Even now and then, I come across a pack that is truly unique. I don’t even remember how I found the Hill People Gear Aston House but, after reading about it, I immediately reached out to Scott and Evan Hill and practically begged them to let me do an EDC themed review on it.
Hill People Aston House
Why? Because I immediately recognized the pack’s potential and not much had been written about it outside of their own forum. Hill People Gear is a company better known for their backcountry and hunting packs and even they admit the Aston House is a bit of a departure for them. Well, for a company not experienced at targeting products for the EDC community, they sure hit the ball out of the park with their first effort.
The Aston House is named after the real life version of “Q Branch” of James Bond fame. Situated near Stevenage, Aston House was one of many British country houses “requisitioned” during the Second World War by the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Known as Station 12, its task was to design and supply gadgetry for special operations against the enemy including special weapons and custom explosive devices.
Aptly named, the Hill People Gear Aston House has a ton of bells and whistles. As a result, it has lots of straps and anchor points.
A little “strappy”
Is that throwing a red flag? Having TAD Litespeed Gen1 nightmare flashbacks? Hold on. First, in it’s fully kitted-out form, a small investment in elastic keepers and Web Dominators goes a long way towards cleaning things up…
Here is the result…
For an EDC pack, HPG should have paid more attention to strap management, but it’s a small oversight easily rectified by some extra hardware.
So what makes this pack so different? Well, it extremely modular. For instance, the compression load pocket provides more organization and storage…
But, it can be completely removed leaving almost no hardware behind. The result is a “slick” pack that is sleek, low profile, and totally urban friendly.
HPG Aston House in its “slick” urban mode
Personally, I’d have no issue running the compression load pocket during my city commute but if you like your packs simple, you can strip the Aston House down to the bones and it’s almost like having two packs in one.
But it doesn’t end there. The interior is completely customizable due to the Hypalon mounting points in each compartment and the use of 6/12 PALS cut fabric, velcro loop side out. Virtually any accessory can be used in this pack. Got a MOLLE compatible pouch? Check. How about a hanging pocket like TAD’s new CP1…
With a couple of Grimlocs, it fits like it was made for it. Hook and loop accessories can be used also – like Hill People Gear’s new Tool Roll..
Hill People Gear Tool Roll mounted in the Aston House
Expect a separate review on it – coming soon.
HPG also makes a number of accessories for the Aston House. The AstonInsert is a hanging/drop-in panel that encloses a piece of HDPE in a combination PALS grid / velcro loop field on one side and 500d on the other side. It can be used to add organization and provides a little more structure to whatever compartment its hung in.
The AstonInsert
HPG also makes two different versions of padded load bearing hip belts for the Aston, kit bags that can added as chest rigs and mounted to the shoulder straps, and other goodies.
Speaking of the shoulder straps, the second generation yoke harness used on the Aston House is the most comfortable setup I’ve used to-date. Previously, the Vertx Gamut had the best straps on any EDC pack I’ve reviewed, but the HPG yoke distributes heavier loads better. A truly great design.
I’ll be doing a full multi-part review on the Hill People Gear Aston House after I’ve had a chance to carry it more and fully put its versatility to the test. Stay tuned!
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