Offbeat: EAG Dump Pouch

Less than ten years ago, the dump pouch was seldom seen outside a few small communities of users. But with the onset of regular combat in 2003, the utility of a non-dedicated pouch was quickly recognized and spread throughout the combat arms professions.

Empty M249 SAW pouches, NOD pouches, extra canteen cases and other readily available pouches were pressed into service until purpose-designed dump pouches were readily available and well marketed. Over the last few years, the market has basically settled around two types of dump pouch: one that folds/rolls away when not needed, and another that remains fixed to the belt and is held open by a wire hoop to readily receive spent mags or other items.

I have used both types and each has issues.

The wire hoop models tend to be overly large and allow mags to fall to the bottom and turn sideways, there serving as ballast and carrying weight like a carriage horse’s manure bag. The wire hoop does its mission almost too well, and the pouch ends up full of everyone else’s spent brass in training, or your buddies’ lunch wrappers if you are not paying attention.

The roll-up pouches are expedient, handy, but often not large enough to accommodate everything a shooter tries to stuff into them during serious training. This results in awkward attempts to cram mags into the opening, followed by the loss of same when the activity level ramps up.

At a recent EAG Tactical Carbine Class, I noticed Pat Rogers was using a new pouch. I was interested in the design and picked one up. The fact that Pat thought highly enough of the design to have his logo embroidered onto it and carry it as an available item spoke much of its potential, and the pouch lives up to it.

The EAG Pouch was designed by Matt Johnson, a former Force Reconnaissance Marine who has been the designer or involved with the creation of much of the individual armor and equipment in use throughout SOCOM. Matt, now with Crye Precision, spent almost a year tinkering with the construction and layout of the pouch, wanting it to be equally useful in operational and training settings. The amount of thought that went into the pouch translates into a piece of kit that is “just right.”

As a former breacher, Matt made the pouch large enough to accommodate several door charges, but small enough that the pouch carries well and distributes weight properly. The pouch has an ingenious hold-open feature that makes for a repeatable and easy insert of spent mags or hastily recovered items, but collapses down when not needed or is altogether removeable if not wanted.

Matt designed the pouch to roll up and be less obtrusive until needed, but one pull of the Velcro® and the pouch rolls back to the ready and the shooter can start stuffing it with whatever the situation demands.

The EAG Pouch attaches to the belt or armor cummerbund via three MOLLE-compatible wrap-around loops with one-way snaps. The area underneath the loops is nicely reinforced and is one of the reasons why this pouch carries moderate weight so well. The loops encircle (approximately) two-inch-wide belts.

The bag is trapezoid shaped, orienting rifle magazines generally upward and not allowing them to sink to the bottom and turn. Should a shooter need to go back to the pouch to start working off of partial magazines, they will be upright and presented easily to the grasp.

One of the most interesting features of the EAG Pouch is the collapsible hold open. This is accomplished by two opposing Kydex® tabs. Each snaps into an opposing side of the pouch and crosses in the front center. As a shooter reaches into the pouch, they spread apart and tend to stay there, providing an adequate opening until intentionally reclosed. The tabs are removable in the event that a shooter needs to fit the pouch into a smaller space on the battle belt in between other items, or simply does not care for them.

A thin nylon collar with draw-cord closure complements the tabs. Depending on a user’s needs, the cord can be drawn tightly to just allow the hand into the interior while keeping everything inside fully within the pouch. In an active scenario when carrying large items that could fall or bounce out, this is a nice fail-safe.

The pouch is manufactured in the U.S. by Crye Precision, perhaps best known for being the inventors of Multi Cam® and makers of some innovative armor systems. The pouch measures roughly ten inches long by eight inches wide (six at the bottom), with the “sidewalls” about three inches at the top and tapering down as well.

The exterior front has two rows of PALS-type elastic webbing. Matt designed these to allow shock tube or initiators to be S Looped through the elastic to keep charges at the ready. The loops could also be used to keep chem lights handy.

The pouch has some interesting features, and handling the American-made product confirms Crye’s obvious pride of manufacture and quality construction, but using it seals the deal. The EAG Pouch does exactly what it is supposed to—carry the things one needs to stow quickly and may need to re-access easily. It distributes weight superbly, retains the orientation of the magazines, and has enough volume to be useful in a wide range of scenarios without being oversized.

In a recent advanced level carbine class, there were four EAG Pouches in use by some experienced military and LE users. Each was enthusiastic about how well it worked. None of these shooters were gear queens, and the enthusiasm about an item as deceptively simple as a pouch is what we call an “indicator.”

The pouch is available in Coyote Brown, Ranger Green and Multi Cam®. Suggested retail is $45.00.

SOURCE:

EAG Tactical
Dept. S.W.A.T.
P.O. Box 3000
Chino Valley, AZ 86323
Fax: (928) 636-6686
www.eagtactical.com