Product Review & Prize Giveaway Nov. 8, 2010

Product Review

First, full disclosure, I am an affiliate of Survival Gear Bags and Kelly there sent me two of these free of charge.  I will give my honest opinion with no influence.  If you buy anything from their site, please go through my link and I'll get a small commission.

Now, the product review...

The Excursion Organizer Bag from Rothco.  Some time ago, I built a very compact EDC kit from a cell phone case.  It's discreet, and does not look out of place in my usual attire of khakis, a shirt, and tie.  But it does not hold a whole heck of a lot.  I saw these organizer bags at Survival Gear Bags and thought that one would make a great EDC kit to go with me in my company car or have at my desk while I'm working.  The logic being that I have my small one on my belt to help me until I get to my car or desk where this new one will be, then that one will help me get to my truck where I have my GHB (Get Home Bag - I guess I probably ought to do a glossary one of these days).  It would also be good for wearing on my person on the weekend when I am at the hardware store, gun show, or anywhere else in jeans and boots.

Kelly very graciously sent me two bags to check out.  One is OD Green and the other is Black (more on why two later...)

The bag is made by Rothco.  The bag is a pretty heavy canvas, feels sturdy, but not overly stiff.  All of the sewing and seams feel very secure.  I've tugged on it this way and that, and nothing is giving.  Overall size is about 7x6.5".  On the front is a 3x5" pouch with a Velcroed flap.  It's good for a larger cell phone, a notepad, and maybe a Leatherman tool or something.  Also on front is a pen pouch, then a zippered 6x6" compartment with a 4" opening.  I'm not sure what I would put in there at this point.  Next is a top opening zippered compartment with another interior zippered compartment hidden inside.  That hidden one would be good for extra money to be stashed.  This is the main pocket of the bag, and is about an inch and a half deep.  Behind that is another top zippered compartment that is about 3/4" deep.  I think it would be good for a small handgun, perhaps as large as a Commander-sized .45, but definitely a .38 snub or .380 auto.  I'd rig up something either inside the pouch or around the gun to make sure it is stable in the pouch and the grip is always where I expect it to be.  The four zippers have large tabs, and slide easily without binding or catching.  They are not YKK, but still of good quality.  There are two large vertical canvas belt loops on the back that are wide enough for a military web belt.  The loops are stitched on nice and secure.  Finally, there is a D ring on each side with an adjustable strap using snap hooks to hold it to the D rings.  The strap will work for over the shoulder, or run it through your jeans belt loops for additional security.  About the only change I would suggest would be to add two horizontal belt loops to the back so that a person could use ALICE clips to attach it to load bearing equipment or a pack.  Survival Gear Bags currently has this on sale, marked down from $10 to $9!  It's a great bag, great value and at that price, a great bargain!  If you are looking for a small EDC bag that is more than a cell phone case in size, this is the bag for you.  Sometime soon, I will build this out into a full fledged EDC and write it up for you.  But, I need to know if I should use the OD or the Black.  That depends on the winner of the Reader Appreciation Contest!


Reader Appreciation Contest

I am very grateful to all of you who are reading If It Hits The Fan and helping me build it into a success.  I've got 113 fans on the Facebook page and have had over 1,200 page views on the blog.  Its time to thank you for your support!  I'm going to give one lucky reader your choice of the OD or the Black Excursion Organizer Bag.  Simply send an email here with "Bag Giveaway" as the subject.  Be sure to tell me your mailing address and which color you want.  Unfortunately, I can only make this available to US addresses.  I just can't afford international postage at this time. Limit one entry per person, and entries must be received by noon EST on Thursday Nov. 11th.  I'll draw a random email for the winner.  That's all there is to it!  Whichever bag is not chosen will become my EDC.  Again, a big thanks to Kelly at Survival Gear Bags for providing the bags for evaluation and the contest.  Please consider them for your next gear purchase.

Next up...
Friday I'll announce the winner (first name and state, only) and do a review of the Wal-Mart $6.88 machete.  Is it junk, or a decent value?  We'll find out together!  Until then, Happy Birthday and Semper Fi to my fellow Marines on Wednesday and THANK YOU to all veterans on Thursday.