Blue Force Gear: 10-Speed Ultralight Dump Pouch
I’ve been very fortunate during the short time I’ve been in the writing scene to have gotten introduced to some pretty cool businesses out there. When I first started doing online reviews, I always wanted to take the tack of covering gear that I would 1. Use in real life either privately shooting or on the job as a law enforcement officer 2. Focus on cost-effectiveness and durability 3. Write accessibly, because I’m a normal dude, like most other normal dudes that read this kind of stuff.
I’ve had the good fortune of working with Blue Force Gear over the past few months, and more and more of my coworkers are starting to wear their gear for plainclothes work as well as for every day carry. I recently wrote an article about Blue Force Gear’s Belt Pouch line of accessories to include their double mag pouch, cuff case, and M4 Mag Pouch. You can read that Guns and Tactics article here.
Recently, I just picked up some new components from their 10-Speed lineup – the Ultralight Dump Pouch and the Triple M4 Mag Pouch, the latter of which I have mounted on a new PlateMINUS armor carrier. The PlateMINUS and Triple M4 Mag Pouch will be subject of another article soon.
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The 10-Speed line of Blue Force Gear accessories is still centered around the concept of lightweight, minimalist kit, which I prefer. The 10-Speed line is based around an elastic retention idea, similar to the Belt Pouch line – component retention is achieved through the 10-Speed elastic fabric, which eliminates the need for flaps, snaps, or buckles to keep items secured. Instead of traditional molle straps or plastic clips that are woven through molle attachments, the 10-Speed line is woven into place with what is called the Helium Whisper system; thinner, lighter, hook and loop secured straps comprised of ULTRAcomp, a durable laminate material that purportedly has outperformed 1000D nylon in wear and tear resistance.
This combination of materials makes for a very lightweight, low-profile system. The Ultralight Dump Pouch itself is made from 70D ripstop nylon, which brings the total weight of the Ultralight Dump Pouch up to a featherlight 61gms.
The pouch in of itself is miniscule. Measuring in at 3"x3.5"x1", the stowed pouch itself takes up a minimal footprint on a belt or molle platform. Deployment is achieved by yanking downward on an easily-accessed pulltab which expands the pouch out to approximately 3.5 liters of stow space; plenty for partially-expended M4 mags, a water bottle, random gear, etc. The lip of the pouch has a cinch strap sewn into it, so it is possible to cinch down on the mouth of the pouch to reduce items clattering around inside.
Initial Use
For initial impressions, I mounted the Ultralight Dump Pouch on my Snake Eater Tactical War Belt. Mounting is simple, easy, and straightforward. Deployment, as I mentioned before, is also very simple. The pulltab is easily accessible with or without gloves on, and a firm tug is all one needs.
The pouch itself is airy and light, which is one of the trade-offs of the pouch. Unloaded, it just floats off of the belt, which while not distracting, is not what I’m used to with more rigid pouches. Due to the lightness, I did note that I had to "fish" for the mouth of the pouch a few times while dropping mags in since the bag kind of collapses on itself when unweighted. I quickly learned that the most repeatable and consistent way to drop mags/items into the pouch was to simply run the item down the backside of my belt where the pouch is mounted since I know that’s where an edge is sewn in. Note that this is only really necessary when the pouch is completely unweighted, once items are in, this became a non-issue.
Stowing the pouch takes a little more doing. Unlike other dump pouches, there are no straps or buckles. To stow the empty pouch, it is possible to simply just stuff the pouch back up into the elastic; it’s messy and not neat, but it can be done in the field without having to take your belt off. It can then be stowed neatly when time and place are more appropriate.
I was able to easily fit four M4 30-rounders and a few pistol mags in the pouch with ease, and a few jumps up and down did not dislodge the load at all, but I wasn’t doing anything extreme or doing tactical ninja rolls out of a vehicle or anything.
Truth be told, I am a little concerned with durability; the 70D ripstop is so lightweight, I just don’t know how it will hold up, but as always, I’ll circle back after a few months to give a more thorough assessment. I hope to have some rifle training classes scheduled out for the remainder of the year, and I’ll be using the SET Warbelt in addition to my normal duty belt for these classes, so hopefully I’ll get a few solid weekends in running the pouch to speak better to its durability.
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