Introduction
It ain’t fashionable nor desirable, but sometimes it’s a fact of life that the missing link in your kit isn’t made by a zeitgeist brand.
Having said that, the Maxpedition Rollypoly MM Folding Dump Pouch was de rigueur in the mid-2000s. I think it was one of the first compactly folding dump pouches on the market and it’s been cloned to hell and back by all the usual suspects.
In fact, it looks as though this guy from the 2017 UKSF Manchester pics is using a clone of the Maxpedition dumper – by WAS, or perhaps Blackhawk?
I’d completely forgotten about the OG Maxpedition version until a few weeks or so ago, when Ryan from Backcountry Workshop turned up to a game with one. We both agreed it’s not perfect, but it’s something Ryan said he keeps coming back to.
As the name suggests, the pouch is a licensed version of a Military Morons’ (MM) design – presented here in khaki*.
Indeed, perhaps the reason this medium sized Rollypoly was briefly cool is because MM was the place to go for the absolute best tactical reviews in the world at that time.
*(Although you’ll notice how the khaki trim differs from the tone of khaki cordura used).
My use case
While I had a succession of these dumpers in the 2000s – in all three sizes – I’ve most recently been using a WAS clone of a SORD dumper (exhausting, keeping track of who is cloning who isn’t it?)
This has proved more than adequate in every way bar one: the mouth remains wide open. It didn’t bother me until – while prone enjoying my Grip Pod Systems Grip Pod – a mag slid out and joined me on the floor.
Now, one of the draws of the SORD design is that it requires just one PALS column, which is a decent saving on a chest rig – which is where my dumper currently sits. The nice thing about the Maxpedition dumper, however, is that it comes with a Duraflex Siamese SlikClip up top. This can be attached to PALS webbing (or laminate in the case of the Crye AirLite Convertible Chest Rig or the FirstSpear MultiMag as seen below) and thus dropped below the level of other pouches.
This saves on PALS space and places the Maxpedition dumper at an ergonomic height for me.
The other driver is that the pouch mouth can be narrowed, lobster pot style, to dissuade mag spillage; or secured with a velcro flap.
Mag security is an essential requirement after what happened with the WAS dumper.
Rationale dispensed with, let’s have a look at the other features.
Additional Features
The first thing to note is that the base of the Maxpedition dumper is rectangular, not round.
A drainage grommet is incorporated.
The rectangular base was new and exciting in the 2000s and it’s part of the reason the pouch can accept six to seven M4 mags in vertical or horizontal orientation.
- Unfolded size: 6″(L) x 3″(W) x 8″(H)
Starting at the base, the pouch can be folded and rolled up into a compact bundle, either by folding the sides in or leaving them deployed (for a package of greater width but less depth).
- Folded size featured above: 3.5″(L) x 2″(W) x 3″(H)
In both cases the velcro backed lid secures the bundle.
Note that the lid features a lift tab with which to quickly open the folded pouch.
The pouch is mainly composed of 1000D which feels really vintage in these halcyon days of 500 and 330D. That said, the extra stiffness of the denser (and harder wearing) fabric lends decent structure to the receptacle.
This cordura has a silicone coating which almost makes it feel like thick waxed canvas. Because of this it’s fairly water resistant. This is a good thing as soaked 1000D can get pretty heavy.
At the top of the dumper is the aforementioned Duraflex Siamese SlikClip. This is compatible with PALS webbing, among other attachment methods.
The pouch is however backed with two columns of PALS webbing, with which to utilise Whiskey Two Four WTFix straps, MALICE clips, or similar.
If the user prefers to mount the item on their trouser belt, the pouch includes just such a channel at its rear.
The mouth of the pouch can of course be secured with its lid. If not using the lid in this way, the lid can be secured within the pouch.
In my own implementation, I narrow the pouch mouth with the bungee cinch cord and cord locs – which are a feature up top.
This means – as mentioned earlier – I can make the pouch into something of a lobster pot: wide enough for mag ingress, while limiting mag egress.
So what’s the downside?
Sadly, the Maxpedition dumper DoEsN’t c0Me iN mULtIcAMs. I know, I know. While it may seem like the world is ending, you will live if your dump pouch doesn’t entirely match the colour of your £300 trousers.
Personally I’d love to see a 500 or 330D version. Lighter denier cordura has been the norm in tactical applications for a long time now. 1000D – while it is harder wearing and does impart structure – just seems quaint, unevolved and a bit niche nowadays.
The Reptile House 