Based on the Sitka, Maxpedition came out with this lil' guy to compliment the latest Gearslinger design format. The Noatak is the smallest so far and had me curious at first since the Sitka wasn't exactly huge. Don't worry I'll still go over the details, but the summary is the Noatak is pretty much a smaller Sitka without the upper front pocket. So you might be like me thinking, well what is the point?...Who needs a smaller Sitka? I can always find crap to fit in about any bag, but I found my answers in older Maxpedition designs.

Overall DIMS: Approx 22" L x 12" W x 13" H

Maxpedition keeps the options coming with this new big boy MPB variant, the XXL. As you may have guessed from the name, it is a fairly large pack, similar to what some may expect out of a patrol bag. The layout is similar to the orignal MPB with an overall upsize to allow larger items such as 17" laptops to fit.

Coming in at around 6" x 2.5" this design is like the other Maxpedition E series, but in a size optimized for folding knives. Exclusively made for knifeart.com, the main design intent is to hold collector knives or any you might just want to keep nice and protected. The exterior is made of the heavy duty 1000D material Maxpedition is known for, however the inside is lined with gentle fleece. The main flap uses a velcro connection with pull tab to increase ease. The majority of folding knives will easily fit inside and bulk purchasing is even available to make these cases further affordable. It shouldn't be an issue for most, but if you are especially concerned about keeping an item in pristine condition, one should take care not to brush up against the hook velcro when placing items in and out. A simple and effective design.

Where to buy:
http://www.knifeart.com/knifecase.html

http://www.tacticssog.com

DIMS: Approx 17" L x 13" H x 6" D

There are lots of messenger bags these days so it is always interesting to see how each place approaches the design concept. The Jack Bag Gen2, perhaps would be classified as medium sized, and has some tactical capabilities. Not sure if it was meant to be discreet looking... It doesn't scream military, however the exterior is not plain enough for covert use. For starters there is a big embroidered logo that says TACTICS with a target based symbol and then the PALS webbing on the side is not the lowest key. That aside, the bag has some good design features.

http://www.mtekweaponsystems.com

I had the pleasure to connect with MTEK semi recently and appreciate seeing their spirit as a new company. Their current emphasis is in facial armor and what they offer is an excelent advancement compared to earlier solutions. For example the mandible cover on aircrew helemets isn't for ballistic protection and full thick ballistic riot style visors tend to poorly affect weapon handling.

I saved this larger item to give a quick break down on the Toy Soldier Workshop. I know many people see the name and just think, you can't be fucking serious why are you giving these commies a chance monkey!? For starters, good things can come out of China and a good example of that is Emdom gear. The other factors are that they are using good genuine materials and putting forth effort into making their own unique designs. When places send me stuff I give it a fair assessment no matter the origin.

Moving onto the actual kit, this chest rig stands out as combat photography stuff tends to be harder to come by.

So there are a LOT of mag pouches out there these days, but I thought these were worth showing for something different. The concept is somewhat like a FastMag using soft materials. The sides are made of elastic to keep pressure on the magazine while the insides have a generous amount of non-slip material. The end result is a pretty nice grip.