Everyone likes to be unique. The whole point of ally kit is to set yourself apart from the pack and improve your functionality at the same time (one hopes anyway). The problem is that even though the market is awash with suppliers of tactical kit, there are only so many ways you can skin that dead horse you were flogging. So, what is the solution? Good question, well presented. The answer is custom kit!

I decided that my dump pouch wasn’t quite cutting it anymore (it was a last second panic purchase and all I could get was a Disciple one at short notice). But, because it still fulfilled its purpose, I just couldn’t justify buying another one. Thankfully one of the press studs failed (who decided that was a good idea for MOLLE?) and I had my excuse.

So why go custom with it?

Well, I like my dump pouch to be right where my hand naturally goes. Which means I mount it on my magazine pouches. This means it needs to be extremely slimline; fold in a manner that minimises snags; is robust as it’ll be subjected to a lot of wear; and more importantly, only take up two MOLLE columns. As far as I could see nothing on the market fulfilled those criteria. Long story short, I hit up Coopers Kit Corner and BoarTac UK (a serving soldier who stitches in his spare time) was on my wavelength.

The pouch itself is spot on. It fulfils all my above criteria. The construction is extremely good, with the pouch itself being made from MTP 500D Cordura with antimicrobial and fire-resistant lining and and the MOLLE system is printed MTP webbing. The whole package is finished off with CRYE binding.

Even though this was a rush job (from asking to delivery around a week) the stitching is top notch throughout, and there is not a loose thread to be seen. Considering this was made to my specs BoarTac charged me what can be considered a middle of the road price for a dump pouch.

This is even more impressive when you consider half way through the process the pouch was redesigned. In fact the pouch went from this:

To this:

I wasn’t satisfied with the potential for snagging and how much of a nightmare it’d potentially be securing the pouch when it was wet or my hands were numb. 45 minutes later the changes were made (yes really). The same happened for a few other minor things and full of excitement deals were sealed and into the post it went.

Now here’s where we get to the crux of this article/review. When you get custom kit, outside of build quality and materials, it’s only going to be as good as your specifications. And my specifications weren’t the best.

I’m not for a second saying that the BoarTac dump pouch I have is unusable, quite the opposite. The pouch unfolds with no additional work than just opening the velcro. The throat stays nice and wide so you know you’ll get your magazines in first time. The pouch stays close to you and doesn’t flap about. Ideal!

But, because I was in a rush, but came across as knowing exactly what I wanted I didn’t in reality get exactly what I wanted. I don’t have a system to secure the throat on the move, and I’m missing a drainage hole. Not the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination, but enough that I’m not satisfied.

So, advice for those about to purchase a custom piece of kit. Firstly, make sure you have a good look at the quality of work the stitcher has produced previously. Stitchers with nothing to hide will often show plenty of close ups of their work. Inside and out.

Secondly, make sure you have a realistic expectation of time frames involved. This process isn’t going to be like walking into your local Gucci emporium, or selecting next day delivery. There is a process involving drawing, measuring, stencilling, measuring etc, and all this takes time.

Thirdly, don’t rush yourself or the stitcher. This is how simple in hindsight things get missed. The person producing the item for you can’t read your mind and they’ll do what you ask them to. They may offer some suggestions but they don’t know exactly what you want unless you’re sure yourself and tell them! Fourthly, don’t be scared to evolve your plan (within reason) throughout the process.

So, where do we go from here? Well, when I get the chance I’ll be getting my mistakes rectified. All it’ll take is a punched hole and a simple piece of velcro. I might even buy BoarTac a brew while I’m waiting, because that’s the other bonus of getting your kit custom. You’re supporting a person (who is usually serving or a veteran) instead of some monumental multinational who’s kit keeps appearing on ISIS videos *cough* Warrior Assault Systems *cough*. I’ll probably sit down and see if we can figure out my dream commanders pouch at the same time too.

Check our friends across the pond in the U.K. called Kit Pest! This Kit Pest Review was written by Sam “Longshanks” Watt. Hopefully you enjoyed it and if you have any thoughts or comments related to this article then leave a comment!

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