The Pocket Sling turns any of the Hill People Gear Pockets and the smaller packs like the Tarahumara and Attache into a sling bag. It features 500D Cordura construction with 1/4″ thick foam for comfort and a central side release buckle for easy donning and doffing. The ambidextrous sling can be attached to the Pockets via its 3 included ITW Grimloks and it also includes 3-bar sliders for turning the shoulder harness attachment points on packs like the Tarahumara into loops for mounting the sling. Speaking of packs…
I noticed an interesting entry in the list of compatible packs on the Pocket Sling product page. The list shows the Tarahumara, Attache, and then a pack called the Junction which has never been shown anywhere as far as I can tell. This obviously isn’t a lot to go on but I love a good teaser.
There are probably a few hundred reviews of the Hill People Gear Umlindi out there already. All of them are going to tell you that the Umlindi is versatile enough to slide from daypack to overnighter thanks to HPG’s system of pockets, comfortable thanks to their unique suspension, and durable thanks to their materials and production in the USA. That’s true of all the HPG packs. This article is about what no one else told you…
Overview and Background
The Umlindi is a mid-sized pack with a capacity of around 30L/2000ci (the capacity can be greatly expanded with HPG’s Pockets). The pack can be worn without a belt as a backpack or paired with HPG’s Recon or Prairie Belts (which I highly recommend) to be worn as a lumbar pack. It features HPG’s excellent compression design and harness which is a key to the comfort of any HPG pack.
I purchased a Kifaru G1 Molle Express (MOLLEX) more than 10 years ago and it really opened my eyes to 1) how versatile a mid-sized pack with a well-designed suspension system could be and 2) to a very different concept in suspension (different to what I was used to at least). The MOLLEX was the first pack that I owned that relied heavily on “delta” straps to pull the weight of the pack close to the wearer and into the hip belt rather than load lifters.
About a year ago, I bought an Umlindi to serve as the lighter, less tactical, cooler-to-wear MOLLEX replacement that I have always wanted. Both packs use wrapping shoulder straps and waist belts rather than heavy padding, both rely on delta straps instead of load lifters to direct the weight into the belt, and both carry the weight of the pack low. The Umlindi suspension is really only similar in concept as the HPG shoulder harness really sets it apart with additional comfort and increased mobility.
The Umlindi is more of a lumbar pack than a backpack when used with a hip belt (I use the Prairie Belt) unless the wearer has a shorter torso. It rides low on the back. This lumbar pack DNA is what makes it somewhat unique, one of the major keys to its usefulness as a pack for me, and the source of the unique benefits that I have been alluding to all along.
The Best Things No One Told You About the Umlindi…
As a reviewer, I am often guilty of spending so much time wrapped up in features that I don’t adequately relay the benefits of those features. I suspect that is true for a lot of reviewers and maybe why some of these benefits haven’t been put to paper:
Plays Well with Rifle Slings – If you have ever tried to sling a rifle while wearing a backpack, you know what a pain it can be. This is doubly true for 2-point slings that wrap over the shoulder and across the back of the wearer. With a traditional pack with load lifters, the must either be run under the pack or it rides on the wearer’s neck if worn over the pack. The Umlindi keeps the wearer’s shoulders and upper back mostly free except for the harness which lays completely flat. It allows a 2-point sling to worn completely normally over the pack and even makes it more comfortable as the sling rides on the harness!
It is a little hard to see what is happening in this picture. It shows my shoulder from above and right. My 2-point sling is ridding on the padding of the HPG harness and wrapped naturally around my back while I snowshoe.
Keep It Cool – The Umlindi does a better job of keeping me cool than any of the ventilated packs I have tried. My shoulders and upper back are more exposed and when the pack is properly fit, the wearer can create an air gap above the lumbar pad that can be opened up based on the delta strap adjustment.
Ruck n’ Roll – The Umlindi is a great training pack. This is due in part to the ventilation mentioned above and because it carries weight low and focused into the belt. I have used a kettle bell as weight but more recently I’ve been using a cheap ruck plate which carries more naturally with less shifting. This pack is a real back-saver if you spending a lot of time with a weighted pack.
Don’t Touch My Hat – This is one is fairly off-beat but it has turned into one of my favorite things about the Umlindi. It doesn’t bump into hats with wrap-around brims like a Tilley or cowboy hat. That may not seem like a big deal but when it is 100+ degrees, bone dry, you are above tree line, and the sun is absolutely relentless… its a big deal.
Clearance, Clarence – Finally, I live in an area with a TON of trails. The agencies and volunteers that maintain these trails can only do so much in a season. Additionally, we tend to have thick second growth of tree species like Grand Fir in off-trail areas that have been logged. This means ducking under a lot of thick branches and deadfall when hiking on and off-trail. The Umlindi provides plenty of clearance for when you need to duck under objects.
Wrap Up
When you combine everything that has been written a million times about all Hill People Gear packs with anything above that might be important to you, I hope you are getting the picture that the Umlindi is a great pack. I like it so much that I am sorely disappointed when my loadout necessitates a larger pack.
Mounting a modern 2-point tactical sling on an AR-15 is easy. Many stocks and handguards can accept a side-mounted sling by default or at least with the addition of readily available accessories. If you want to do the same thing on a rifle or shotgun with a traditional buttstock, it becomes a little more complicated… unless you know about a sling that has been around forever: the Safari-Tac Multipurpose Sling from Boonie Packer/Redi-Mag.
Overview
The Safari-Tac Multipurpose Sling is a 2-point sling that allows rifles and shotguns with traditional stocks with bottom mounted sling swivels to be carried across the front of the shooter in the same way a modern 2-point tactical sling would. It accomplishes this with a unique attachment method that requires no modification to the host rifle.
You can see the attachment method in this video:
Observations from Use
I’ve been using these slings for more than 12 years. They absolutely solve a common problem in a simple (and affordable way and I am ashamed that I haven’t reviewed this sling until now. This sling does not get enough credit.
The sling attaches via two hard plastic bars that can be tucked into standard sling swivels easy but can not slip back through without intentional manipulations. At the front, the sling just attaches to a button mounted swivel in a fairly standard way with the sling just running out from the bottom. The rear swivel is where the magic happens. The rear swivel is used as a stop that prevents a webbing loop that is wrapped around the buttstock from sliding forward and back. The sling is attached to the loop on the side of the buttstock rather than the swivel itself. This is what allows the rifle to be carried flat against the wearer’s chest.
This Safari-Tac has a plastic slider to adjust the length of the sling. This slider can be operated while the rifle is slung but I still wouldn’t quite call it is a “quick-adjust” sling. The slider is there to aid in length adjustment and for the sling’s use as a shooting aid more than it is for left/ride side transitions or cinching the rifle close to the wearer. It can be used for those purposes. Just don’t expect it to slide like a quick-adjust mechanism.
In addition to the 2-point sling functionality, the Safari-Tac can be used as a shooting aid. The slider creates a loop in the sling that can be looped onto the support arm to help the shooter build a more stable shooting position. This can be something of a lost art these days but it is very handy for those who know how to fully leverage the functionality.
This sling is excellent for bolt action rifles, shotguns, .22 rifles, and any other traditionally stocked weapon that you want to carry in a manner that keeps it comfortably away from a backpack and readily available. Shotgunners may find it especially useful as mounted a modern 2-point sling to a pump-action shotgun can be frustrating. I particularly like it for a longarm that I might carry while hiking like a shotgun or lever-action because it works so well with backpacks thanks to its flat, wide webbing and positioning.
Wrap Up
The Safari-Tac Multipurpose Sling likely pre-dates most of the modern 2-point slings that JTT readers are familiar with but that doesn’t diminish its relevance today. This sling is incredibly useful and solves a common problem in an elegant way. I should also mention that it also happens to be very affordable.
Check it out at the Boonie Packer/Redi-Mag website: Redi-Mag.com
NOTE: Be careful if you plan to purchase one. Boonie Packer/Redi-Mag make other slings with the term “Safari” in the name. I am sure those are fine sling too but this review and the functionality described pertains to the “Safari-Tac” sling.
Hill People Gear (HPG) is very well known for their Kit Bags, a handgun concealment chest rig designed for backcountry travelers. Now they are about to take their proven design and apply it to fanny packs. Fanny packs are “in” again but in outdoor circles, they never went away. The ability to carry gear on your hips, in a location that is easily accessible while still moving, is just too handy to ignore.
The HPG Fanny Pack shown is a production sample. It makes use of the Snubby Original Kit Bag footprint and layout meaning it should easily handle handguns up to roughly Glock 19 size along with other essentials like a GPS, phone, snacks, etc. It features a rear clamshell gun pocket, a clamshell gear pocket, and finally a front stash pocket.
HPG would like to have this to market before Christmas 2019.
Hawkrigger has developed a new buckle based on a historic French military dive belt. The buckle consists of two metal plates – one larger and one smaller. The smaller side is adjustable and can be passed through the larger, locking the belt closed. It is designed to be easy to adjust, easy to don/doff, and with no buckle parts that can wear out.
The Para Bellum buckle is already available in very limited numbers on both the Para Bellum Watch Band and Para Bellum Belt via direct message on Instagram. These will be available for regular purchase soon at Hawkrigger.com. Stay tuned for details.
