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Maxpedition Lunada Gearslinger Review
For the past 6+ months I've been using a Lunada Gearslinger as a range bag. After weekly (and sometimes biweekly) range trips to both indoor and outdoor ranges I'm ready to pass along my impressions.
Like all Maxpedition products the Lunada is built like a brick-poop house and appears to be indestructible. The zippers are heavy and self-healing (and all with 550 cord pulls), the stitching is all well done and reinforced in the right spaces and there are pockets galore on this baby. There are 390 cubic inches of room and I'm pretty sure you could stuff a baby cow in the thing.
The Gearslinger line offers backpacks with only one strap which I've always found a bit funky but in general the concept works. If you prefer to sling the strap over one shoulder (like a traditional backpack), you will have to shorten the length of the strap to keep the bag from hanging around your knees. If you want to use the bag as intended (strap on one shoulder, across front of body and bag on other side under arm) there seems to be plenty of length in the carry strap to adjust to all but the most gargantuan of body types.
I keep pouches for a surefire G2, a Gerber Suspention multi-tool and a CRKT Bearclaw knife lashed to the main carry strap and they haven't posed a problem yet. The strap does have many tie down points, retaining bands etc to be able to do this and customize. The drag handle on top of the bag is rock solid and provides the ability to just reach down and grab the bag to toss into a car, etc.
This pack offers the "hidden ccw compartment" like the Jumbo VersaPack but I don't like the design of this one. Its just an open pocket on the back of the bag, unlike the JVP which has a zippered compartment. The hidden pocket doesn't appear to be that hidden and if the bag is dropped your velcro'ed in holster (not provided) better retain your weapon otherwise it can fly out. If you set your bag down somebody walking by can spot your weapon if it's not pushed way down into the pocket.
In the main compartment there are pockets on the front and back side of the compartment with many various sized sub-compartments. The compartments are plentiful and perfect for all the little crap you haul to the range (extra ear plugs, batteries for the red-dots, range badges, cleaning equipment, etc). The main compartment is spacious, however there is a little patch of velcro on the front and back pockets so when the bag is closed they stick together. In other words, when you open the main compartment you have to also separate the front and back internal pockets that are velcro'ed together to get down to the bottom of a bag. A real hassle sometimes if you just want to quickly toss in some mags.
The two front pockets are full of internal sub-divisions and again you could stuff an army in there. Both the front bottom pocket and the side of the bag offer PALS tie down points. I have three different bags attached (Maxpedition FR-1 pouch with trauma kit, Maxpedition large Tactile pocket and generic Condor SAW pouch). I bring this up as both a pro and con of the bag. It's great to be able to attach the extra bags for this, it's not so great that you have to do it to fit all the stuff you need to be a functioning range bag.
When stuffed with guns, mags and occasionally ammo (my range ammo mostly rides loose in a .30cal ammo can) the bag can be quite heavy but it's manageable. Never had to carry it long distances but in general it's comfortable.
Now, I realize I'm using the bag for a purpose it's not best suited for so I'll cut the bag some slack. That said, I find the bag to be a little big for a EDC bag in urban/suburban settings but probably not quite big enough for real hiking needs (unless you travel very light). But if you needed a bag for day hikes with the family, if your EDC gear includes a laptop or some other sort of bulky items or to stuff with specialized gear it's probably a good choice. If you are in a rural setting where a larger EDC bag would come it handy it would work well for that mission also.
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