Help me choose a Hill People Gear Kit Bag

[Chewbacca10]

Thank you for the feedback, all. That chart is especially handy.

To add a little more detail, I plan to use it on hikes as well. I’d like to fit a cell phone and keys in there as well as the handgun at a minimum. A small, thin fly box or some odds and ends (match case, water tablets, light) when hiking would be great if the size of the kit bag doesn’t get obnoxious.

I am assuming from the thread that the runner’s kit bag is basically handgun, phone, keys, and that’s it. I think it would be wise of me to go one step thicker but not to the highest level of thickness.

[Grouse870]

I have two. The runners kit bag and the original v2. The runners would be a bit small for your use. The original is nice because you can load it down or just put the minimum. You’ll most likely end up buying more than one.

[frozentundra]

I got the original V2. I've never wished it was smaller. I feel like the relevant size and weight characteristics are determined primarily by the things you put into the bag. If I pack it smaller, there is just a little more lightweight, flexible material that doesn't bother me at all.

I don't have a smaller one to compare, but after using mine, I'm left with the impression that I'd much rather have a larger bag packed more loosely than a smaller one packed tighter. I'd want to avoid "stuffing" it because that creates rigidity and I find that much more annoying than the footprint of the material itself.

For reference, I'm like 5'8 170something. I'd certainly be looking at a large footprint for fishing and outdoor use. I just don't have an intuition about original configuration vs adding modularity.

[42Willys]

I have had a snubby kit bag for over ten years. It’s great for running but doesn’t hold a lot more than a compact pistol.

I bought this one last year:

https://hillpeoplegear.com/Products/.../ProductID/183

It’s the medium footprint original kit bag - great balance of size and usefulness for outdoor activities like hiking and camping. I don’t think it’s too big.

If I am doing anything more involved than going for a run, the original kit bag in medium is what I will reach for.

I bought a used kit bag off eBay to keep at work for when I go on a run at lunchtime. It’s a weird pattern and hard to figure out which one it is, but I think the closest analogue would be the Runners pattern kit bag in the medium footprint. It is very nice and better than the snubby because it is just big enough without being a tight squeeze like the snubby.

[LJP]

I have two… both snubby footprint because I’m only 5’6” and about 150, but I have easily fit a G19 without issue. I have the runner’s that would probably be too small for your use, and a recon with the recon harness. I suspect, for your intended use, the recon kit bag with recon harness would be ideal. Add a hydration bladder to the harness, and it sort of balances out the load and you have water readily available. I am a big fan of HPG and have the Tarahumara pack as well. Fantastic piece of kit.

[Salamander]

I've been using an original for a long time, but I tend to carry quite a few things in mine so the larger size is a necessity. If it's a dedicated pistol bag, one could get by with a smaller size.

My use is a little atypical, but I'll offer some detail since there's probably someone out there in a similar situation, and others can adapt as needed.

Mine typically carries a full size USP45 or sometimes one of several revolvers in the rear compartment, plus spare magazines/speedloaders. The middle compartment is usually dedicated to a small camera this year... I'm currently working on a photo series of a nearby wilderness area, so a Leica M goes with me on backpacking trips. That's the reason the larger size bag is helpful for me. Often there's a paper map in the middle compartment also. The small front compartment has a small notebook and pencil in a plastic bag, a compass, a few bandages to handle simple cuts/scrapes (the full medical kit is in my backpack or daypack), a mosquito headnet, and a small headlamp or flashlight. The camera with lens is 2.5 lbs, the bag is 1 lb, so with the pistol and misc items it's 5-6 lbs depending on the exact setup. This nicely balances a lightweight backpack, my typical base weight not counting the kit bag is about 13 lbs with a full backpack, or much less if it's a quick hike with a daypack.

When I use the kit bag by itself, say for a quick work site visit closer to town and I need hands free, it's pretty much just a pistol, a couple of Clif bars, and whatever paperwork I need for the particular project. While a smaller bag would handle that I see no reason to own two, the original doesn't get in the way so I just don't fill it up when it's not necessary.

[Hambo]

I don't know what size I have, probably a medium. A 1911 will fit inside it, however, I don't carry a gun in it anymore. I find it's more useful for my navigation stuff: GPS, phone, and power bank, plus a little FAK and other stuff.

[Clusterfrack]

Thank you for the feedback, all. That chart is especially handy.

To add a little more detail, I plan to use it on hikes as well. I’d like to fit a cell phone and keys in there as well as the handgun at a minimum. A small, thin fly box or some odds and ends (match case, water tablets, light) when hiking would be great if the size of the kit bag doesn’t get obnoxious.

I am assuming from the thread that the runner’s kit bag is basically handgun, phone, keys, and that’s it. I think it would be wise of me to go one step thicker but not to the highest level of thickness.

Body size is a consideration. I bought a Full Size Kit bag, and the 11.5" width was uncomfortably wide, and unwearable with a daypack. @JCL is now the proud owner of that bag.

I replaced it with a Medium Kit Bag, which perfect for me (I wear Medium t-shirts).

[Duelist]

I have a runners. It works for hiking (usually with a G26, G19x, or Kframe), hunting with a day pack and rifle (G26), and fitness biking (G26 or airweight J). When carrying a Glock, it has a trigger guard holster tethered to the loop in the main pouch.

I recently got a Ruger Blackhawk Bisley, and surprisingly, it will zip closed around that big old horse pistol. I have yet to try hiking or anything with it in there, though. I think access will be compromised due to the bag being tighter around it vs. how tight it might be around the guns I normally use it with.

I may get another with a larger accessories pouch, and a smaller for just carrying a small gun.

I like the thin runners kit bag for hunting and hiking because carrying 15x binos on a harness over it isn’t a problem, where I think a bulkier (thicker) chest pouch would be. I like carrying my pistol there when hunting - it doesn’t get in the way of the pack straps or waist belt, get tangled up with the rifle, irritate my hip if IWB, stays on my person for all hunting activities, and has reasonably quick access for all of that.

Hiking down a steep mountain in the dark, my scoped rifle is in my backpack scabbard and the binos are in the pack, too. Headlamp is on, my hands are handling lights and navigating the brush/trees/etc. The pistol being right there on the chest is a good thing.

[Chewbacca10]

Body size is a consideration. I bought a Full Size Kit bag, and the 11.5" width was uncomfortably wide, and unwearable with a daypack. @JCL is now the proud owner of that bag.

I replaced it with a Medium Kit Bag, which perfect for me (I wear Medium t-shirts).

I think the medium is going to be the way that I go. I’d like the Heavy Recon, but it is going to look huge on my chest, and my handgun isn’t that large.