Introduction
Blue Force Gear’s new Stackable Tenspeed pouches were a bit of a surprise when I first saw them on SSD in September.
As a concept, I wondered why anyone would want to make a super lo pro pouch slightly less super lo pro. I also wondered how well a combination of laminate and elastic would fare – structurally – with an additional pouch hanging off it.
True, this isn’t the first implementation of a pouch of almost exactly the same type (but by a different manufacturer), so there must be a market for it – one that Blue Force Gear has now decided to enter.
The pouch also embodies a lesson: the difference between trying to guess if an item is any good, versus the actual reality; and I’m always more than happy to be proved wrong when the outcome is as beneficial as it is here. This is a useful upgrade for a number of reasons, and for me the stackability is the least of those reasons.
Tactical Kit sent out my review sample with another soon to be reviewed substantive Blue Force Gear release. You can find it on their website.
Pouch form factor
The general layout of the item is a three pocket Tenspeed pouch – where retention is provided by ‘military grade’ elastic – faced with wraparound ULTRAcomp laminate.
The latter exhibits laser cuts PALS slots for the attachment of MOLLE items (Blue Force Gear calls this MOLLEminus).
The reverse of the pouch features Blue Force Gear’s Helium Whisper attachment system and is six PALS columns wide, making it perfect for the front of a PC.
Helium Whisper is incredibly easy to thread and secures at its ends with Velcro.
It’s also incredibly thin, as can be clearly seen when attached to Crye’s Convertible Chest Rig (my review here) below.
What are the upgrades to this pouch over standard Tenspeed?
1. Solves the toothpaste problem
2. Reduces pouch base wear and tear
3. Improved mag insertion
4. Stackability
1. Solves the toothpaste problem
What’s the toothpaste problem? Well, put the base of a tube of toothpaste under sustained pressure and the contents ooze out.
Similarly a mag can be pushed out of a standard Tenspeed pouch, because the base is both elasticated and tapered – thus exerting upwards pressure. It’s happened to me and it’s clearly widespread enough for Blue Force Gear (and other companies) to offer an alternative. In fairness, as a standard Tenspeed pouch ages and loses its snapback the risk lessens.
So, what’s Blue Force Gear’s solution? Simply, the base of this pouch is disaggregated from the elastic body so it doesn’t suffer the usual stresses when a mag is inserted. Therefore it is not induced to push upwards against the mag.
What’s the downside? In many competitors pouches it’s the open base. While this fixes a problem and allows ‘over the beach’ drainage, it also allows dust and crud into the pouch.
However, Blue Force Gear has done this in such a way that gape is reduced to the bear minimum with a mag in situ. Conscious as I am of the ingress of crap, I’m more than happy with this implementation.
2. Reduces pouch base wear and tear
The pouch’s disaggregated base is composed of ULTRAComp – Blue Force Gear’s proprietary laminate. It wraps around the pouch and is way more wear resistant than the standard Tenspeed’s elastic, which often ‘whites out’ and wears at the corners.
It’s also water resistant, which prevents the base of the pouch getting soggy (and that’s happened to me with standard Tenspeeds when lying prone).
3. Improved mag insertion
A drawback I hear about the standard Tenspeed pouch is that mag insertion could be improved.
Blue Force Gear’s solution for this is to extend the wraparound laminate into a tab at the mouth of the pouch. This can be used to open the pouch mouth to easier insert a mag
The tab is prominent enough to use with gloved hands – which is a real bonus.
The only missed opportunity here is that the tabs are flexible. If they were stiffened, I imagine they would better enable one handed reindexing.
4. Stackability
The main selling point of Blue Force Gear’s new Stackable Tenspeed pouch (there’s a clue in the name) I’ve left until last. This is because for me it already offers enough benefits over the standard Tenspeed, even if the user decides not to stack pouches.
However, if the user does wish to stack (or if, like me, they just want a hard point for a carabiner) this pouch includes PALS slots on its face.
The spacing between two side by side laminate strips equates to three PALS columns, so you’re not limited to adding pouches which are one PALS column wide.
You can actually hang quite a weight off the pouch without it puckering. This, I was surprised at.
Conclusion
Basically, with the Stackable Tenspeed you’re getting all the benefits of the standard Tenspeed, plus a lot of added value which largely addresses the downsides of the original.
The look? That will take some getting used to.
The Reptile House 
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