Thursday, February 18, 2010

Tactical Tailor Zipper Utility Pouch Overview

This is an overview of the TT Zipper Utility Pouch.  It's not a full review because I haven't really used the pouch, but since the info on TT's website is pretty sparse I thought it might be helpful to provide some detailed photos and descriptions.

By the way I should add that the pouch I photographed is a little used so if you see anything that doesn't look entirely new that's not the fault of Tactical Tailor.

The Basics

Dimensions: 7" tall x 5" wide x 4" deep (main compartment); 5" tall x 3" wide x 1" deep (front pocket) 
Weight: 7 oz. with MALICE clips 
Retention of contents: Zipper (main compartment); Vecro flap (front pocket)
Attachment: 2x long MALICE clips (included)
PALS usage: 4 channels wide
TT website description: The Zipper Utility Pouch is designed to hold medical supplies (500ml IV bag, 2 rolls of Kerlix starter kits, ace wrap, etc.) but it is also large enough to hold a 1 quart GI canteen or Nalgene bottle. This pouch is also the perfect size to hold the US military issue Lightweight Handheld Mortar Ballistic Computer(LHMBC). Features include elastic loops on the inside to help keep the contents secure, a small external pouch for extra storage and dual zipper pulls.
Price at time of this writing: US$32.00
Available colors at time of this writing: Coyote Brown, Olive Drab, Black, Multicam, ACU, Ranger Green, MARPAT Desert
Web page: http://www.tacticaltailor.com/zipperutilitypouch.aspx

Pouch Central Overview

The Zipper Utility is a medium sized pouch with a zipper closure for the main compartment and a small pocket on the front with a Velcro flap closure.  The pouch is attached to your gear via two long MALICE clips, which are included with the pouch.


Click images for full-size views

TT also offers an identically-sized pouch with PALS webbing on the front instead of the pocket, called the Modular Zipper Utility (you can see it here).

The pouch is made of 1000 denier Cordura nylon that's coated with a water repellent.  The interior is a black vinyl-coated polyester that improves durability and also provides some slickness to aid in removing items from the pouch.  There are elastic loops on both sides.  There's a single loop on the outer surface (away from your body) while the loop on the inner surface is tacked in the center to create two separate loops.  The pouch has a drainage grommet at the bottom.

Left: Vinyl coating for durability and slickness
Right: Bottom of pouch with drainage grommet

Left: Double loop
Right: Single loop

The zippers are heavy duty and feature cord pulls with plastic keepers on the end.  Compared to conventional metal zipper pull tabs, the cord pulls are quieter and much easier to grab quickly.  Because the cord is significantly longer than a metal tab, and the knob formed by the plastic keeper provides something to grab onto, these pull tabs are significantly easier to manipulate with gloves on.


Left: Top of pouch
Right: Zipper pull detail 

To provide a sense of size using a common item as a reference, I loaded the pouch up with magazines.  I was able to get five USGI magazines with the old-style Magpuls in easily.  If you're using Ranger Plates instead of Magpuls you can squeeze six in there.  It will also hold a 32 oz. Nalgene bottle with room to spare.  The Nalgene bottle is exactly the right size to fit into the larger elastic loop.  The front pocket is 5"x3"x1" and the Velcro flap makes the contents easily accessible.  I used a magazine to provide a sense of the size although the pocket was obviously not meant for that purpose.



At the time of this writing the Zipper Utility is offered in Coyote Brown, Olive Drab, Black, Multicam, ACU, Ranger Green and MARPAT Desert, but check the product page for the current color selection.  The pouch pictured here is the older Tan color, which has been replaced by the slightly darker Coyote Brown.

No comments:

Post a Comment