Friday, July 30, 2010

Praxis: Granite Tactical Gear Rock Block Solid Compression Sacks



From the Military Times Gear Scout:

Granite Gear jumped into the military market a few years back and has slowly been filling its tactical catalog with completely new equipment alongside militarized versions of commercial staples. The Block Rock Solid compression stuff sack brings the MultiCam and coyote versions of the Block Solid to the Berry Amendment clientele.

The squared-off sides of the Block Solid mean less wasted space in your bags, especially when used in pairs. To get the idea, think about packing tennis balls vs. building blocks. Available in five sizes, we used a medium to compress a bulky 20-degree sleeping bag to the size of a Nerf football. In fact, the ¾-inch compression straps and arched lids made such easy work of the downsizing that we managed to shove a warming layer, booties and rain gear in there with the sleeping bag. The wide straps made it easy to pull all the air out of the bag, and the stitching never complained with a pop or bulge of the 210-denier fabric sides.

The sack’s compression straps can be used as lashing points if you need to carry gear on the outside of a pack. We found the sacks shed rain for many hours, but the fabric will wet-out eventually, picking up some water weight, but the interior stays bone dry if you orient the long seam against your pack.

Granite Gear went the extra mile with these stuff sacks, and it shows in the use of impeccable stitching, double-sided multicam straps and branded hardware. Just remember: Quality isn’t cheap. On top of that, the Minnesota-based company sources and sews all its military products in the US. But, we’ve got beat-up, 15-year-old Granite Gear stuff sacks that refuse to die. So, if you hang on to your gear, the Block Rock Solids are worth the price. Available now, size medium $40 coyote, $50 MultiCam.

www.granitetacticalgear.com

3 comments:

pdxr13 said...

Contents of even plain nylon non-camp-dry-treated stuff sacks stay dry if a heavy-duty garbage sack (black, natch') is used to line the stuff sack. Keeping a couple extra 30 gallon sacks tucked into the drawstring end of a stuff sack makes for quick pack cover for use during stops or while marching.

Canvas gear can be waterproofed with Thompson's Water Seal, if leaving it in the sun for a summer is acceptable. I have a kit of South African R1 packs that are all-canvas that are no longer sticky after a couple years, and repel water even submerged.

All manner of repulsive things needing decon/washing can be stashed in a trashbag during the ride home, somewhat diminishing the stench of socks and underwear featuring the results of Giardia turning people inside out.

Tied-tight garbage sacks with fluff inside float and keep floating until punctured and saturated. The best pack flotation I've found is the bladders that come inside 3L and 5L boxes of wine. These make field pillows and inconvenient water carriers, too.

White water rafting folks have perfected the art of floating and waterproof, usually in bright colors.

Cheers.

Anonymous said...

The price on those is outrageous. At REI or someplace similar you could get equally "high-end" brand stuffsacks for about half that price, minus the tacticool.

It goes INSIDE YOUR PACK. Does it really need to be multicam?

Allen said...

why does some of the good stuff have to be made by global warming nutters?

my Wiggy's bag came with a perfectly good compression sack. best damn money I ever spent (except for my M1A)