Earlier this month 5.11 Tactical released an update to their flagship pack, the Rush series, introducing the new 2.0 configuration. Their tag line, “a million missions and counting,” shows how ubiquitous this pack has become and how welcome these changes will be to their users.
Recently, we spoke with Sharon Park, the Senior Category Manager for Gear at 5.11 Tactical where she oversees Load Bearing, Tools and EDC accessories. The Rush 2.0 series is right in her wheelhouse and she told us of her job, “I love gear.” After taking a look at what they’ve done, the results back up her claim.
For the update, Park’s marching orders were straight forward, keep the appearance familiar, add features, but maintain the price. A simple, yet challenging, list of demands.
5.11 Tactical endeavors to offer value to their customers, balancing quality and affordability. They seem to be doing a good job, considering how much 5.11 gear you see out in the field. Not only is it standard issue for agency after agency, but end users gravitate 5.11’s way and it was those same end users Park’s team listened to for this project.
Offered in three sizes, 5.11 Tactical sees the Rush series as their ultimate every day pack. According to Park it offers, “modularity and versatility to our duty customers as well as the tactical enthusiast, student and outdoor adventurer.” That’s a lot of different user groups to satisfy.
They keep a running list of customer wish lists for all of their products and referenced the Rush list before they commenced on the upgrades.
Available in 12, 24, 72 and 100 sizes, the numerical naming convention equates to hours rather than size in liters. However, the 2.0 upgrades were only applied to the three smaller sizes of the Rush as the 100 is a more recent design. The mid-sized Rush24 is the most popular in the lineup, offering 37 liters of load carriage space whereas the Rush12 comes in at 24 liters and the Rush72 at 75 liters. The line is rounded out with the Rush100 which i mentioned earlier and it’s much more like a traditional hiking pack with 60 liters of carrying capacity.
The packs have always featured quick access to the contents, and the upgrades, which have been classified by the design team as major and minor, concentrate on access to gear.
On the major side, they’ve added a padded laptop compartment which was their most requested feature addition. They also added a concealed carry compartment similar to the one on the MOAB 6 and 10 sling packs, and enlarged the eyewear pouch within the top zippered pouch.
Minor improvements include an updated admin pocket, relocated hydration port and they’ve also revised the interior organization.
As far as construction, the 2.0 models continue to be made from 5.11’s proprietary 1050D nylon along with YKK zippers.
They also kept their basic colors and added a couple of new ones, Kangaroo which replaces Sandstone and Ranger Green which replaces Tac OD. These color changes also cane from that end user wish list. Overall, pack color choices vary slightly by size model, but yes, MultiCam is an option.
Speaking of overall appearance, she also told us an interesting item we’d never heard before. The Rush pack series features the “5.11 signature centerline design” which they have registered as trade dress. There are loads of knock-off packs on the market and the Rush is no stranger to being copied. One of the ways you can tell a genuine 5.11 Tactical pack is by that seam flap that resembles a vertical line down the center of the pack.
The Rush 2.0 series is available now at www.511tactical.com/rush-packs.
