Packaging

As with the other Direct Action Gear products we have purchased, the packaging is second to none. Nice zip lock clear bags, with an awesome box that has a Polish SF soldier on it and some targets on the back so you can make excellent use of and not waste the box that it came in!

Initial reaction to product

Superb, as usual. Original Multicam material, Cordura 500D and 210 nylon fabric ensures that this assault panel is durable and light, enabling you to have all the relevant gear to hand for your given mission.

Build quality

Simple and effective, this assault panel has all the pouches you need to store the gear to achieve the mission. Stitching, threading and overall build quality is excellent. No flaws here! All the joins are perfect and even when the pouch is packed tight the stitching shows no signs of stress or giving.

At the top of the panel, you’ve got 3x magazine or stun grenade pouches. The top flaps of the pouches themselves are fixed and non-flexible so that whatever you want to keep in there, stays in there. They have elasticated sides so that it will accommodate both rifle magazines and stun grenades – or most cylindrical / rectangular objects – speed loaders for one! A tab at the bottom of the flap helps your buddies open up and access the contents of said pouches. Velcro is of course the easiest and best way of securing a flap in place. This panel is ideal for CQB situations, especially when stacked up on a doorway. Having the 3 mags pouches up top and the general purpose pouch at the bottom makes it easy to identify which pouch you have stuff in and how it can be accessed.

So how do the mags fit? Well, a standard M4 PMAG fits just right. When the flap is closed, the hook Velcro sits a healthy 2 inches down onto the soft Velcro so that your mags don’t fall out at all. The lower part of the pouch has a support tab so the mags or grenades don’t drop down – they’ll all stay at the same level. Stun grenades and such are also kept in place nice and tight by the elasticated fabric as well.

The lower part of the assault panel has got an excellent general purpose pouch, that has two zippers with fabric toggles. This pouch is very well padded so it will protect delicate items (not bone china of course), but the likes of torches, batteries and tools will do very well. Or even apple sauce pouches – my favourite in game “hit” and sugar rush.

In between the panel itself and the rear part of it, there is also a velcro pouch capable of storing a small camelback water bladder – 1l or 2l fits fine. There is a small buckle / clip so that you can suspend and attach the camelbak and ensure it sits correctly in place. Then simply run the tube out the top of the panel and down the right or left shoulder strap of your plate carrier. The top back side of the panel is also rigid this helps give a stable platform to the camelback and the 3x mag pouches.

The side of the assault panel has some nice, funky, chunky YKK zippers. This will attach the panel to the Direct Action Spitfire Plate Carrier or even the TMC JPC 2.0 (with the latter the DA Gear panel zippers are about 2cm too short to go all the way down the side zippers). The large YKK zippers make sure that you can get hold of them to rapidly change over panels to one that is more designed to load carrying and gear storage rather than assault.

To conclude–a high quality assault panel that has the right amount of pouches and is the perfect size to fit onto your JPC or Spitfire Plate Carrier. The materials ensure that it will not be compromised. Placed at the higher end of the price scale, this is for users who have tried the cheaper versions and want to make sure that their gear is top notch and long lasting. Personally, I would highly recommend Direct Action Gear products – yes it is a bit pricey but it is designed for real steel operators who must get the very best from their gear.