Today we’ll take a look at the Tasmanian Tiger Bug Out Pack.
The Tasmanian Tiger Bug Out Pack lends its name from the originally military principle of evasion (“bugging out”) and the Bail-Out-Bag.
“Bugging out” is a colloquial term for the principle of evasion of a military corps to alternative defensive positions, which, in the best case, are predetermined beforehand.
A Bail-Out-Bag is a small survival-kit pilots carry, to extend their survivability in case of a crash or downing.
These terms and principles melt to the idea of the “Bug Out Bag” or “Bug Out Pack”, a prepacked bagpack containing the most important auxiliaries for survival. It stays at an easily accessible place, always ready to grab in case the shtf, without having to clear last seasons barbeque and the inflatable pool out of the way first.
From a burning home, over floods and earthquakes to a civil war, you have a basic toolbox ready and waiting to work with.
An interesting thought regarding mindset:
Evasion is not equal to escape. A Bug Out Bag is not only used to get out of a certain scenario, but equally to get inside. It is not only a Getaway-bag, but a more or less specifically equipped toolbox.
But now to the review. The Tasmanian Tiger Bug Out Pack, what is special about it?
The Tasmanian Tiger Bug Out Pack is a backpack of 2,15kg in mass and 40 liters in volume, made of 700den Cordura. It comes in olive, khaki, coyote brown and black.
Not quite new up to this point, so lets look at the specifics:
OUTER APPEARANCE
The bagpack consists of a main compartment and 2 big pouches on the front.
It is almost completely covered in molle-webbing, as
-3 rows à 7 loops on the upper pouch,
-5 rows à 7 loops on the lower pouch,
-7 rows à 4 loops on every outer side and
-2 rows à 6 loops on the bottom of the bag.
The bag has no upper lid, the top has a rugged, rubberized handle and three rubber-protected outlets from the main compartment, two on the sides, for antennas, and one in the middle for the hose of the hydration system.
Left and right of the handle are two straps connecting to the lid to secure the main compartment and
take strain off the zipper.
Over every side lays another strap connecting to a buckle on the side of the front to get a degree of compression and to fix items to the side of the bag, e.g. insulation mats, jackets, walking sticks or AT-rockets of course.
INNER APPEARANCE
The 40 liters are partitioned between the main compartment, which opens all the way to the bottom, and two pouches on front.
The main compartment contains a big inner panel, which is adjustably fixed to the back wall. You can fix all the stuff you want to have close to your back there, a hydration system has room, too.
With the provided D-rings and a velcro strap you can hang equipment in there.
On its outer side the panel is covered in 5 rows à 7 loops mollewebbing to partition the inner room individually and modular with mollepouches, as its known from Eberlestock.
However, on each inner side the bag already provides us with small, velcro-closed, sewn-in pouches.
These are significantly lighter than mollepouches and fold together when not in use, so they almost don’t take room at all.
This is completed with a row of rubberband in 4 loops over the pouches on each side and a big zipper-closed inner pouch on the inside of the lid.
The upper of the outer pouches contains 2 rows of rubberband in 7 loops and a big net-pouch that covers the total of the inner side of the lid, together with two D-rings and a mini-carabiner.
The lower of the outer pouches contains 2 of the folding, sewn-in pouches, 2 rows of rubberband in 2 broader loops. The inner side of the lid is also covered with a net-pouch, that is identical to the one in the upper pouch, except its a little larger.
CARRYING SYSTEM
Now to the gem of this bagpack, the carrying system. The X Vent-Zero Plus System mainly consists of a supporting structure in frame shape and 4 fibreglass rods, 2 long ones, crossed over the back, and 2 smaller ones connecting to the hip-belt.
The supporting structure is clamped in and rests under an adjustable tension. This tension generates a gap between the plate in the back of the bag and the back of the carrier.
The supporting structure is touching the back only at the sides in a frame-shape and the gap provides an enourmous ventilation area all over the back.
Best of all, from all the way back for most generous airflow, to next to the body for minimal leverage and most comfortable load-carrying, you can adjust the size of the gap by adjusting the tension of the frame through the straps. In practice this means altering one tab per side, no effort.
The hip-belt transfers the weight to the hip very well, although you can see it is not made for hauling very big loads far above the 30kg mark. The bag is capable of that, but the hip-belt is rather small for this task, so its possible, but becomes less the fun.
One small design-related flaw is that it is not possible to lay the hip-belt all the way back or remove it completely, so carrying the Bug Out Pack together with e.g. a battlebelt might make a little adaptation necessary.
If you are having issues with your back, note that due to the frame-shaped structure your back has almost no contact to the bagpack in the whole middle part. This is of course the case for all bagpacks featuring the X Vent-Zero Plus System.
MATERIAL AND WORKMANSHIP
The main material of this bag is 700den Cordura, which is a good tradeoff between durability and weight.
Cordura is an extra strong polyamid-webbing, which is also used in motorbiking apparel, so abrasion and tear-resistancy is no issue.
The zippers are extra big and sturdy spiral-zippers, the tester was not able to tear them in two again. Speaking of the sewing and the seams is almost unnecessary with Tasmanian Tiger products. The seams are generous, strong and flawless.
DETAILS
A prepacked Bug Out Bag has to be as versatile as all the situations you can get into with it, since you can’t count on having the time to repack.
You don’t want to outrun anything or anybody or wade through deep mud with a big and heavy bagpack as well as you don’t want to sit in the cold and rain without cold- and raingear because your bag was light, but you missed important equipment.
What you have with you is always a tradeoff, but it begins even earlier, because your bag, too, is a tradeoff.
For the use as a Bug Out Bag the TT Bug Out Pack has made a solid compromise between two classes of bagpacks, with the success of having a bag, that comes as close to a one-in-all as you can get.
The 40 Liters can reasonably be packed with the most important equipment to anything between just a bunch and up to 30 Kilograms, eventhough the bag is capable of carrying more. Through its partition it is easy to outfit it in a way you have the tools you need regularly easily available.
The abandonment of side pockets makes the pack smaller than its carrier, so he is more agile and doesn’t get caught at edges or in brush so easily.
Everyone with the desire for more room, can outfit the pack with additional pouches without a problem. If you attach the Tac Pouch 8 from Tasmanian Tiger, you get full-value sidepockets again.
The provided sewn-in pouches on the inside are a very nice detail-solution. Mollepouches all over the inside may be more versatile, but these nylonpockets are lightweight and reduce themselves to almost nothing when not in use.
Another elaborate design solution is provided with the two top straps. Not only you can take load off the zipper or fix objects on top of the bag. If you open the zippers partially and direct the straps through the cordloops at the zipper, you create a stable opening on the top of the bag, suitable of transporting long objects. Tripod, long gun, sledgehammer, katana.
The Tasmanian Tiger Bug Out Pack as a whole is a rock solid, unfussy bagpack for a multitude of applications. It has neither special powers, extra solutions or connection slots for the unicorn-launcher nor is it fully water- or flameproof, it is simple and it simply does what it has to. It contains everything you need and nothing you don’t.
CONCLUSION
The Tasmanian Tiger Bug Out Pack is a very versatile, middle-sized military-allrounder in the upper field of the lower price range, with an extraordinary carrying system. It is perfect for the use as a Bug Out Bag, but nonetheless usable as a touring bag without any problems.
Furthermore it may be the solution for everyone who wishes for a really big assault pack, or a really light (not UL) and compact trekkingbag.
A useful addition is the Tasmanian Tiger Tac Pouch 8 as a sidepocket, if you feel the need for more room.
Pros:
- Rock solid, down-to-earth backpack
- Versatile
- Durable
- Very good carrying system
- Very good tradeoff for some fields of use
Cons:
- Hip-belt can’t be bend back totally/removed
- No camouflage patterns available
The Tasmanian Tiger Bug Out Pack is available at the Tasmanian Tiger Onlineshop or at dealers all around the world. Please check dealer list on the Tasmanian Tiger website.
