The second place finisher in our Admin Pouch Death Match is the Triple Aught Design OP1 Admin Pouch. For TAD Gear fans, the OP1 is the “Holy Grail” of admin pouches. Is it worthy of the hype? Yes, but it’s not without flaws – some of which has nothing to do with the pouch itself. Huh? Read on.
Triple Aught Design OP1 – Fully Loaded
BUILD QUALITY:
9/10
The pouch that I received from Triple Aught Design was in another class in terms of finish compared to the other pouches in this year’s evaluation. The stitching was nearly flawless. No loose threads. Nothing. The fabric is Condura brand 500 Denier nylon, which in my opinion is a great choice for admin pouches since it’s a nice compromise between pliability and durability. The zippers are YKK and the pulls are real 550 paracord. And it’s made in the USA. Overall, the pouch is finished beautifully, which is what I’ve come to expect from TAD. This is the quality standard in the category.
DESIGN:
9/10
The OP1 is elegantly simple in it’s design. One silent zipper accesses the main compartment, which is where most of the carry capacity resides. The zipper does tend to catch around the square corners, but not to the point that it becomes an issue.
The pouch’s storage is split between two facing panels that have elastic loops of various sizes. Some are sewn on top of each other so you can stack smaller items on top of larger ones to optimize space. Overall, the arrangement works pretty well but you have to be mindful of how you arrange larger items so they are staggered properly. Otherwise, you can get metal on metal and bulk that makes the outer zipper difficult to close with a full load-out.
The pouch can lay out completely flat when open. I’d prefer some sort of retention system so you could control to what degree the pouch opens, but it does offer complete unfettered access to the contents of the main compartment.
Aesthetics wise, with no visible molle or morale patch panels, the OP1 is a very clean design that tends to make packs that it’s attached to look less tactical looking (which can be a real benefit). It’s a large pouch but it’s also very thin and, unlike the MSM Stealth, the OP1 holds it shape pretty well. It doesn’t add a lot of bulk to whatever it’s attached to.
The back panel has essential a 4X3 PALS arrangement, with a row missing. Not a great configuration but they make up for it by including a built-in attachment system which works very well and D-rings also.
DIMENSIONS:
8/10
At 7.25″ H x 6.75″ W x 1.0″ D, the TAD OP1 Admin is the largest pouch in the evaluation but also one of the thinnest. Due to it’s height and width, it wouldn’t be a good choice for smaller packs or tight spaces.
ORGANIZATION:
9/10
Here is the top panel of the main compartment, which has a variety of different sized elastic loops. I didn’t care for how pens fit in the loops so I clipped them onto the sleeve behind the panel. It’s depth runs all the way to the bottom of the pouch.
Here is the bottom panel. Like I said, you have to watch how you stagger items since the panels face each other. TAD did a good job of varying the size of the elastic loops.
The zippered pouch on the bottom panel can hold loose items as long as they are relatively thin (otherwise the pouch starts stealing space from the main compartment).
Aside from the main compartment, under the front flap, the OP1 has one pen sleeve with a larger pocket on either side. I tried putting a Zebra F-701 clicky pen in the sleeve, but the flap kept clicking the pen when I closed it. Another type of pen would be better there.
Behind the flap is a deep pocket held shut by velcro. I put a Rite in the Rain notebook in there for quick access.
Overall, I think the Triple Aught Design OP1 has very good organization that is very user friendly. Once you figure out how to arrange everything, then it’s easy to find what you need.
COST AND AVAILABILITY:
6/10
I mentioned earlier that for some this product is the “Holy Grail” of admin pouches. Unfortunately, it’s almost as difficult as the Grail to find at the listed $65.00 retail price. TAD only stocks these pouches in spurts and majority of the time they are out of stock in the popular colors on their website. And when they do announce availability via their email newsletter, collectors snatch them up within hours because TAD only stocks them in small numbers. They can be easily found on eBay but typically at a significant mark-up with prices exceeding $100 or more. If TAD stocked this pouch like the other manufacturers, it would have been the run-away victor in the Death Match. As it stands, I cannot crown it because the real cost to acquire one puts it out of reach for most people.
OVERALL SCORE:
41/50
The Triple Aught Design OP1 is one of the best admin pouches on the market due to it’s superior build quality, sleek design and high storage capacity. If you’re lucky enough to have an opportunity to grab this pouch at it’s retail price and it’s size isn’t an issue then I highly recommend picking one up. At worst, if it doesn’t work out, then you can typically unload it for nearly twice what you paid. On second thought, maybe I should have bought two…
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