Hill People Gear Kit Bag

[vaspence]

Hill People Gear Kit Bag
http://www.hillpeoplegear.com/

First let me preface by how great Evan was to deal with. I emailed last minute for one of these before a class and they had it to me with a day to spare, great customer service.

My quandry, I do search and rescue (volunteer) and was looking for a way to carry something larger than my P3AT in a way that it would be accessible and not scream holster. Standard holsters don't work well because we wear packs. I considered a couple of micro or small chest rigs but they are what they are, although some searchers use them with admin pouches mounted. There are also the Coaxsher/Conterra, etc. radio chest harnesses but the ones I looked at didn't have enough room to stash even a G26 comfortably. In steps the Hill People Gear Kit Bag.


It consists of three zippered pockets with the rearmost being a discreet pistol pocket. The two front pockets have plenty of room for whatever you'd like to carry, you could possibly overload this if you are a gear junkie but for SAR work it easily holds a Foretrex 301, Eggroll 3x5 pouch, Suunto M-3 and a map. The second pocket I use for a headlamp, flashlight, flagging tape, tape measure, snacks (mini cliff bars). It doesn't weigh much with that load. The cool for this pouch (both in temp and feature) is the mesh panel in the back. Rather than just crossing the straps, etc. the straps connect to a mesh panel that fits unnoticed under a pack and is just plain comfortable. I have decent sized shoulders and it fits me like it was custom made.

Usage - I used this bag for 3 days in a Tracking Class. I wore it at least 6 hours each day/night with a loaded P30 in the pistol pocket along with various SAR and tracking related gear in the front two pockets. I also wore it under a loaded Kifaru Tailgunner the whole time. Weight was no issue, the rig wore well and even in coyote did not jump out to anyone as anything gun related. I then wore it with a G19 out for a mountain bike ride, no issues at all with it flopping, etc. bag stayed tight to my chest and didn't cause any overheating issues, etc.

The first pic shows all three pockets open. The top pocket is the front. The pistol is a G17 with a SF X200 on it.


Buttoned up you can't see the third pocket zipper.


Pistol pocket zipper exposed.


I left the zippers open with about a 1.5 - 2 inch gap and tucked the pulls inside the pouch. This allows me to get two fingers into the opening and pull the pocket open quickly. The flap covers this with no problem. I played with this with the SERT in it for the last week or so. Yesterday I took it to the range and was averaging 2.6 seconds for a 3x5 index card hit at 5 yards with the G19. With the P30 I averaged 3.2 or so on an 8 inch circle at the same distance. (I'm new to the P30 DA/SA and having fits)

G17 in pouch


P30 in pouch


G19 in pouch


I didn't go into the details of construction and cool features, etc. Ask if you have any questions. Evan is on the board and can answer any specifics. It's working great for me.

Customer Service: If you go to their site you'll note in the video that they use a webbing attachment to keep a Foretrex 301 attached to the pouch. I emailed Evan asking what I needed to make one and a little later an envelope arrived with the webbing attachment in it.

Definitely a specific purpose rig for me but it seems to be doing what I need it to do well and I'm happy.

[SmokeJumper]

Excellent Review...gonna get one as well.

[MDS]

I'm thinking about one as well - for carrying with hiking backpacks as well as bicycling. I wonder, though, about the possibility of dropping the gun during the draw, since there's nothing holding it in place once the zipper's yanked open. Is this a problem?

And thanks for the review!

[vaspence]

Has not been a problem for me and I'm sure Evan can chime in with more experience. The pouch opens down and across when you put your fingers inside and pull, your strong hand is already entering the pouch as it opens to grasp the pistol. In my experience the pouch doesn't open fully as I have shown in the pics. It opens all the way vertically down the entry side and maybe 2/3rds horizontally across the top.

[scothill]

Both Evan and I have been using a kit bag of one generation or another for over 2 years. The earliest version had a holster for retention to address the issue you brought up. What we found was that not only was it not needed, but it actually was slower on the draw with a shot timer. After the first generation, and I think we are up to version 4 or so not counting the Koala, none have had a holster. In fact, I have never carried one with a holster. The pistol is secure in that it doesn't bounce around and sets right where you put it basically. When you do the rip to open it for the draw it sets away from your body slightly allowing a quicker easier grip, but that is it. There are no issues with it falling out or retention. VASpence is correct in that it never opens all the way unless you want it to and physically move the zippers yourself. Otherwise you get the draw side all the way open and about 3/4 or less on the top open. In addition, to using it for our everyday outdoor activities (mtbiking, boating, hiking, xc skiing, etc...) we have both worn it through a precision rifle class, Randy Cain's Practical Rifle class, and a Vickers Carbine Class. Turns out that the pistol pocket makes a pretty decent mag pouch for 2-3 mags without the pistol in there. For the Cain class I was running M14 magazines with the top completely unzipped and the sides zipped to just shy of the top. Even in that instance retention wasn't a problem even when I got into the prone position quickly. In the Vickers class I did notice that it was possible to hook the right zipper, I am right handed, with the charging handle (gunfighter Mod3) and slowly unzip it a bit over time.

I hope that helps.

[dravz]

There goes another $100! Thanks...

[SLG]

Great write up, thanks!

As I've said before, the Kit Bag is a great piece of kit, and Hill People Gear is designed by serious users. Scot and Evan are on the forum here, so don't hesitate to ask them questions.

The longer I have the bag, the more uses I've been finding for it.

[Kyle Reese]

I need to pick one up as well!

[ChuckSS]

I may have to get one of these and throw some pepper spray/dog repellent in the front pocket for running and biking.

[41magfan]

Logistics (the big brown truck) is scheduled to deliver mine this week.

I'm glad someone finally addressed this method of carry, as it's been totally neglected by the mainstream gear and holster makers. I've suggested the idea to numerous vendors over the last 20+ years with no reward.

I still think there's a marketable chest platform for Blackhawk to develop with their SERPA stuff - easy on, easy off, easy change - but I didn't get a response from them when I mentioned the idea.