While visiting the 5.11 Tactical tent during Industry Day and then their booth at the SHOT Show convention center I was drawn to the new 5.11 Dart Pack. The Dart Pack is new in their line for 2017. The 5.11 Dart Pack is designed to be a low-vis backpack that blends in with any urban environment. There is no molle webbing on the exterior like you see with other 5.11 packs or tactical packs made by other companies. Also absent from the exterior of the pack are areas of Velcro for patches. Patches are cool and all, but just having a patch on your pack is a target indicator for the trained eye. The point of this pack is to not draw any unwanted attention to yourself. 5.11 has really done their homework with this pack.

The 5.11 Dart Pack is also designed for off-body concealed carry by incorporating a quick access pocket with Velcro for attaching Velcro mounted holsters and magazine pouches.

Becoming the ‘gray-man’ or as some call being nondescript is a growing trend in the civilian sector. We are seeing that trend bleed over into clothing as well as we see with the new 5.11 Defender Flex Jeans. By combining both the clothing and gear you are able to remain ‘in the shadows’ until you need to react to a threat. With the increase in domestic violence it is all that much more important to be prepared and ready to either engage a threat or pop smoke and create distance between you and the threat. Either way having the right gear and right clothing will increase your survivability in these situations.

We plan on getting our hands on one of these packs to do a more in-depth review of the design, how to load the pack out and how to access the concealed carry compartment. Stay tuned.