Review on 🚓 Enhance Police Vehicle Safety with 5.11 Tactical Wingman Patrol Bag - Style 56045 by Alex Jain

After nearly 15 years of use, the standard 5.11 Patrol Ready bag finally stopped being useful. After seeing a colleague use this Wingman Patrol Bag, I figured if the design worked as well as it looked, the extra cost would be worth the risk. This bag does not disappoint! The double fold cover with MOLLE webbing and headrest strap is the crown jewel of this design and that alone is worth the extra effort. With the headrest strap in place, the cover doesn't sag and the MOLLE and Velcro straps provide great access for adding your gear. There is a sleeve on the back for the passenger side seat belt, but so far I've missed that extra step. It was a little awkward to put my seatbelt in there and in my current deployment I load and unload the bag daily. When I return to the regular unit where I ride the same route every day, the little extra effort of putting on the seat belt isn't that big of a problem as it only stays on for a few days or weeks. Time. But for everyday loading and unloading, I skip the extra step and just use the headrest strap; It's enough for all but the craziest driving. The main disadvantage with most other patrol bags is that they usually have a huge main compartment like a holdall, but this results in you having to constantly dig through the bottom of the bag to find everything you are looking for. Wingman solves this problem; The main compartment is slightly smaller (just right for carrying a tablet, binoculars, headlamp and one or two other large/bulky items) but the fold out MOLLE panels more than make up for the reduced main compartment with their additional and easy access Storage. No more digging at ground level when you need something! Everything is organized in this wingman bag so you can not only find the item you need, but also easily reach it. The foldable front section is also equipped with MOLLE webbing and Velcro, and the organizer pockets in the "wall" between the main compartment and the flap pocket are spacious and well thought out. Perhaps the only thing I would do differently would be to add more rigidity to this "wall" to allow the bag to hold its shape. Everything is fine now, but I can say that if the bag gets ripped, it will sag. I read another review where the owner added a stiffening plate from another bag to reinforce that area. I might tear apart parts of my old bag for this purpose. MOLLE tape on the outside provides a convenient place to store emergency items like IFACs, straps and pouches with rescue blankets and CPR masks so you never have to search for them in an emergency. It sucks to look for an IFAK and a headlamp when life is at stake. Now all the stuff is on the outside right where you can see it from the passenger side. Good. The only other design criticism I'd like to mention is that the main handle is stitched directly onto the lid rather than like handles that run down the sides and around the bottom like most other patrol bags. This lid handle design creates a fairly large stress on the seams of the lid and zipper. *IF* you didn't buckle the cover. Luckily, the 5.11 developers recognized this problem and, to their credit, solved it by adding buckled reinforcement straps to relieve the zippers and lid seams. However, it is clear that closing the buckles before lifting the carry handle is critical to the durability of this bag. Not only would I highly recommend this, but also the judicious use of a shoulder strap to further reduce the strain as this part can be heavy when loaded for a typical strip shift. So far I'm incredibly happy with my purchase and in just a week of use I've already received several compliments. Which hasn't happened to my old "universal" patrol bag in 15 years. It's well thought out and people notice this smart design! And if it lasts even a fraction of what my last 5.11 bag lasted, I'm more than my money's worth. Overall 5 out of 5 stars, highly recommended.