Hey everyone!
Welcome back to the blog! Today I have another gear review for you and we’ll be looking at the LBX Banger Back Panel that many of you will have seen adorning my LBX Armatus II in MAS Grey! Whilst I was in the US last year the awesome team over at LBX Tactical hooked me up with some sweet gear before I returned to Blighty and this is one of the pieces that I’ve finally given it enough outings to give an accurate review on its functionality and aesthetics.
So the Banger Back Panel from LBX Tactical is a specific back panel for the Armatus carriers that secures with heavy duty Velcro and 2 fast clip release closures. It features a centre section for a hydration bladder that is made from a 3-way stretch material that secures with a hook and loop tab, a zipped pocket that has an area of loop velcro for identification patches an it has four smoke/flashbang pouches with elastic webbing and a retention cap for quick access/retention.
The BBP is easy to install on the Armatus II - just unclip the clips and remove the velcro/molle panel and stick the new one on, clip in the clips and you’re good to go. It’s lightweight so it doesn’t weigh the carrier down but obviously when it’s loaded up, it can depending on how much weight you put in it. The centre section that is designed for a hydration bladder is expandable and is quite large so a 2L water bladder would fit comfortably on those hot game days - this could be used for other items. The front pocket is deceivingly large so it can stow a fair bit of stuff - when I’m playing short CQB games I’ll pack this pocket with a shemagh to give it a little more shape.
My only complaint about the panel is that because I have pretty short arms I can’t reach the zips on the zippered pocket easily - this to me is definitely a ‘buddy pocket’ as anything I stow in there needs to be grabbed by a team mate but the 40mm pouches at the bottom are much easier to reach. The 40mm pouches fit TRMRs, EG WP40 and the flash grenades easy and the retention on the pouches is good.
It is available in a few different colour-ways including Wolf Grey, Ranger Green, MultiCam, MAS Grey, Coyote Brown and Black so there’s one to suit any loadout. I would LOVE to see this panel in MultiCam Black to pair with my MCB Armatus II! I chose this in the MAS Grey as its a really nice combination of grey and green which looks great with my Ranger Green loadout.
The Banger Back Panel retails for $99.95 from the LBX Tactical website which is around £79 in GBP for the product alone, but as it’s coming from the States, remember to add on shipping AND customs charges, it is available from their UK stockists Tactical Kit for £99.99 which may be the cheaper option depending on the exchange rate etc. Taking that into account it’s not the cheapest back panel on the market but it does look gucci, which is what we all want right?
Photography by @1legion.uk_patriot
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