Gear Review: 5ive Star Gear 3 Day GI Pack

Ah, we love our packs here at SGPT. How are you going to do all that rucking with a garbage pack, right? Well 5ive Star Gear GI Spec 3-Day Military Backpack is solid for heavier loadouts, camping trips, or a bug out bag. I tested this bad boy out over a couple hikes, and it help up great. You can see it pictured to the side decked out with a multicam PX Hero medkit. I took a couple 5 mile hikes in my favorite mountain trails with my TRUSPEC Xpedition pants, LOWA Renegades, and GPM Combat Application belt, and all of it, as reported, functioned beautifully.

With this pack, I am very surprised with the load distribution for a pack without a frame. I had between 30-40lbs in sandbags for each hike, and I was perfectly comfortable without cinching the waist belt. With just the straps, this held the load close to the body, and navigated well off trail. Let’s look at the features.

At first glance, you will notice webbing out the yin yang. You can do what I did and clip a medkit on it, or whatever other modular gear you have. It has over 1400 cu inches of space, with two main compartments, as well as a smaller front compartment, where I like to keep maps and radios. It also has MOLLE on the side, and cinch straps, top and bottom, perfect for cinching a rifle, tripod, or other gear, and this can be done on both sides. Moreover, it has a very sturdy drag handle, as well and loops on the bottom to clip a sleep roll or tent with some carabiners. The entire pack can be expanded or compressed with the use of the 1 inch webbing straps, allowing you to pack out wild game in full force, or cinch it down to just the essentials.

The padding on the shoulders is decent, not super cushy, but serviceable, on the straps. I didn’t notice any discomfort with the 30-40lb load I was rucking, but I can’t comment on higher weights.

The pack also has d loops on the straps to allow snaking of a hydration bladder, or the adornment of ranger beads, as I did for my hike. Additionally, even the bottom of the pack has webbing, allowing you to load out with modular pieces, like a shooting mat or other items you may need, depending on your mission, and even comes with 1 inch cinch straps to make it easy. The same can be said of the top of the pack, as there are two other cinches on either side of the drag handle.

As far as storage, you have two MASSIVE internal pockets, with the main compartment being equipped with a partition for a water bladder, and a spot for the tube to snake out. The both internal pockets are spacious but lack drainage grommets. The very front pouch is a bit smaller, flatter, and as stated better suited for a map and small electronics.

The waist belt is well made with decent padding – again, not very cushy, but usable, and I didn’t use it much so I can’t really comment. The pack stays to the body well, but given the price point, does not ride as well as something a little more expensive. That being said, it would suit you well as a camping pack or bugout bag.

If you needed something for a long trek, I’d go with something a bit more specialized.

Pros, what we like:

For the price, it’s a good bug out or hunting pack, allowing you to velcro reflective gear all over, as well as cinch a TON of gear, like a sleep roll, rifle, medkit, and much more. The drag handles or solid and stitched well and the modularity of it is outstanding. You can really build out a good piece of kit for a few days in the woods, or stuff your mission essential gear for a 3 day bugout. You get a lot of option for a little money, and the webbing that comes with it makes it easy to pack alot of gear out of the box. You have ample clips, straps, cinches, and webbing, trust me.

Cons, what we don’t like:

The padding is decent, but not great. Also, the sternum strap is fixed and cannot be moved up or down. The padding on the shoulders and waist, while it didn’t affect me, could be uncomfortable after a while. Also, there are no drainage grommets.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alex Castiglione lives in Atlanta, and is an avid outdoorsman and competitive shooter.

Where-abouts include getting after it in his garage gym, practicing martial arts, hitting the trails, or running CrossFit and Strongman competitions for his non-profit, Barbells for Bullies, which holds fundraiser fitness competitions dedicated to aiding Bully breed rescues, dog rescues, or other non-profits with similar missions.
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