Tasmanian Tiger – TT Modular Hip Bag

Introduction

Fanny bags, hip bags (or whatever one might call them these days) have made a significant comeback in the last few years. For a long time ridiculed as an embarrassing blast from the past – especially the 80s, their practicality and versatility made them reappear with almost every tactical gear manufacturer.

I have already reviewed other hip bags in the past, especially by Husar Group. Now Tasmanian Tiger is in the spotlight, namely the Modular Hip Bag. So let’s jump right in with the obligatory overview and the specs, before looking at the build up in more detail.

The Tasmanian Tiger Modular Hip Bag

Overview

The Tasmanian Tiger Modular Hip Bag is a basic, but versatile bag with a main compartment, featuring a laser cut MOLLE panel made of velcro; a front compartment and a zippered pocket to the back. Everything is closed using YKK zippers and the belt is detachable. Using WJ buckles, you can mount the TT Modular Hip Bag on a battle belt. Additional loops offer the option to attach the bag to a plate carrier.

Specs

• L x H x D: 28cm x 14cm x 7cm
• Weight: 210g
• Materials: Cordura 700den, WJ buckles, YKK zippers

Build Up

Main compartment

The main compartment is closed by a sturdy ykk zipper and features a velcro panel with laser cut slits for MOLLE. The user has the option to either use the velcro area for optional velcro accessoires and inserts, or use the PALS to attach MOLLE compatible gear. The panel has two channels with four rows of PALS.

The main compartment of the Modular Hip Bag

Other than that there are no further organisational options in the main compartment and to be honest, this is enough. The basic design provides versatility and does not overwhelm the user with endless options to fix gear.

Front and Back Compartment

The zippered front pocket features no internal organisation as well. It is big enough to hold smaller items like small flashlights, cpr ventilation cloths, or disinfectant wipes.

The front compartment of the Modular Hip Bag

As a result the front pocket contributes to the overall concept of the Modular Hip Bag to distribute your essentials in dedicated pockets.

Zippered back compartment

To the backside of the bag you will find a zipper slot compartment, big enough for smaller and flat items, like a passport or other documents.

Additional Features

The Tasmanian Tiger Modular Hip Bag features laser cut MOLLE slits on top of its main compartment. Four slits create two channels to mount either an additional MOLLE accessoire on top, or attach other items.

Laser Cut MOLLE slits on top of the TT Modular Hip Bag

With the help of paracord or shock cord, I already mounted my Spartan Blades CQB Tool on it, or a tourniquet.

Spartan Blades CQB Tool mounted on top

Next to the laser cut MOLLE slits you will also find two webbing loops, which I will describe in more detail below. Other than that you will find a little drain hole in the bottom of the main compartment, to allow water or dirt to exit.

Drain Hole at the bottom of the main compartment

Mounting Options

In general the Tasmanian Tiger Modular Hip Bag is being carried by a standard webbing strap that can be opened/closed with a WJ Buckle. To take care of excess webbing you can use an elastic loop to fix it tight. The strap itself is attached to the Modular Hip Bag with two carbine type hooks. By pressing them, you can open the wire and completely detach the strap.

Webbing strap for carrying, WJ buckes for easy closures, carbines for additional mounting options

Using these carbine hooks, you can mount the Hip Bag to a battle belt, using the MOLLE loops. Since I do not have a battle belt at hand, I demonstrated this by using the waist belt of my Tasmanian Tiger Tac Pack 45 (please note, that you cannot combine the Hip Bag with this backpack, since the measurements will not fit).

Closer look at the carbine

TT Modular Hip Bag attached to a waist belt

Another possibility to use the TT Modular Hip Bag is in combination with a plate carrier. In order to do so you can use the two loops on top of the Hip Bag. There are no additional accessories included with the bag to mount it that way, so you have to get them separately or improvise. To give you an idea, I took the detachable hooks from the TT Support Bag and mounted the Hip Bag to my PC. I am pretty sure there are better options to do this, but you will get the idea.

The TT Modular Hip Bag attached to a plate carrier (just for demonstration using what I have)

Manufacture

When it comes to the level of quality and manufacture, I always feel like a broken record with regards to Tasmanian Tiger. Their quality control is top notch and you will receive an excellent product. As always the seams are straight and tight. The materials used are among the best what the market has to offer, and I could not find any flaw in the construction.

As always top notch quality

Tasmanian Tiger is known for its clean look, and if you turn the Modular Hip Bag inside out you will know what I mean. The use of seam tape, the clean laser cuts of the velcro MOLLE panel on the inside as well as the overall look and feel speak for themselves.

The main compartment turned inside out

One thing I noticed however, is the fact that in the small frontside pouch no seam tape was used. Probably because of the small dimensions of the pocket. This is basically only an optical issue, and has no impact on the quality or usage of the bag itself.

In Use

So far I have used the Modular Hip Bag for my EDC, when traveling light or when a larger bag is not suitable. It is big enough to carry my essentials and make them readily accessible. Given the smaller size of the bag, it is easy to conceal and does not create that much of bulk.

Especially for carrying basic medical supplies, the bag comes in quite handy. Personally I distributed gloves to the back compartment, gauze or israeli bandage together with a tourniquet and flashlight to the main compartment, and a cpr ventilation cloth with some disinfectant wipes to the smaller front compartment.

Filled with a very basic first aid set up

Basic organisation is easily achieved with a velcro based insert.

Look from abouve, with a velcro insert inside

Just out of curiosity I tried to put the velcro holster of Tasmanian Tiger in it, but there is not enough room to carry a compact gun in it. My G19 would fit without any insert, but this fit is tight and not really a safe way to conceal carry. Disclaimer: this was just me trying out stuff – I would suggest more dedicated options to conceal carry – and since I am neither professionally or privately carrying my gun (for legal reasons), I will not make any further observations on the matter.

Very tight fit for a G19 – so you might wanna go sub compact

Conclusion

With the TT Modular Hip Bag, Tasmanian Tiger is offering an uncomplicated and useful item not only for civilian every day carry, but also more serious use during official duties. Following a “less is more” approach, the user will find a simple bag to fill with his essentials, but also several options to modify it to personal needs. As a result, the bag has enough pockets to easily distribute your items in a practical and easy to find way. If you are the type that needs countless slots, elastic loops etc. this is not for you. However, if you need a basic bag to throw your essentials in and modify it if necessary, you have come to the right place.

The variety of different uses were touched here briefly. In the end everyone will find his own personal use for this handy item. As always, the quality of manufacture leaves no room for criticism and the materials speak for themself.

With that being said, I hope I was able to give you a decent overview of Tasmanian Tiger Modular Hip Bag. Many thanks to TT for making this review possible!

And as always many thanks to you for reading, and please consider supporting Pine Survey!

Take care!