Blackhawk's Go Box Mag Bag

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A couple months back one of our devoted acolytes acquaintances over at TacticalGear.com sent us a Blackhawk! Go Bag Mag Bag. She was sure we'd like it, despite knowing that neither of us are big Blackhawk! fans. First, they have an exclamation point in their name. Second, we've some bad experiences with a couple pieces of individual kit in the past (which we admit shouldn't be taken as a wide spectrum criticism). We debated about doing the review and decided we'd send it off to Mad Duo Brad. He's a proficient shooter who manages to be fair and open minded while remaining ruthlessly pragmatic, which is a good combination. Plus, he's a Warrant Officer, which provides entertainment all of its own sort. Here's his review - she was right. He liked it.  Regards, The Duo

Blackhawk! Go Box Mag Bag

by: Brad Walker

I’ve had a chance to review Blackhawk! Go Bag Mag Bag for the last month or so, and here are some things I found out about it.BH1

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During the initial unboxing, I immediately liked the way everything was put together. The stitching to the assembly details to the zipper pulls seemed to be well thought out. The outside of the bag is made of 1000D Cordura for high abrasion resistance and is affixed with a removable ID plate with a 3”x5” area of loop material underneath for various patches or other accoutrements.

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Heavy duty zippers that span around the bag enable the user to open the bag to lay flat, which earn a bag big points in my book. The zipper pulls are even unique and feature a generous opening and grip surface, and the zippers have the capability to be secured by a small lock. Handles on each side provide multiple points to carry the bag, and removable backpack style straps give another option for mobility. Integrated D-rings on the corners of the bag give the user the ability to secure the bag to a vehicle, a fixed object or even another pack.

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The inside of the bag is fully lined with loop material. I found this pretty handy and slapped my admin organizer from Grey Ghost Gear on the flap which expanded the modularity even more. The bag comes equipped with 5 dividers (2 long, 2 medium and 1 short) for a totally customizable interior and an organizer with 3 elastic loops for securing small items.

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Here are just a few different example configurations that the bag is capable of:

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The user can utilize this bag in any number of ways. Its primary purpose for me has been a “go bag” of sorts. It’s not all-encompassing, but it has a few of the essentials in case I needed some survival tools.

My contents are as follows:

-          Mesh bag for storing or carrying small items

-          Notepad & Pen

-          Battle Systems vinyl tape

-          Waterproof case containing a magnesium flint block, homemade tinder and a small pair of collapsible scissors

-          Standard military compass

-          IFAK with medical supplies and tourniquet

-          Powertraveller SolarMonkey Adventurer for powering my cellular phone or any USB-powered device

-          Milspec Monkey Loop Panel organizers with a set of ID tags

-          IR strobe & 9v battery

-          Fight and Flight Tactical Drop Toss Marker

-          Grey Ghost Gear Admin Organizer containing a Suunto compass, a Benchmade emergency belt cutter, Battle Systems MPIL, 20’ of paracord, Benchmade Griptilian knife, Surefire light, Gerber multitool and two extra pistol magazines.

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There isn’t anything that I really don’t like about the bag. I was pretty impressed, overall, though I must articulate the caveat that I have obviously not had the time to drag it back and forth to the range dozens of time or to see how the interior facing would hold up to hundreds of modular rearrangement. If I was going to suggest an improvement, I'd say it might be nice to have the shoulder straps configured so you could attach it to a plate carrier or a larger bag via Fastex buckles instead of just the D-rings, and personally (things being the way they are) I'd prefer to have some "civvie" low profile color options. The latter of course is cosmetic. Structurally, I found it to be well thought out and constructed. It comes standard with a good amount of features that I appreciate in a bag intended for this function and can be configured to fit the end user’s preference.

Overall, the Blackhawk Go Box Mag Bag would be a great choice for a general purpose bag, a small “go bag” or of course its intended use…to store magazines.

Retail price varies on the source but seems to typically run $80 or less. It's available in OD, tan and black. On line in several locations, including Tactical Gear (who provided it for evaluation purposes) and of course Blackhawk! itself.

 

About the author: Brad Walker is former enlisted man, now WO, who may or may not be Danny McBride’s slightly less witty brother. A ten year Army Aviation veteran who was an NCO before going to flight school, he now drives Apaches and is an FAA privately licensed rotary wing aircraft pilot. He’s got a strong background in trauma/casualty care and SERE, loves to shoot and writes when his muse grabs him. He is also the HMFIC at MadCat Aviator Operator (which is named for his kids).

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