Tuesday 10 February 2009

GEAR REVIEW - Pointman Gear Pouches

I saw a load of these pouches for sale on eBay from ‘pointman9665’, made by POINTMANGEAR.COM. They usually have a few different ones for sale in either British desert or temperate camo, most commonly, double frag, two sizes of utility, assorted grenade pouches and hydration carriers as well as MOLLE vests. Having looked at their website, this is about the entirety of their range. All the items on ebay are all listed as brand new factory seconds, due to slightly untidy stitching, although I can’t find anything wrong with the ones I received.

The two utility pouches are as good as any I’ve seen. Good, useful sizes with the smaller of the two being ideal as a backup mag pouch (although might rattle a bit as there is no elastic retention) easily holding three magazines, possibly four with a squeeze. The larger of the two will hold 5 (possibly 6) mags, canteen and mug plus extras, or something else along those lines. Both are of solid construction, strong straps and poppers on the bag for MOLLE attachment, and both Velcro (with integral optional Velcro blanking flap to reduce noise) and quick release buckle to keep them shut. £5.99 for the large one and £4.99 for the small one (plus shipping, which is combined if buying multiple items) ain’t a bad price either. These retail on their website for £11.99 and £10.99 respectively, again plus shipping.





The Frag pouch is where my only criticism starts. The MOLLE attachment on the double frag pouch is only about two inches wide, which doesn’t allow you to bridge two rows of PALS webbing without squashing it together. I couldn’t get it to fit onto a MOLLE vest and so had to stick it onto my TAG patrol belt, which has both single and double width PALS. The poppers are bloody hard to do up too as the double over at the back, making a sturdy fastening, but also means that it sits under the PALS webbing. This is okay with the larger pouches, where you have more room to manoeuvre, but not with the frag pouch, which would have benefitted from a more conventional fastening. For £4.99 (£10.99 from the website) though, it’s worth the punt, and they do sit nicely as part of my first line.



The other thing worth mentioning here is that because they are seconds, they come directly from the factory, which is in Singapore. It still only takes about five days, but is longer than expected (especially when you don’t read the delivery info like me) and they do mention that you should allow 7-10 days for delivery.

Official retailer Bumpf...

100% FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH THE NEW ISSUE OSPREY BODY ARMOR SYSTEM

PLEASE NOTE: These pouches are a factory seconds that’s why we are selling them cheap. The pouches are in 100% fully working order and the only thing wrong with then is the stitching is not neat and tidy, that’s why we can’t sell them at the full price. These pouches are a bargain and are excellent for personnel that are just getting into Airsoft or Paintballing and would like to keep the budget low.

Fabric & Construction

This pouch is made of waterproof DPM Invista 1000Denier nylon Cordura, the same fabric used in the British army PLCE equipment. This pouch has double layered construction for maximum durability. All stress points are bartacked in place which ensures strength and durability. The pouch edges are held together and finished off using 1 inch edge binding tape. The pouches are stitched using Mil-spec nylon bonded thread ensuring tight, strong, hardwearing seems.

Uses & Configurations

The pouches can be used in many applications and attached to any kind of molle style platform including osprey body armour system, vests, patrol packs, thigh/leg platforms, chest rigs etc… this gear has lots of potential whist on ops. Once you buy the pouches you can swap and change onto any platform into whatever configuration you desire.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: As these pouches are factory seconds they will be sent direct from our factory. Please allow 7-10 days for delivery, please be patient during this period it will arrive. In the unlikely event it doesn’t arrive within this time period please contact me and I will investigate.

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