SOTech Go Bag

From talking to folks in the know, I gather this pack started life as a GAP bag. Someone in a USAF CSAR unit liked the overall size and shape of it, found that it fit perfectly beneath the seat of a helicopter. Good for an escape and evasion scenario. Chopper gets shot down or goes down with mechanical problems, grab the bag with important stuff and start running back to friendly lines. The only problem was that the GAP bag came in stupid colours and was made to very inexacting standards. Someone took it to S.O.Tech who made some modifications and built it to a higher standard in military friendly colours.

SciFi geeks and/or pack geeks (at times interchangeable) might recognize it as the bag carried by the USAF SOF guys in Transformers.

Rather than the usual backpack straps, this has just a single sling. At the bottom is a quick ditch side release buckle. It can also be worn as a belt, with the pack part at the back. I tried it and wasn’t so fond of that carry mode.

On both sides are two blocks of three rows of PALS.

And on the face of the pack are three zippered pockets.

The opening to access the main pack are two zippers along the back. They’re connected by a handle that allows both to be opened at once. The main compartment measures 51 cm (20") x 20¼ cm (8") x 20¼ cm (8"). (SOTech also has an extended version of this bag, big enough to hold an M-4 with a barrel of less than 17½", broken down into upper and lower components. Instead of the three outer pockets, it only has two larger pockets.)

There’s a sleeve in the back for a hydration bladder. I found it impossible to fit a 3 liter CamelBak bladder in there, whether it was ¾, ½ or ¼ full. I’m not about to put an empty one in there and then try to fill it with water. I suppose some brand or size of bladder might fit, but I reckon it’s too small.  Given where the “real” users of this product are located, I think 3 liters of water is a reasonable quantity.

The 3 external pockets measure 14 cm (5½") x 12½ cm (5") x 7½ cm (3"). I replaced the zipper pulls with coloured sinnets and added a square of 4" Velcro for patches. The two pouches are an HSGI Nalgene Pouch and a Maxpedition FR-1 First Aid Pouch.

Left side.

Right side.
In the two above photos you can see some sinnets that act as zipper pulls for 2 slot pockets that run along the sides. Each slot pocket is divided in two making for 4 pockets for small items or documents.

Besides a carry/grab handle on the top, there is also an additional folded and Velcroed down carry/grab handle. The main compartment and smaller pockets have drain holes.


It’s kind of a neat bag, but I wasn’t super keen on it. I really didn’t like how the sling carried, specifically when I was running. I already mentioned the hydration sleeve which I though was too tight. And (I feel a bit sacrilegious saying this) I wasn’t thrilled about the quality of it. I had always heard about how great SOTech’s stuff was, but compared to most of the other stuff I have, it was a bit underwhelming. The zippers worry me. It almost left me wondering if I hadn’t received a Chinese airsoft knockoff.

I don’t know if you can tell from these pictures (that’s the problem with black bags - they don’t photograph well) but the PALS channels are pretty wonky. They don’t line up well, the spacing is all over the place. In one spot I can just barely get a Malice Clip in there.

I had a couple of pouches mounted on the front of the sling, and at one point I noticed some frayed webbing. Right away I suspected it must be my sewing. Nope, my hand sewing was just fine. Some of the PALS webbing had come loose from under the seam tape. It was like the end hadn’t been burnt and it frayed to the point that it came loose. I was going to send it to them to fix, but figured that was too much of a hassle. I’ll fix it myself.

And then sell it.

The overall shape of this bag, scaled down a bit, with two straps rather than the sling, sans the PALS on the sides and the three pockets on the front, was partially the inspiration for the EscapePod though.

Maxpedition FR-1 First Aid Pouch

The Maxpedition FR-1 is one of two medium/second line first aid pouches I have. (The other being the Emdom B.O.M.B.)

The pouch as I have it, with additions and revisions

But let’s have a look at the interior first.

The front. A zippered compartment and a double 2" layer of elastic divided into 2 3" channels. One obvious and simple change I made was an orange fob to replace the zipper pull.

The back. A mesh compartment, a 6" wide 1" elastic band with one right on top of that divided into two 3" channels, a single 6" wide 2" band with a single 1" band atop it divided into 3 2" channels. At the top is a loop to tie a roll of tape into.

The other four sides. The bottom of the pouch features a drain hole. The dimensions of the pouch are 17½ cm (7") x 12½ cm (5") x 7½ cm (3").

The interior with the supplies.

Another change I made to it was the hold open cords. Originally it was a loop with a cord lock. It allowed the pouch to be opened to whatever setting the user wanted. Flopped all the way down, opened just a bit, whatever. I found it a little too fiddly and knew that I just wanted it to open about 90°. Cut two pieces of 550 cord to the right length, knots in the ends, and presto. If I decide that I do actually want it back to the way it was, no big deal. Grab a length of cord, a cord lock and set it up the way it was. But this works to my liking.

One of the modifications/additions I made is a system to secure the crash shears in behind the pouch.

One of the changes necessary was that the PALS was originally two channels wide, as evidenced by the bottom two rows. I wanted three channels. I would have liked to do the bottom as well, but the way the pouch was laid out, made getting down into the bottom to sew very difficult. I left it at just the top two rows. Which works just fine. A piece of ½ inch webbing is woven between the webbing.

To complete it, I added a fur coat closure system. (They’re called “fur clips” (pelzhaken in German). Prym makes it, and the product code for it in black is 416502, although it is also available in brown and beige.) The ring was sewn between the two ends of the ½" webbing, and the metal clasp was sewn to the top of the pouch. Works beautifully. Easy to flip open, even with gloves on. Getting the shears back in, the webbing and eyelet through the handles and closed again is smooth and hassle free. 

Something else I altered was a carry handle that sat on the top. (Check the link at the top to the manufacturers website to see what I mean.) There were also two D-rings associated with this carry handle. I knew I was never going to want to carry it by hand or on a shoulder strap, so I just removed it.

The crash shears can also be put in the PALS webbing on the side.

One other addition are the red zipper pulls, to help identify it as a medical kit. The front also featured some shock cord and a cord lock above the PALS webbing. Not sure what I could really do with it. I suspect the thinking behind it might be a tourniquet is meant to go there. I took it off. There is a pass through behind the velcro, that Maxpedition calls a Torch-Cave. If you have it mounted on the side of a belt, you could clip a flashlight there, and have it point forward. I don’t know...clever, but I can’t see myself ever using it.

On the front I have an old LC-1 compass pouch that I put PALS on the back of, that holds 5 pairs of nitrile gloves. I think of making another pouch to hold gloves, but wider (wide enough to cover the whole front) and flatter. Or alternately another pouch roughly about the same size to hold a 4" Israeli dressing.

Here I have it mounted on a S.O.Tech Go-Bag.

And this is what I have in it:

1. Crash Shears
2. Biohazard Bag
3. WaterJel 10 cm x 40 cm (4" x 16") Burn Dressing
4. 3"x3" gauze
5. QuickClot (the older granulated formula, not made any more)
6. Finger Dressings
7. Tensor Bandage
8. Pill Pack
9. H&H Primed Gauze
10. Abdominal Pad
11. Iodine Ointment
12. Benzalkonium Chloride Pad
13. Iodine Prep Pad
14. Insect Sting Relief Pad
15. Alcohol Pad
16. 10 cm (4") Gauze 
17. SAM Finger Splint
18. Blister Pads
19. Irrigation Syringe
20. Triangular bandage
21. 5 cm x 5 cm (2" x 2") Pressure Dressing
22. Knuckle Bandages
23. More 3" Gauze Pads
24. Transpor Tape
25. Tourniquet
26. Finger Cots
27. Ocular Pad
28. Laerdahl Face Shield
29. Fingertip Bandages

And a larger, unlabeled version if anyone wants a closer look at anything.

Great pouch, very well thought out and very well made. Admittedly I made a few changes/additions to it, but they in no way take away from the stock pouch. Of the two I have, I think I prefer the Emdom B.O.M.B. a little more, but only just. Anyone looking for a first aid pouch, something more substantial than a booboo kit, would be very well served by this.