Blackhawk! Range Bag Review

Ok, here's a different one. I have a Blackhawk! Tactical Range Bag, it's an older version but it works fine. I got it in a sort of hand-me-down-trade deal, I traded a Patagonia half-zip thermal that I had owned for a while. My bag has been with me through quite a few overnight or 3 day trips but no long extended stay trips just yet. Mostly this gets used as my gym bag that gets cleaned out for travel. I actually used this today as a gym bag for a PST to become a Navy EOD Technician.

 The bag itself, while it looks small is actually
quite large. I have fit way more than I thought possible in here with room to spare! The bag carries very comfortably with the shoulder strap or the grab handles, the shoulder strap is detachable which is nice for traveling by plane. The build quality is very nice, I own one and it has not fallen apart yet! As I got it used I have no idea how old it is but it is worn nicely and as it has been to numerous countries with the previous owner who used it as a travel bag and has seen more miles than most people ever will.

 I was surprised to learn that Blackhawk! Tactical is actually in driving distance from my house but I have not yet gone. Blackhawk! has a lot of loyal dealers (most of the ones visited with Charlie Whiskey in earlier posts were Blackhawk! dealers) who sell their merchandise as well and seeing the amount of tactical gear they make is astonishing as stores have entire sections for Blackhawk! gear. Blackhawk! was actually started by a former Navy SEAL in an interesting story you can read on their website. I honestly have no idea why they have an exclamation point after Blackhawk other than the fact that the founder thought it was cool, I mean hey, the guy was a SEAL so he does whatever he wants.

 I stuffed the bag full to show size better for the camera, This is next to my Black Canvas "Jack Pack" which I reviewed here. I did have a picture somewhere of what I fit into the bag on a 2 day trip but it seems I have lost that. The bag is very comfortable to carry over long periods of time as the shoulder strap is wide with a padded section that can be removed. I usually strap my Nalgene case to this (an insulated case) when I go places to save room inside the bag itself.

The 3 outside pockets are quite roomy and come in handy to divide up different types of items for whatever you please, very convenient. When I go on trips I don't even bother with smaller bags that I could stuff with everything I need, the Blackhawk! bag is perfect as it is small enough to be stuffed into a small trunk yet still large enough to carry everything I need easily and still hold more.

Overall I would give this bag a big thumbs up! As I said earlier I do not know what kind of bag this is for sure because of it's age and the way I got it but I'm happy with it and if you are looking for a good bag for travel this is one to consider. The build quality is great and it is designed to take tons of abuse without fail. Again, I can't give you the EXACT bag shown here but I was at GSS the other day and saw one very similar for about $220, so I would be surprised if you could not find one for about $180 if you look around. Blackhawk! makes a great product and anything they make I recommend because of how well this has held up.