I have to admit I was taken by surprise reading all the 5.11 love here. I don't have an ax to grind. I have several pairs of 5.11 pants I thought were great until I discovered Vertx. With that said, 5.11 seems to be universally hated for one reason or another in various gun forums. After reading the 5.11 bag thread I watched their video on the Rush system and it seemed quite impressive and well thought out. I don't understand where all the bad mouthing comes from. Maybe mall ninja's in 5.11's? So are they about the best organization out of the box?
I don't know about other companies' organization, but I do know that the 2 5.11 bags I own have not had the easiest lives and they both still look brand new. I think it would be tough to beat the quality... And the organization has been fine for my needs...
I've heard that the bad opinions on the gun forums was a result of 5.11 moving their production off shore. I don't like it either, but it's getting very difficult to find ANYTHING made here anymore. Other than that, I like my Rush bags.
I recently moved out of my Rush 12 into a Kifaru Urban Zippy for work EDC. The main thing I noticed right from the get go was how much I miss the built in organization of the Rush 12. If you have lots of small stuff, the Rush series of packs are hard to beat on organization.
5.11 has a great reputation in my job field (Fire and EMS) in my area at least. To answer your question, yes they have outstanding organization. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I used the 5.11 Rush 24 for about a year. I do have to say the Rush series seems to have a lot of organization for small things that I haven't found in most of the other packs I have used.
The problem is the cost of labor. A lot of people are just looking at price forcing manufacture overseas. The people that will pay more to keep Americans employed seem to be the minority.
I know it's just aesthetics, but not really a fan of that seam that runs up the center of the 5.11 bags. I messed with a few at a local store and I didn't get the "I really really want one" vibe but they seemed like good bags, the organization was alright and they're definitely popular for good reason. I do like the organization on the Sitka / Falcon II and Trident 20 especially. The upper pocket on the outside is just perfect for all kinds of small stuff and you don't have to dig around.
I'll second the Trident 20. It has great organization for the small stuff and will let you customize the main area for the big stuff. No complaints here.
I have the Rush 72 and carry a lot of stuff daily.. It has been great for my needs. Never think I'll find the perfect bag for my needs but this has been the closest one I've found so far.
Rush 12 and Rush 24 both have excellent on board organisation out the box, I never found the need to add anything to mine.
