We got some of the new 5.11 RUSH Delivery messenger bags to check out nearly a month ago and haven’t been able to get to them until now. Warrior Expo East, the FBINAA Conference, then New Breed of Warrior and of course frequent efforts to support single dancing moms with dollar bills in 
between have kept us really busy—what’s interesting, though, is we’ve seen these bags at all of the conventions (and at least one place with the single dancing moms).
This will be just a first look, not a true review. We’ve got them going out to different members of the review team, so it will be at least a month before we get solid feedback from them. We’ll advise when that eval period is complete.
So, this Tactical Messenger Bag looks to be a well thought out piece of kit. It’s obvious a lot of thought went into the design and they’ve made allowances for about every conceivable need someone carrying such a bag have. In fact, that was our initial hesitation—it seems like there might actually be too much to it. We have no doubt that some less organized folks (not you, Christian) might actually find the thorough and proficuous construction to actually be something of a drawback rather than 
a benefit. (Note: grunts, here ya go.) 5.11 Tactical bills them as “Business Tactical” on their website and the description seems to fit.
The bag has a padded 17” laptop compartment, into which we easily fit a 15” laptop and cooler base. Not sure if it would accommodate something as large as a Toshiba Satellite, but we’ll try it. There’s a double-secured back pouch (Velcro and strong ambi zippers) to address concealed carry and retention. Even if you’re not into carrying a weapon away from your immediate control, it’s lined entirely with Velcro for easy modularity (plenty of space for mag or cuff pouches or whatever, so you have ample reloads for any unexpected festivities). There’s a loop on the rear of the bag you can slide over an extended suitcase handle and expandable, cinched mesh-lined pockets that will hold a liter bottle on each end. There are a number of other useful features culled from both traditional tactical bags and “bicycle messenger” courier type bags. For instance, a place to hang reflective streamers so you can accessorize the reflective PT belt we all know and love.
This thing has a lot of space. It’s more organized than a drag queen’s closet, with 20 pockets and pouches and plenty of MOLLE/PALS real estate (Brian van Hoose actually says it’s a Mega-capacity storage device). Frankly, if you stuffed it completely full of everything it could hold, you’d wind up wanting to switch to an assault pack or small ruck anyway. Guess it all depends on how tightly you pack and how much pogie bait and ammo your standard business tactical loadout requires. 5.11 Tactical’s Dave Rhoden (whom you may recognize from his brief cameo on Glee, or when he won the Wafa Wafa Desert Rucksack run two year ago at Moses Lake) explains the RUSH Delivery features in this video.
Kit Up! contributors Swingin' Dick Kilgore and Jake "Slim" Call (the Mad Duo) are tactical celebrities of the action figure world whose humility and scalpel-like wit have been called the "editorial equivalent of a .308 boat-tail to the head". They're an amalgam of several operators from different backgrounds representing a wide range of tactical experience.
