My cheapo range bag finally gave up the ghost about a week ago and Father’s Day is just around the corner. My solution, the Vertx A-Range Bag. Purchased from US Elite Gear on sale (with a free Arcteryx BAC hat by coupon) this thing was still a relatively expensive bag. I compared a bunch of bags but kept coming back to this one. I got the last one for about $30-40 and it did all right but I was looking for a little more space and better construction. Some bags were just huge (5.11s larger bag), others appeared to be of the same quality construction as my old bag.
I went with the gray version (because hey, that’s the cool color right now!) It’s lined with a tan fabric. It makes things very easy to see inside and it’s darker than how I envisioned it through photos and YouTube videos.
After unboxing, I found that the construction and materials were really nice. A hangtag noted the Cordura materials used to build the bag. Its exterior design makes it appear like a regular backpack that you’d see in an upscale area. It would have been easy for them to just sew some fabric together and say, “here, a range bag” because most of us just need a bag to haul junk from the car to the bench. But this is definitely a pretty bag. The zippers run real smooth (that was the final breaking point on my old bag). The shoulder strap is nice and you can change the way it orients because there are 4 attachment points on the top of the bag (they use a top left, bottom right or bottom left top right pattern).
The main selling point as I saw it was the tiered or “garaged” storage system with the ammo trays underneath and accessible independently of the top loading main storage area. The top was a bit smaller than I figured it would be (could be a smidge deeper and the expense of the ammo caddies. You’ll see why later). I still managed to get all my stuff in there though, albeit in a considered fashion. Soft Velcro lines one side and two mesh pockets line the other.
The easier side pocket to describe is the vertically opening “back” pocket. It opens across the top and that’s it. Its lined with the soft part of Velcro (I can never remember if that’s hook or loop). Add your pouches here. Its meant to be the handgun storage area I think. Sure. If you spend the $30 each on their “tactigami” Velcro wrap holsters. I just put them in the holsters I’m going to be using at the range and put them in the top pocket. Even at the price I paid for the bag on sale, I think putting 1 or 2 of them in there, as standard equipment wouldn’t be asking too much. The pocket will hold 6 AR magazines almost exactly. You can also put a standard manila folder in there to keep you standard paper size targets in there without worrying about crush or warping them. Handy.
There are really no side compartments as it were. It’s got cable ties to fasten the bag to a solid object or to use a grab/carrying handles.
The front compartment. Here’s where you get your access to the ammo trays and two zippered mesh pockets. This is the side that should be facing you at your work/shooting station. This pocket unzips on three sides so it lies out as a tray. It’s also covered in the soft Velcro.
I pulled the ammo trays out and started loading them up to check their capacity. I stopped at 350 rounds of .40 S&W. It was about half full and I didn’t feel like emptying that many more boxes from my stash. Its also more than my usual range session. I took the second one and dumped 90 rounds of M855 in. It barely made a dent. Again, I didn’t feel like emptying dozens of boxes. I’d say several hundred could fit easily. If you’re into (or required to) carrying boxed ammo to the range, I put 4 boxes of American Eagle .40 into one tray. You could probably stack one or two across the top but the packaging eats up space in a hurry. They trays have mesh bag that comes out show you can shake dirt and debris from the bag after you’ve used it to collect brass. I shoot at an indoor range and mostly .40 and don’t reload so my brass stays at the range. Since I don’t reload if this helps keep my yearly fees at the range down, so be it.
Being that I certainly preload magazines before going to the range to save time and maximize shooting, I think I’m going to dump one of the trays. I took one out and put my HSGI leg rig in its place. It fits pretty well. It does however make the bag off balance since one side has a few pounds of ammo only off set by a few ounces of nylon. The bag comes with a pistol magazine carrier that holds six magazines. Well six thick Glock-style magazines. I double up mags for my Kahr PM9 in one pouch. You can double up 1911 GI-style magazines. It may help to have the magazine loaded to use the round time to assist in shoving it in the pocket. If you have a base plate that extends wider than the magian itself, I don’t think you’ll be able to double them up. It is very much like a wallet. It just holds mags. It doesn’t fasten to anything so make sure you 1. Don’t leave it at home or 2. Leave it at the range. You cant buy another pouch I don’t think and you’ll be out 6 mags.
Going back to the Tactigami…Vertx is asking $30 for a holster and $20-25 for a mag pouch. That’s really expensive considering how spendy the bag was to begin with. Milspec Monkey is offering what looks like very similar products for $10-12 if you really want to add wrap-like pouches. MSM also offers some “inserts which are tradition pockets with a Velcro backing at $11-12.
