Tasmanian Tiger TAC SLING PACK 12

Tasmanian Tiger, the German military and police backpacks and tactical equipment supplier, has this year celebrated its 25th anniversary, writes Bob Morrison.

 

Founded as TATONKA and now a very familiar brand on continental Europe, particularly with top kit suppliers across Germany and the BeNeLux nations plus with a few UK dealers, Tasmanian Tiger has built a great reputation with elite and specialist users as the quality of their products is second to none.

 

At the beginning of this year I reviewed the Tasmanian Tiger TAC SLING PACK 12 for the April issue of C&S Magazine, which sadly did not appear in print as the new owner of the publishing house behind it and its sister titles liquidated the business, and nine months later I am still using this 12-litre capacity pack as a lightweight daysack and camera bag. The following is an update of the review which should have been printed back in the spring, along with a few additional photos taken just before Christmas.

 

The beauty of the TAC SLING PACK 12 is that it is a lightweight diagonal-carry bag, constructed from 700 denier Cordura, which can also be carried vertically on one shoulder, but if one needs to wear it in a more conventional style with a cross strap this option is there too. Cyclists in particular will like this configuration as the pack can be slung to give full visibility when looking back over the shoulder and the optional/removable cross-strap will keep it securely in position when bent forward in sprint position.

 

Although this small daysack is perfectly acceptable for civilian carry, being available in both black and carbon grey, as well as a more military olive green & tan, it is actually intended as a low profile tactical pack and can be used to tote a hydration bladder as well as for covert carry of a sidearm. There are six pairs of laser cut slots down each side for attaching slim PALS/MOLLE-style pouches and a removable (lace-in) laser cut internal pouch attachment panel (8×4 slots) which doubles as a retention pouch if a hydration bladder (not included) is carried.

 

There are two main compartments to this pack, both accessed by double action zips around three sides; the zip on the 2-litre front pouch runs right to the bottom allowing the lid to fold out fully and the zip for the 10-litre main compartment runs down to just 3in/75mm from the base to give very good access. On the rear face of the small compartment there is a full width zipped pocket, an organiser panel with three smaller pouches which have velcro closures, two pen loops and a full width lower mesh pocket with elasticated lip, while under the lid there is a zipped mesh pocket.

 

Under the main compartment lid there is a full depth mesh pocket with zips running from the top down both sides; these are fashioned in a way to allow side access to contents if the pack is slung round to the front without taking off. The back face of the compartment, behind the removable laser cut panel which is attached by elasticated cord, is covered with velcro to allow similarly backed pouches (not included) to be attached if desired; since originally reviewing this pack I have taken out the laser cut panel as I mostly use velcro-backed mesh pouches to organise my gear.

 

Although not at all obvious, there is actually a third compartment in behind the 2-litre front compartment, which is accessed by a double action flush zip. Intended for covert carry of a sidearm and spare magazine, this compartment has velcro backing to allow allow a similarly backed holster and magazine pouch, or similar, to be affixed for easy access and there are also two hanging straps provided on the front face. I do not own such a pistol holster, so I used a suitably sized mesh and velcro soft pouch for illustrative purposes.

 

Since penning the original review I have bought a second, slimline, netbook to ensure I have a back-up means of adding web pages to JOINT-FORCES.com when on assignment just in case there is a problem with my main netbook; they don’t call me Mr Belt & Braces for nothing, but after 20 years of editing COMBAT & SURVIVAL I suppose it is probably unsurprising that I almost always have a fall-back plan. This netbook fits snugly into the covert compartment, well out of sight of prying eyes, and I carry its charger and other peripherals in a pair of spare Revision Sawfly MOLLE-type kidney pouches attached to the laser cut slots on the sides of the pack.

 

Another neat little feature is the horizontally-zipped pouch concealed underneath the top panel on the back face which is ideal for stowing passport and other valuables documents etc. As this is located underneath the top strap and worn next to the back it is impossible for light-fingered dippers to steal your ID while jostling you in a crowd; I have even experienced such an attempt on Westminster Bridge in London when carrying my normal daysack, but the gang member who tried this on me got a surprise he truly wasn’t expecting.

 

Other useful features, something Tasmanian Tiger are good at providing, include a hydration bladder port under the top grab handle, a secondary grab handle on the base (to allow the wearer to pull the pack round to the front) and two compression straps each side. The diagonal strap bottom attachment point can be easily swapped to the other side for carrying on the opposite shoulder, the removable cross strap can be attached to a D-ring either side, and this strap can be tucked away inside the velcro-closure lower tunnel if not required. All in all, a very well thought out pack.

 

To see the full range of Tasmanian Tiger gear go to tasmanian-tiger.co.uk and to read more about the pack featured here click on this TAC SLING PACK 12 link.

{ images © Bob Morrison }