L. A. Police Gear (LAPG) is an on-line retailer catering to the law enforcement crowd. I have been buying equipment from them for years. LAPG has a product line of their very own that includes BDU pants, polo shirts, hats, backpacks, gear bags, and novelty items (think tactical ballistic nylon MOLLE-bearing Christmas stocking!).
A prime attribute to LAPG brand products is the economical price point. When I went looking for a new front seat equipment holder, I chose LAPG’s Jumbo Bail Out Bag.
Back in the late 1980’s, I bought a small briefcase style piece of luggage to contain the everyday flotsam of gear that washes aboard the passenger compartment of a working police car. Paper was cutting edge then, so you had to have the requisite aluminum clipboard, laminated city map, citation book, state statute book (the old Metro Dade was standard), ordinance book, pens, Whiteout, and a sheaf of forms.
Some guys bought flat Fiberglas seat organizers that hook over the passenger seat and hold the stuff. I had one for my K9 truck because my dogs had run of the interior. I found that when you went to change out vehicles, the organizer’s open design allowed things to fall out. When shuffling equipment around, I’d rather have a gear bag to secure my load out.
Since my twenty-year old luggage had reached the end of its useful life, I shopped for a new bag. Like most cops, I like saving a few bucks where I can. I did not want to spend much for a seat organizer. The LAPD Jumbo Bail Out Bag sells at $29.99. Sweet.
We are now largely paperless in this electronic age, but I have things I want to access in the front seat. I still carry that aluminum clipboard. And I have been made fun of for it. I continue to need a law book. I hate looking up statutes on the in-car computer. Add to that a smaller amount of forms, spare handcuffs, duty gloves, and other items and I require organization.
The Jumbo Bail Out Bag is LAPG’s somewhat larger version of the smaller namesake. It is not “jumbo” in size. Measurements are 20” wide X 17” long and is about 11” deep. The main compartment is 16” X 14” X 7” and will hold a 15” laptop computer.
There are five Velcro-flapped pockets on the front, two zippered ones on the rear, and open topped pouches for drinks on either end. On the top of the bag is a zippered pocket that is about baton-sized. And still more! There are two discreet Velcro’d compartments with hook and loop areas for hidden firearm holsters, mag pouches, or the like.
Hook and loop fields are sewn on a center front pocket and on each of the rear pockets. These are just right for ID or morale patches. LAPG sells the morale variety from MilSpec Monkey for those of you with a slightly twisted sense of humor.
Two grab handles and a shoulder strap top off the bag for portage. I run the shoulder strap over the passenger seat headrest to restrain the bag and contents under heavy braking. A spare flashlight carrier, pouch with extra shotgun shells, and a set of binoculars are all threaded on the shoulder strap.
Construction values of the Jumbo Bail Out Bag are excellent, especially for its low price. The 600 denier nylon is rugged. There are silent paracord pulls on the Plasticoated zippers. The stitching on my bag is even and the seams are squared away.
The Jumbo Bail Out Bag comes in Black, Coyote, and OD Green. I just noticed they are backordered for a month. The regular Bail Out Bag is available at $19.99.
I have been using LAPG’s Jumbo Bail Out Bag for over a year. As a carryall, it has exceeded my expectations. Since it will certainly outlast the time I have left in this profession, I know it was well worth the purchase.
Randall
I like your idea of running the pistol in a life jacket. Makes a lot of sense.
Have you found any downsides to the bag?
No downsides, M@, but you have to frame that in reference to its price. The MSRP is $69.99, and I could see some retailers charging that much for this bag, because it is well made.
Randall
Absolutely. You can’t beat the pricing on it.
I have the Maxpedition Operator Tactical Attaché which looks almost identical, and have been beating it up for awhile. I was looking for another bag, but didn’t want to spend the Maxpedition prices. Looks like I’ve found my solution!
I came across your review while searching for information on the durability of the LAPG Jumbo BOB. Unfortunately, the reason I was searching those terms is because I’ve been using that bag for about a year now and have recently began having problems with it. I chose the bag for many of the same reasons you listed and found it to be the perfect size for my daily duty bag. I’ve been doing the job for about 18 years now, and once I got past the phase of carrying everything plus the kitchen sink, I learned what I really needed would actually fit in a backpack. The problem with the backpack is the upright layout and everything ends up at the bottom. The LAPG Jumbo BOB has about the same capacity as a backpack but with a much better layout.
Now for the recent problems I referred to. On the side with the two large zippered pockets, the stitching has started tearing at the top corners of the pocket. The problem is the zippers are not very smooth and too much pressure has to be used when zippering, which in turns applies pressure to the seams. I believe it is a design flaw since it has happened to both pockets, and they are the pockets I use the LEAST.
The other problem was the shoulder strap broke while I was carrying the bag the other day. The piece that broke is the plastic bar that goes through the end of the nylon strap and attaches to the clip that is used to attach the strap to the bag. My bag is not overloaded, nor exceptionally heavy, and this should not have happened.
I LOVE the layout and size of this bag, but I doubt I will replace it with the same thing because of these design issues. I am looking at the Jumbo BOB sold by CountyComm, but it is slightly more expensive (I think it is $50) and I’m not sure about some of the layout of the pockets (especially the large zippered “flashlight” pocket on the side).
Anyways, just my .02 for anyone considering this bag.
Sorry your JBOB had problems, Eric H. Since my bag goes from passenger compartment to trunk more often than not, I only use the shoulder strap to keep it in the front seat. My zippers are thankfully working fine…
Randall