Military Luggage Company
I found out about Military Luggage Company through Grunt Style. If you follow me on social media, you probably already know that I am a huge fan of Grunt Style and their products. The flyer for Military Luggage Company caught my attention because they specialize in bug out bags and other similar military and prepper-related bags and products.
I am a big fan of veteran owned companies as well as patriot owned companies that support our troops and everything they do. Having those kind of job opportunities can be a huge factor in decreasing veteran suicide, which is an issue very near and dear to my heart. Military Luggage Company is a patriot owned company, that supports the military and veterans.
Given that I am working on putting together bug out bags for Nathan and me, I wanted to learn more about this company and the products they offer. Their collaboration with Grunt Style and stance on the military and veterans made me even more interested.
Stay tuned for my post about how I put my bags together and everything I’ve included in them. That will be coming soon. For this post, I am just talking about my experience with the bag itself and Military Luggage Company.
I was sent two bags from them, that I was able to pick out free of charge. Note, this does not affect my opinion of these bags. In fact, it was specifically requested/stipulated in my correspondence with Military Luggage Company that they want both the good and bad points that I found with their products. They want my honesty and not just sunshine and smoke. This is something I absolutely respect from a company. I’ve read enough product reviews in blogs to know when they are scripted and feel forced. I didn’t want to be that, and my readers don’t deserve that either.
The bags that I picked out were the ABU Bugout Bag by S.O.C. and the Black S.O.C. Bugout Bag. The ABU bag retails at $109.95, and the black bag at $99.95. The reason I picked very two different colored bags is for organization.
If Nathan and I are running out the door in an emergency and grabbing bags, there’s probably going to be some panic all the way around. No matter how prepared we are. If we get separated for some reason, it is easy to tell what bag belongs to each of us. Because I’m here to tell you, if we ended up with the wrong bag, we’re not going very far!
My first thought when I took them out of the box was that they looked like a very basic backpack with a ton of buckles. I wasn’t entirely sure if I needed a college degree to figure out what all the buckles were for either. The buckles made it all seem very complicated once I opened the package.
The great thing is I didn’t have this opinion for long. Once I got into the bag and really started exploring the pockets and features, it was easy to see how everything worked. I was impressed, to say the least. It is not just a basic backpack. It can be used as that and it also expands to give a ton of room.
I can easily see using this as a really comfortable backpack for a college student, to carry books in. I say this because of the weight distribution capabilities and how padded the straps are. A versatile bag is important to me, and seeing other potential uses for them.
With all the buckles and straps, there will be a lot of adjusting to get it to fit correctly for each person. When I say a lot, it is an exercise in patience! I recommend having someone help you. For me, I put mine on and then Nathan adjusted each strap to where it was comfortable for me. It took a little bit, and I know as we fill them with our gear, it will likely have to adjusted again for maximum comfort. Be warned that if you don’t have a ton of patience, you’ll want help with the adjustment portion.
Nathan’s first comment was that it would be the perfect bag to take camping and store all of our gear in them. Yep, I second that opinion. He noticed the shoulder straps and how padded they were, plus the buckles meant to help carry and distribute extra weight. Nathan made several comments about how much weight could be put in this bag before it became uncomfortable.
When going through the bags, I simply handed one to Nathan and let him go exploring while I listened to his thoughts. Nathan was surprisingly impressed with the bag as well. Normally he kind of smiles and nods when I show him some new prepper gear that I’ve picked up. This bag got him excited, and that alone impressed me.
When I was looking at my shipping order online, it said twelve pounds and a few ounces as the shipment weight. That told me the bags were right at six pounds each. They are officially 5.5 pounds, according to the tags. My chief concern was weight, knowing six pounds were already gone to just the bag. Once I figured out all the functions and capabilities, I’m not nearly as concerned about weight now. One less stress when putting my bags together makes me very happy!
Both bags also expand and double as a duffel bag, having a different strap to carry it that way. My chief complaint with this feature is the strap. It is well-made and adjustable, but there is no shoulder pad. With how padded the regular straps are, I would expect this one to have some sort of similar padding. I haven’t tried to carry it this way, but that was my thoughts on it.
Shipping was fast and free. Shipping is free on every single order, and I love that. My order arrived 7 days after I received the confirmation from Military Luggage Company, and this was coming from the opposite side of the country. There is also a lifetime warranty on the S.O.C. bags that I picked out.
Tigger photobombed my pictures of the bags. I guess he’s now in charge of quality control. Side note, Tigger loves the box that the bags came in. When the wife and cat are happy, the entire house is too! Tigger wanting to be involved in opening the box with Nathan and me certainly gave us a great laugh. Click here to read about Tigger’s bug out bag too.
Even without paying any money for these products, I really do recommend them. Especially after getting to see and touch them and learn more about how they work. I looked at their prices and would be initially hesitant to pay that much, especially since I needed two bags. But that is really because I wasn’t sure what I was getting.
Now that I’ve seen what Military Luggage Company has to offer, I will be a repeat paying customer for life. I don’t think the bags are expensive for the quality that comes with them. I will gladly pay for these.
In the near future I fully plan on adding bags for our cars and keeping a set for camping, as Nathan had suggested. I can honestly say this is now my go-to company for bags. If ever I have questions about specifics, I can email their customer service as well and they will help to make sure I am getting the right bag for my needs. I definitely recommend Military Luggage Company!
Have you had any experience with Military Luggage Company and their products? Tell me about it in the comments!
Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Military Luggage Company for me to review free of charge. However no other compensation was provided. My honest opinions are used in all reviews and are solely my own. My reviews are posted for my readers in order to help make informed decisions before purchasing. I firmly believe in honesty and transparency, which is why my readers need to know this information. I also do not take product reviews lightly or review just anything. There needs to be a value for my readers that I can see before I will talk about it in my blog.
28 Comments
Emily Adams
These look like great quality bags and I love that shipping is free as well. Tigger is adorable!
Donna
This looks like a decent company , Erica! Great range of products too, decent prices eh? 🙂
Hannah
My husband and I have been wanting to check out these bags for a while, so glad you covered them! You gave so much awesome feedback, and let me just say- Tigger made the entire thing even more tempting!
The Prepping Wife
They are great bags, Hannah! If you do buy them, I would love to hear your thoughts on them. Please feel free to come back and share with me.
Molly @ Transatlantic Notes
These do seem really great for camping and by using a few you could probably have most of your stuff easily packed away, etc. Fab info and company!
Chloé Arnold
I love how flat these bags get! We are going on a boat cruise and the rooms are going to be so small. These bags could be incredibly useful!
Scott J DeNicola
I’ve seen the camo bag online (not sure if it was this company or not) and have almost bought it numerous times. It looks so roomy like it can hold a ton of stuff. I was considering it for a carry on bag for when I fly. I’m thinking it woudl also work great a sjust an overnight bag in a pinch. The quality looks to be excpetional which you don’t always find in the backpacks that are out there. I will be gettign one now for sure after this review.
The Prepping Wife
I hadn’t thought of this being a carry-on bag, Scott! But you are absolutely right that they would be perfect for that. Great suggestion! Once you pick one of these bags up, please come back and let me know what you think of it.
Kaye
Ah, I love this review. Mil gear is my favorite stuff to buy when I can. I have only one (cheap) bugout bag and it needs to be upgraded to either one of these.
Carol
I hadn’t heard of this company. Love what they stand for. Just checked out their website and they state “We supply gear that can stand up to anything…except Chuck Norris.” Awesome!!
Quin Cl
These are really cool bags, and they have a fair price for such a nice bag. Even the cat loves it too. 🙂
Joyce Osiango
Looks like a really good quality bag, good for a short trip. I think I like the black one more.
earthtoconnie
These bags look perfect to take on a long hike or a weekend camping trip. The fact that they are military must mean that they are durable!
Lindsay Brown
Those look like awesome bags! I love how thorough your post about this product is. I love bags of all types and am sort of a collector, which is kind of ridiculous becasue I don’t really go anywhere lol But these bags look heavy duty and sturdy which would work great for an emergency bag as well as you mentioned for camping! I think about once my kiddos get into high school and are carrying around heavy books too, it looks as though they have a lo of support in the shoulder straps. Great post, I will have to keep this company in mind!
The Prepping Wife
These will be great bags for the kiddos! I so wish I had one of these when I was that age because those books get heavy! Which is horrible for still-growing bodies to try and handle.
Lyosha
Military backpacks are the best! I deeply love them and I do hiking or backpacking only with military backpack with me. It is the only sure way to stay comfortable.
Dan Udale
I don’t usually like product reviews but I really enjoyed your review of these Military style bags. It goes towards a great cause like you say but what was a breath of fresh air was how much detail you put into reviewing the product, you took care and attention and it shows 🙂 Loved the Tigger photobombs too 🙂 great work Erica!
The Prepping Wife
Thank you, Dan! I’m not big on product reviews either. They always seem scripted and forced to me when I read them. So I find I tend to run away from them. But this one I really enjoyed, and I think it brings a great value to my readers because I’m giving the opportunity to not only let them know about a great company and product, but I’ll be doing another post about bug out bags and what mine have in them. Any opportunity to help people is a great one, in my opinion!
Tracy C
These bags do look very sturdy, and I love that they have a lifetime warranty. The lower back strap and shoulder straps seem like they’d do well helping to distribute weight. And honestly, the price doesn’t seem outrageous for the quality of bag that you are getting. I’ve purchased larger packs for my boys to use for scouting (two Eagle Scouts), and this looks like it would work for a shorter trip. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but are there side pockets for water bottles?
The Prepping Wife
I definitely agree that the price is great for the quality of the bag, Tracy! I double checked the bag and I’m not seeing any pockets on the side. What I *think* you’re seeing is the added material where it expands to become bigger and hold more inside. I will need to update my photos once I fill the bags up, so everyone can see just how much they expand.
Snehal
My brother is a huge fan of military print items. I think he’ll really love a military bag gifted this Raakhi! 🙂 These also seem to be of great quality!
Subhashish Roy
I have always been fascinated by army and the army green since my childhood. These trendy products reminded me of those days. Wish you the best in promoting this wonderful range.
Alexandra
I’ve never even heard of the Military Luggage Company but I’m with you. I would love to purchase items from a company that supports our veterans. I also love the look of the bags. It makes me want to go hiking again! I think I will have to check out their site to see if they have smaller sizes for kids!
Ashleigh
I love this! I too am a HUGE FAN of buying from veteran owned companies as I come from a military family. These bags look awesome, definitely looking into them when it’s time to upgrade my husband and I’s backpacks for bike riding
❤️ Ash
Debra Roberts
My military sons would LOVE these! (not that they don’t have enough issued camo bags) but they truly do look like would hold up forever!
Jess
Love these bag! Is look good quality and nice design. Good review x
Jess
Nyxie
Both you and Nathan have done an excellent job modeling these, and Tigger even got a box! Wining all around! In all seriousness, these bags look class. My father, an ex-soldier who collects old military stuff, new stuff, buys and sells and even manages a group of young cadets, would really approve.
Nadine
I really liked your review of this product. I like that you shared what you were thinking of it at that very.