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The 5.11 Rush72 pack is I’m sure hands down the number one most popular pack in the Canadian military. From the infantry to the armoured corps, and the combat engineers to all the support trades, this one pack is everywhere.

It is known wide and far for its sheer strength and toughness, not only can it handle crazy levels of abuse, but it can handle it again and again and again.

I told a handful of guys in my unit that I was writing this article and as soon as I did they could not stop raving about how much they loved their Rush72s. I don’t believe I am exaggerating in the least when I say it is the most popular back in the military!

SPECS

Main Compartment: 23” H x 13.5” L x 8.5” D
Front Admin Pocket: 15.5” H x 11.5” W x 2” D
Left & Right Side Pocket: 16.5” H x 6” W x 1.75” D
3L Hydration Pocket: 21” H x 13.5” W
Total Capacity: 3342 cubic inch / 55 liter
Weight: 2.4kg
Material: 1050D Cordura Nylon a.k.a Ballistic Nylon

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OVERALL

The 5.11 Rush72 is a fantastic backpack. It has a large carrying capacity, it’s tough as nails, it offers great water resistance, and it looks cool.

It offers a ton of storage compartments of varying sizes for all your gear including waterproof pockets on the inside for papers and important information you may have on you.

The straps and back have ample padding making it comfortable for hours on end and it includes a large waist strap that also has great padding.

The Rush72 checks off every box, it is an all-around winner in the 3-day pack category.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

From the moment I picked up the pack in the infantry kit shop I thought it was pretty darn cool. Right away I could tell it was tough, although I didn’t have the same understanding of how tough it was as I do now.

It was like touching Levi’s jeans for the first time when you have been touching spandex your whole life, you can just tell Levis are tough by how they feel! (you know they’re tough cause of the way they are)

The amount of MOLLE stood out to me. The Rush72 has MOLLE EVERYWHERE!! Front pocket, top pocket, side pockets, shoulder straps, and waist straps. The ability to customize the Rush72 is endless, this was an aspect I enjoyed from the get-go.

The size of the side pockets and most importantly the main compartment was the next trait that stood out to me about the Rush72, they were huge.

I wanted to be able to pack as much as I needed to for any exercise or trip I went on, while at the same time being able to shrink the pack down if I wasn’t carrying much, that’s where the compression straps step in.

The back of the pack as well as the shoulder straps were quite comfy when I first tried it on. It’s not as much as some packs such as Eberlestock have on some of their packs. However, it was quite comfy and has always been enough.

FIELD FIRSTS

One of the first things I learned about the Rush72 is how tough it is. I bought my Rush72, 8-9 years ago now and it goes with me everywhere. Every field exercise, every hunting trip, every family vacation.

It has been tossed on armoured vehicles, it’s been tossed off armoured vehicles, it’s been tossed around in armoured vehicles. It’s been dragged through suffocating dust and dirt, carried through mud and marsh, and attacked violently by jungle thick forests.

I have not been nice to my pack, I have not been friendly with my pack…I have been hard and unforgiving with it. I have truly put this pack through the absolute ringer and I’ll tell you now, there is barely a cut or tear on it!

WHAT MAKES THE 5.11 RUSH72 SO DARN TOUGH

The most common materials to make hunting packs, tactical packs, and hiking packs out of are 500D or 600D Cordura Nylon. These are the most common for a couple of good reasons: 1) they’re very lightweight and 2) although they’re lightweight they’re still really strong.

BUT….they’re not the strongest.

5.11 created the Rush72 using 1050D Cordura Nylon a.k.a Ballistic Nylon. The fibers that make this nylon are thick as heck and intern is MEGA STRONG and MEGA TOUGH!!!

Many companies will incorporate and use a little 1050D in their packs, but usually just on the bottom of the pack. The logic is that the bottom of the pack has to be the toughest as it’s always getting dragged on the ground and set down on hard, rough, and sharp places and objects.

So, the majority of the pack is made from lighter less tough nylon and the bottom is made from the really tough nylon. It’s sound logic, and it does work obviously, lots of great companies do their packs this way.

5.11 stepped it up though and made the ENTIRE pack from 1050D. This is why the Rush72 is such an incredibly strong, tough, and durable tactical backpack.

It is the TANK of the tactical backpack world!!! …not only does 1050D make the Rush72 a tank, but it also makes it a virtually waterproof tank.

The fibres are so big and thick in 1050D nylon that although not technically waterproof, they make the pack extremely resistant to water!

QUALITY AND DESIGN

THE OUTSIDE

MOLLE

As I said in my first impressions of the pack, the MOLLE on the Rush72 stands out right away. There is PALS webbing covering pretty much every inch of the outside of the pack.

The front, sides, and straps all have webbing on them. This gives the operator the ability to carry a lot more gear, which is pretty astounding considering it’s a 55L pack and you can already carry a ton.

The second real advantage of having the MOLLE System covering the entire pack is that it gives you the ability to spread out what you’re carrying to more evenly distribute the weight around your pack.

When weight is evenly distributed it cuts down on potential back, shoulder, and neck pain which are common after long periods of wearing a heavy backpack. The less pain you feel the more comfortable you are the longer you can go.

POUCHES

The Rush72 has two large side pockets, a front admin pouch, an upper zippered pocket, a multimedia/sunglasses pocket on the very top, and then of course the main compartment.

One thing the the Rush72 is not short on is volume. Both side pockets are about three-quarters the height of the full pack. To be exact, the side pockets are 16.5” x 6” x 1.75”.

Your average 1 litre Nalgene water bottle is 8.25″ in height with a 3.5″ diameter, and the most popular 1.36-liter YETI water bottle is 12.4″ high x 4″ in diameter. That means these side pockets are more than enough to hold any standard water bottle someone might have.

These side pockets are where I keep some of the bigger items I want quick access to while I’m out. In the summer months, items such as sunscreen, bug spray, protein bars, and my water bottle (go figure) can be found in them.

During hunting season I usually keep my bone saws, an extra knife or extra blades, and maybe some gun lube in them. During the winter, it’s usually just my summer items, hahaha.

The front admin pouch is 15.5” x 11.5” x 2”. It’s nice and wide but isn’t very big front to back, it is a good pouch for what it was created for, admin items. I keep some extra waterproof note pads, usually some pens, sharpies or Staedtlers, field message pads, or Aide Memoires.

The only other items I might put in there are some of my thinner pieces of summer gear such as a neck gaiter, gloves, or light head covering.

It’s important to remember NOT to put anything valuable or breakable in the front admin pouch, as anytime you toss your pack around or sit on it, this front pocket is going to take a beating.

This top zippered pocket isn’t very large, and I use it as well to store items I want quick access to when in the field, but I use it for my smaller more valuable items such as headlamps, tactical flashlights, spare blades for my skinning knife, spare change, and any other piece of small kit.

Quite often candy can be found in here as well, nothing like a bag of Skittles out in the field!

SHOVE-IT COMPARTMENT

This storage spot is for exactly what its name says, shoving gear into. Considering it’s on the outside of your back, it’s best used with gear that can handle the elements.

It’s also fairly large, the upper and lower compression straps can open quite a ways allowing you to shove fairly large items in. The bottoms are gusseted with a nylon mesh, this helps create more of a pocket and helps to keep items in.

I normally use it to store my outer layer of clothes, my rain jacket for example or in the case of this photo my Summer NEOS.

This pocket is the easiest pocket to take things in and out of. So as I’m working if I get hot I shove my jacket in here, when I cool off I put it back on. To easy! It’s an awesome little area and one I guarantee you’ll use tons.

ZIPPERS & BUCKLES

The zippers and buckles on the Rush72 are unfortunately nothing spectacular, they’re the same ones you find on almost any piece of gear. This naturally means they are good, but not especially tough.

The zippers are your standard self-locking YKK zippers. This is unfortunate simply because I know you can buy bigger and beefier zippers that are stronger, but 5.11 chose not to.

Same deal with the buckles. There are beefier, stronger buckles on the market, but 5.11 went with the standard-issued ones.

All that to say, they are good, but not super tough like the bag itself. In all the years I’ve had it though, I’ve only had one buckle partially brake but it still works and I haven’t had a single zipper brake. So, even these average pieces of tactical gear are awesome!

SHOULDER STRAPS

The shoulder straps on the Rush72 have good-quality padding on them. They’re not pillows like you might find on an Eberlestock, but they’re good solid straps.

I have never once had an issue with them hurting my shoulders cutting into my shoulders or just being generally uncomfortable. They are wide and decently padded!

A feature I do like about them that shows some real forward thinking is on the bottom end of the shoulder straps. The bottom padding extends a bit further than the top so that the buckles don’t press into your body at all.

The slightly longer padding covers the buckles, this is a great little feature. The top of the shoulder straps also have a contoured padded yoke. This provides extra padding and support around the back of your neck!

WAIST STRAP

The wait straps are like the shoulder straps, they’re almost minimalist in padding. They’re padded enough that they’re comfortable, but they don’t feel like pillows. The padding extends just far enough to cover your hips and then just has a regular strap to synch up around your belly.

Each side has two rows of PALS webbing, which is awesome.

One of the aspects I like best about the Rush72’s waist straps is the individual storage pockets for each strap. The reality is I never use waist straps unless I’m carrying a heavy load for a long distance.

So most of the time I keep my straps stowed away, out of harm’s way, and this keeps them from getting caught on things as well.

BACK PADDING

5.11 has placed specific areas of padding along the lower and upper back where the pack will rest against your body. Now the padding isn’t bad, but it’s not the greatest. I would say it’s sufficient.

I have personally never had a problem with it and I don’t know anyone who has, but I have worn some packs that just feel like there are pillows on your back and it’s fantastic.

I don’t want anyone to think it’s not comfortable, cause it is. 5.11 just could have stepped it up even one notch higher to make the padding great.

BOTTOM

The bottom of the pack has two unique features that are both very helpful. The first is the water-draining grommets.

Now as I’ve said 1050D nylon is nearly waterproof, but should you get water in your pack, or should you be in a torrential downpour of biblical proportions, these drainage grommets will allow water to drain from your pack and help it to dry more quickly.

The second awesome feature, is the four corner loops of PALS webbing. This allows you to carry additional pieces of gear strapped to the bottom of the pack.

You can attach a butt pouch adding to the carrying capacity of this already huge 3-day pack, or a sleeping matt, or a sleeping bag, or whatever.

Those would just be the three main items you might find here, but truly you’re only limited by your imagination.

THE INSIDE

SIDE POCKETS

Inside each side pocket are two of these shelf-style pockets an upper and a lower. Each one is maybe 3″ – 4″ deep. They’re very handy for keeping track of smaller items. Other than that, they’re just simple nice deep pockets.

FRONT ADMIN POCKET

The front admin pouch has two net pouches and one water-resistant pouch as well as many little pockets for notepads, pens, pencils, magic erasers, markers, and whatever you think you might need.

I use this a lot as I use it for what it was created for, all the admin junk I just mentioned. Plus as I mentioned previously I store my light small gear in there such as summer neck gators, beanies, gloves, etc.

Another nice feature 5.11 put into this front pouch is the velcro locking straps over many of the pockets inside. Do the velcro straps up over the pocket once you’ve placed your notepad or whatever in it and it won’t fall out.

My pack gets tossed around a lot, so this is a really solid little aspect.

TOP ZIPPERED POCKET

The top zippered pocket, on top of the main storage area, has a little shove-it compartment and a zippered mesh pocket. This pocket is very handy for your small potentially more breakable items, my headlamp is always in this pocket.

Quite often this is where I keep my candy while I’m hunting and my change while I’m traveling. Nothing special, but very handy.

GLASSES / MULTIMEDIA POCKET

This top little pocket, although in my opinion unnecessary is a very nice addition. The reason why it is called the glasses/multimedia pocket is because the entire inside is lined with fleece.

The fleece which is very soft will protect your standard eyewear, ballistic eyewear, phone screen, or any other item you don’t want to be scratched up potentially from being inside your pack.

Having your ballistics scratched to heck is a common problem I find among the guys I work with, so having this pocket I can pop my eyewear into real quick to keep them safe is quite handy.

I also don’t always want my phone on my person if I’m doing something physical out in the field or out hunting. I’ve cracked numerous screens from going prone with my phone in my pants or chest pockets. So again, this protective little pocket is quite nice.

3L HYDRATION POCKET

Right behind the back padding is a full-sized compartment that is meant to house up to a 3L hydration pouch. I can tell you that if you want to carry a bigger pouch you can. A 3L hydration pouch definitely doesn’t fill this whole compartment.

5.11 has cut a small hole at the top of it as you can see in the left photo to allow your water tube to feed from the hydration pocket, into the main compartment and then up through a hole on either side of the carrying handle.

Each hole that the tube feeds out of the pack has a double layer of protection to prevent the elements from getting to the inside of your pack.

First, there’s a thick nylon cover over the hole, this cover is held down by some very strong velcro. When you lift that you see the small X cut into another piece of thick nylon that is held together very tightly and only opens when you push something through it.

There are two of these hose holes on either side of the main carrying handle allowing you to run your hydration hose down either the left or right side of the pack.

MAIN COMPARTMENT

Time for the meat and potatoes, the main compartment. The main compartment has a total volume of 55L, making this one of the largest three-day packs on the market.

That being said, don’t worry, it doesn’t feel TOO big once you have it on. Inside the main compartment are numerous additional storage areas.

5.11 has added three large mesh zippered pockets, one waterproof zippered pocket, and a pull-string pouch.

With 55 liters I’ve never had a problem storing all the gear I need for 3 to 4 days. I mean I guess it truly depends on how glamorous one wants to be, but having 3 to 4 changes of clothes, toiletries, some warm kit, and other gear is absolutely no problem for the Rush72.

The mesh pockets are nice to separate and store different avenues of gear. I generally keep a bunch of batteries in one, in another I have some mag chargers or rifle cleaning supplies, and in the bottom pull string pouch, I usually have a map and some more admin items.

CONCERNS AND CRITICISMS

Honestly, the only real issue that I have had with the Rush72 that I haven’t already mentioned is the floppy front wall of the main compartment.

It’s not stiff at all even though the material itself is thick 1050D nylon. Whenever I go in my pack and there’s not a lot in it, it can be hard to easily see fully down into the pack as the pocket constantly flops in on itself.

It might not seem like a big deal, and overall it’s not, but over the years it has been extremely annoying as I’ve been searching for small items in the bottom of my backpack.

I’ve seen from other reviews that people say it doesn’t fit people of varying body sizes. Now obviously I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m a hefty 6’4″ and weigh a solid 270lbs and I know guys that are much more along the lines of 5’8″ and weigh around 180lbs – 210lbs and the Rush72 fits them as well as it fits me.

So, simply saying that in my experience I haven’t seen people struggle to wear the Rush72 and I personally have never had an issue wearing it.

CONCLUSION

The world of tactical gear is huge and the area of tactical backpacks itself is large.

In the realm of 3-day tactical packs, however, the 5.11 Rush72 pack stands out from the crowd in two big ways. The first being its 55-litre total capacity and the second being that it is completely made from 1050D Cordura Nylon!

CHECK OUT THE 5.11 RUSH72 ON AMAZON
CHECK OUT THE 5.11 RUSH72 ON WEBSITE

Very few 3-day packs are quite as big as the Rush72, most are in the mid 40 liter capacity. This increased capacity gives you the ability to carry everything you’ll need and leave nothing behind.

Almost no other tactical backpacks are as tough or durable as 5.11 packs and in this case the Rush72. They are next-level TOUGH!!!

If you love the design and features of the Rush72, but feel it might be a little bigger than you need, check out 5.11’s other packs that are just as strong:

CHECK OUT THE 5.11 RUSH24 ON AMAZON

CHECK OUT THE 5.11 RUSH12 ON AMAZON

Lastly, the design of the Rush72 may not be exactly what you’re looking and that’s fine, as I said there are a lot of good options for 3-day packs, although none tougher.

For more options though, check out my other article “The Best 3 Day Tactical Backpacks”. Between these two articles, you’re bound to find the perfect backpack for you.

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