maratac extreme (county comm) XL eod bag

[Last Visible Canary]

This sells at county comm for 32$. It's stated as "Aprox. Size: 14" x 11" x 6 ". It has pals webbing on front, bottom and sides with an internally covered drainage grommet on the bottom.

My biggest issue with the bag is stitch quality and floppyness. If this were a maxpedition bag it would be standing straight up in this image, instead it's flopped down. There is not real support given by the canvas so it just kinda rounds out with whatever is in it. I'm not sure what the purpose of the velcro on the top is.

The back comes with 4 Natick Snaps on the back, which I keep tucked in since it's used as a standalone bag.

the shoulder straps are held on by a Plasti-Metallica Hook attached to a metal d ring. I have a blue led from countycom attached to the pull cord.

inside there is a large mesh pocket with a velcro flap closure. The internal fabric is weather proofed, but the outside is untreated.

on the other side is two pockets with velcro pull tab closure. If you look you'll notice on of the major problems with maratac extreme: loose threads. On nearly every single zig zag stitch from the molle webbing they did not end their stitch close to the fabric. I can just see the person stitching it, reaching under and clipping it with a pair of scissors and moving on without even looking at it.

here's another example of just plain site poor design, fit and finish - they used the loos cut end of the 2" webbing to end the handle. This will fray more and get annoying really fast, I haven't burned it closed yet just cause I haven't gotten around to it, but I shouldn't have to, it should have been sewn under.

another poor design element, the drag handle is sewn bottom side instead of top. that means when you grab it your fingers are grabbing the stitched area instead of a smooth flat piece of webbing.

it's kinda hard to see here, you can actually see it better on the picture above, almost every stitch end has a tuft of thread sticking out. All of these could have easily been made flat with a lighter or a drop of crazy glue. it's it's an extra 5 minutes per bag to burn off loose ends, but it would make for a much nicer finish.

loose threads all over the place

 

[Last Visible Canary]

The 2" webbing maratac extreme uses is really floppy feeling. It rolls easily and makes for a less than excellent feeling when grabbing it and putting it over your shoulder. It does not come with a shoulder pad.

But, even with all the little things wrong in the finish department I'm happy with it for what I use it for. The comparable maxpedition bags (operator attache, mpb, Methuselah gear bag) at all 2-4 times as expensive as this bag. For something that lives in my car it's hard to justify an extra 100$ to get the weather proofing and stiffer webbing. I'd muuuuuch prefer them, but now that I've bought this I'm just going to keep using it as is. I use it as an in-the-car medical bag. It's less of an "emergency use" kit as it is a place to store all of my medical gear. Living in an apartment with other people I'm kind of limited in the space I have to store non-everyday use stuff.

On the outside of the bag I have an emergency whistle, a white led and blue led from county comm on a grimlock. inside I have:

center pocket:
-box of non-latex vynil gloves
-91% isopopyl alcohol bottle
-crappy triangle bandage (don't know where to buy better ones)
-cpr mask
-large johnson first aid kit (includes tweezers, survival blanket and other stuff)
-box cutter with extra razors
-suture kit (I've had to do some self-repairs and minor surgeries that made this a worthwhile purchase)

Outside large pocket
-paper medical tape
-small gauze roll
-non-stick gauze pads
-regular gauze pads
-cold steel finn wolf
-safeties (can never be to careful with blood spray and vomit o_0)

Outside small pockets:
-knuckle/finger bandages
-pack of 25 small bandages
-pack of 25 large bandages
-eyedrops (i had lasic and there are nights when I can barely drive because of dry eyes)
-2 lighters
-spray hand sanitizer (from 99c store, I bought like 15 of them)
-hydrocortizone cream
-benedryl (generic dyphenhydramine)
-exedrine
-extra plastic baggies (for body parts o_0)
-and an extra set of medical shears

 

[randomlooker]

-crappy triangle bandage (don't know where to buy better ones)

You don't buy them, you make them out of old sheets, in a variety of useful sizes (The store-bought ones are always too small, in my experience.)

Sheets with flowery girly prints are the best ones to cut up.

 

[AZWaterRat]

I have one of those in olive drab. Makes a real good pistol range bag. I plan on buying more. Nice review!