Gear Review: 5.11 Tactical 36″ AR15/M4 Gun Case

Before I go any further, let me make one thing clear: I have always preferred hard cases to soft. Every case I have for transporting my guns is a nice, solid, lockable hard case. I just feel like my guns are more protected in the hard cases. Also, if things go south and I don’t have time to get the gun out of the case, I can just hit someone with it.

So when I came into possession of a soft side AR-15 case from 5.11 Tactical, I had my reservations. Now, I am on record as loving 5.11 Tactical and the awesome toys products they sell. If it was a product by any other company, I probably would have respectfully declined it in favor of my beloved hard shell cases.

Still, it’s been a bit since I’ve done a review so far be it from me to look a gift horse in the mouth. Let’s see how this bag stacks up!

First and foremost, there are a few more features on this case than what you would normally get with a hard case. The features list on hard cases usually include: hard shell, foam, locking mechanism and a handle. This one, however, has a pretty respectable set. For starters, the front of this bag is covered in Molle panels.

Let me stray off topic for a second to explain Molle real quick (and look for TJ to write up an in-depth guide to it soon). Molle (pronounced “Molly”) is basically a modular system that allows you to customize and arrange your gear. That means that you can add features to the bag that you need. Things like mag pouches, holsters, first aid kits and such can be quickly and easily added to anything that has the Molle straps.

Aaand we’re back. What it boils down to is I’m a geek and geeks LOVE modular things. With the Molle straps on this bag, you can make it your own and expand it to meet your needs. The case is made from heavy duty, water resistant nylon. It’s got two large panels on the outside and, there are two more panels inside the large front pocket as well. Other, more cosmetic features are a couple of spots for attaching velcro patches and a coated area for writing your name on the case. Security wise, the zippers have loops on them so they can be locked with a padlock.

I wasn’t ready to just throw my AR into this case and go to town. I did, however, have a toy AR-15 I used as a prop a while back. This was a realistically proportioned toy but it was incredibly delicate. Seriously, the average kid would destroy this thing within a few minutes of opening it. Heck, I broke it while I was taking it out of the package. Any slight weakness in this case would be exposed quickly with this toy gun.

So I strapped it in and set about relieving some stress. I walked around my house and yard smacking it against walls, tables and trees. The kind of stuff that would happen if you were carrying it around and not paying attention. Then I thought, “hmm…I wonder if someone would go flying with this case…” Now, I don’t fly commercially so I honestly don’t know the legality of using this case to transport guns. I do, however, know exactly how suitcases are treated by the bag handlers. So I went out to my garage and threw the bag all over the place as hard as I could. I then carried it back to my studio (banging it on the walls, dropping it and kicking it the rest of the way back) and opened it up, expecting to find a fine powder where once there was a crappy toy gun.

I was surprised to find the gun 100% intact. I’ll be honest, I was impressed…and a bit annoyed. I know I was throwing it pretty hard. I don’t like admitting that I’m wrong and my case for hard shell cases was crumbling.

So I took it out to the living room where Mrs. Noob was watching some show from her youth. I said “Sweety, can you sit on this real quick?”. She gave me a puzzled look and I explained that  I wanted her to sit on it like she would if she didn’t know it was there and then suddenly realized “Oh, crap! I’m sitting on something I’m not supposed to!” So I put it on the couch and she sat on it and immediately jumped back up. I didn’t hear the snap I was expecting so I said “Ok, just sit in it. Get comfortable.” Still no snap. Not to be defeated, I decided to drop all my 200 pounds of Noob on it…and I bounced a few times just to be certain.

In the end, the gun came out 100% unscathed. I know I could have eventually broken it but it would have been delving into territory that no case would ever realistically be put through. Heck, some of the ideas I had would give even a hard shell case troubles.

So I’ll admit: I was wrong. I expect Mrs. Noob will be printing that previous sentence out and framing it but still, I was wrong about soft cases. A good quality soft case will provide more than adequate protection for guns.

So are there any faults with this case? Yep. The problem is I’m a noob. I have never used a case like this before. I couldn’t and still haven’t figured out exactly how they expect us to strap the rifles into this thing. There were no pictures of a rifle in one on their site that I could find. There also wasn’t a diagram or photo on the tag that was attached to it. I always operate off of the rule “don’t ever assume people know what you’re talking about.” If I had purchased this case for my first AR-15, I would be a bit annoyed at having to figure it out.

Beyond that, I really have no complaints. The ability to customize it means I can configure it to my particular needs and I like that. It seems 5.11 Tactical has made a rifle case as awesome as their cargo pants.

You can find more information on the case and purchase it here: http://www.511tactical.com/All-Products/Bags-Backpacks/Gun-Cases/36-Gun-Case-AR15-M4.html

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