved because it is velcro mounted. I like that it can be moved to wherever I want - or removed to be hidden if I don't want to give away information in certain environments. By the same token, mind your immediate area: it can just as easily be removed by someone else wanting to hide identification of a stolen bag. I don't see that as a problem until BlackHawk sells several hundred thousand of these. Right now they're just too unique, and you can get yours in Black, Coyote Tan or Foliage Green.

Let's move on to the Police Equipment Bag...

When I was a young cop lo those many years ago, I always wanted to have just one bag that held all my stuff. And, back then, it was more difficult to carry because nightsticks didn't collapse, flashlights were electric nightsticks, riot helmets were still popular because people still remembered the riots of the early '70s, etc. The bottom line was that I had a LOT of stuff to take to work but personally assignec cruisers weren't really that popular yet - especially among smaller agencies. So there was no handy trunk to just leave the equipment in. I couldn't even leave my ticket books and other documents in a cruiser seat organizer. That had to go in and out of the cruiser at the beginning and end of every shift.

Now things are a little easier: the large majority of your kit is smaller such as collapsible batons and tactical handheld flashlights. Assigned patrol cars are much more common, even on smaller agencies, and that trunk is amazingly helpful when it comes to storing gear. Still, there is a lot of paperwork, extra batteries, ticket books, extra handcuffs, first-aid supplies, etc that can be of benefit to move easy. You just never know when Mr. Murphy is going to shut down YOUR cruiser and you have to move into a pool car. The easier that is to do, the better your shift will go. Enter the BlackHawk Police Equipment Bag (BPEB).

The BPEB was designed with contemporary needs and modern design features well in mind, but with the knowledge that some agencies are still a couple decades behind the curve. On the outside are two straps perfect to secure a fixed baton or flashlight. After that, all of the pockets are generic because every cop's needs are, within certain guidelines, different. On the outside are three pouches that are great for general utility use. They are open topped making them great for the stuff you want to just reach over and grab. There are also two zippered outside pockets big enough for some ticket books or writing pads, and certainly big enough to hold cell phones or PDAs, etc.

Inside there is plenty of space along with two zippered pockets that are half the size of the outside zippered pockets. These are actually better suited for your electronics and offer more protection to same. There are pen slots because we all need about six just to go on duty. Inevitably we end up with the one in our breast pocket and all the others disappear. I still want to find that monster than hides under my cruiser seats and lives on my pens.

To make the BPEB sturdy two design features are well thought out and very appreciated: The sides and bottom have polymer inserts in them that don't add a significant amount of weight but help hold the shape. The nylon handles aren't just sewn into the top of the bag but are actually nylong straps that go all the way around and under the bag, stitched in place and then wrapped up to form the handles at the top. Because we all know that someone out there will fill the bag full of spare ammo (is that a bad thing?) there is also a shoulder strap that is adjustable and removable. This is a well thought out police equipment bag that would also do well in a variety of other environments.

That leaves us with the BlackHawk Rifle Case. While this may seem a generic case to some, I submit that a decent rifle case doesn't need a bunch of fancy bells and whistles: It needs to carry the weapon securely; have some storage space for magazines and maybe a small cleaning kit, and that's about it. Everything else is frills.

Enter the BlackHawk Rifle Case. Available in lengths ranging from 29 inches to 46 inches, the case is made from the same 1000 denier nylon so popular in BlackHawk products because of it's abrasion and mildew resistance. The case is lined with closed cell foam padding to protect the weapon. It's important to note that this type of cloased cell foam won't absorb water. Just like with the BPEB, the handle on this case wrap all the way around and under for extra security in carry. The shoulder strap is padded and adjustable, or removable if you need to do that. The magazine pouches are mounted on the side and have adjustable velcro close lids. And as a final feature, if you dont' want to lay down in the wet or the dirt, the bag zips all the way open so you can lay it out as a shooting mat. That's another time you'll enjoy the closed cell foam padding.

Of course, if you're weapon is longer than will comfortably fit in this rifle case, BlackHawk makes drag bags and cases for your precision rifles. In general though, this one will carry the large majority of weapons our cops and soldiers are using today.

For more information on these or other BlackHawk products, visit them online.

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Don't forget to check out our Recreational Equipment Review about the Henry AR-7 .22lr "survival" rifle.

This week's Training Article, an introduction to the discussion about whether or not soldiers fighting from a politically supported position can stand up to or defeat religiously motivated enemy combatants.

For a listing of all reviews in chronological order, GO HERE.

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