Camelbak Talon Assault Pack Review

By Will

If you read the Spyderco G-10 Military knife review, then you will remember that I mentioned buying a lot of tactical gear in preparation for Hurricane Katrina (Wasn’t that a mess!).  Well, the Camelbak Talon Assault Pack was one of those items that has paid for itself over an over again,…twice.

Note: The Camelbak Talon comes/came in several versions including the J,G versions which are for air operations.

To begin, the Talon features Camelbak’s wide-mouth OMEGA opening which has provento be extremely convenient when attempting to insert odd shaped items like NVG equipped bump helmets, seized contraband or extra clothing. I can also easily insert my 1200 Pelican case which houses my field camera. The best way that I can describe the OMEGA opening is that it is like opening a bucket lid verses the typically narrow opening on most backpacks.

The main compartment of the Talon also has room for a second 3-6 liter hydration reservoir.

The wide-mouth OMEGA opening.

The Talon is actually is a super good pack for non-tactical applications as well!

Note: the internal mesh pocket which is great for easy access to batteries, NVGs, PowerBars etc.

The main compartment also has two slots for your ASIPS antennae of all sizes 

The Talon has two side pockets  which are quite large and accommodate any number of odd shaped gear you may carry.  I personally used the side pockets mainly for electrolyte style drinks that typically cause contamination issues with water bladder systems. I also place NVGs and other mission critical gear in the side pockets as they are very quick and easily accessible. (The internal mesh pouch in the main compartment provides better protection but at the cost of accessibility.  Both right and left side pockets are covered in molle strapping which is super convenient for attaching hand cuff cases, zip ties or other mission specific pouches.

 Strap ends are secured in typical Camelbak fashion

The Talon has an interesting pouch connected to the back by a six point strap system.  The pouch itself is covered in molle strapping (Moo..molle goodness!) and has two strips of velcro for SWAG or mission essential..…stuff.

Inside the pouch is yet another pouch that has a “drag handle” style loop to assist in removal.   The internal pouch can only be described as an admin pouch. Im not sure if this admin pouch is included in all models as my first Talon (Puke ACU green) didn’t come with one.

I used to use the admin pouch for my med supplies and tourniquet but now I have moved the tourniquet closer on my kit via an 1110gear.com Kydex tourniquet holster. Still haven’t decided on a blow out bag and I’m open to suggestions.

The Camelbak Talon’s shoulder straps are very comfortable and in the seven years of hard use I have never had a Talon strap fail.  The back of the Talon is padded as are most packs of this type and while there is no waist strap, the pack is extremely stable both with and without armor kit.

I won’t be going to go into the hydration aspects of the talon as most people are overly familiar with it.

The exterior six-point strapping system has proven extremely useful! It is phenomenal for securing those odd shaped items (Camelbak’s supplied documentation uses an AT-4 as an example).  I can’t tell you how many times I have used the system to secure items such as tire deflation devices (CTDD)  or clothing and long arms.  Also, depending on the situation, having your rifle secured on your pack cuts down on the number of items you need to inventory before jumping off a helicopter. Its also very helpful when you need the use of both hands while carrying deceased or injured people off mountains etc.

Camelbak has a new version called the Camelbak Talon G and hopefully we will be able to post up a review one of these days after using it.  I would also like to hear back from some of our MIL/LE readers who may have had experience deploying the Talon.

Purchase through Amazon Camelbak Talon 100 oz/3.0L Coyote 60308

– Will  

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