Range bags come in so many shapes, sizes, and formats because no two people seem to want the exact same thing. Nonetheless, I've never been able to find one that did what I want out of a range bag. Here are some of my wanted features:
- Tough material suitable for traveling in the hands of airline baggage handlers dozens of times per year.
- Strong lockable zippers.
- Bottom should have rubber feet and/or be capable of being submerged in an inch of water without compromising the contents in the bag. Ranges get wet, muddy, etc.
- Inner lining should be a bright color and reflective regardless of the outside bag design. Looking for stuff in the dark inside such a bag is way easier than the typical black nylon interior.
- MOLLE points both inside and out. Rather than try to make one bag that has every feature I need, I want a simple core bag that allows me to attach what I want.
- Zippered pockets should abound. There are tons of little things we keep in our range bags that should be immediately at hand without digging through a pile of random stuff. Dedicated little areas for cleaning material, bottles of liquid (oil, etc.), pens & markers, batteries, spare parts. It's a personal preference thing but I really like all of them to have their own dedicated place. My giant range bag has a nearly empty interior but every single nook and cranny of a pocket or pouch is stuffed full.
- An exterior pocket big enough for my earpro and eyepro. Alternatively, if there's a MOLLE attachment, I can just get an accessory bag.
- Removable shoulder strap. I know they're not as durable and it might require some effort & expense, but it's a PITA at an airline when you can't remove a shoulder strap on a piece of checked luggage.
- Hook and loop attachment points.
- Should be available in orange for really cool people.
I'm actually pretty flexible on size. If the main interior compartment can hold a pair of guns and a couple hundred rounds of ammo, and the accessory pockets/pouches hold all my other gear, the bag itself doesn't really need to be huge. But if it is big, and the inside has MOLLE attachment points, then a lot of the stuff I currently attach to the outside of my bag, including my mag carriers and possibly even my spare IFAK, might all fit more nicely inside where they're protected.