Hydration Helmet Carrier

Far better than a bullock echo

27 July 2018

I have used the hydration helmet carrier for several years now, and from SES cyclone recovery, to SAR tracking, to vertical rescue, this pack is outstanding. Wet gear can be easily stowed and drain though the mesh helmet carrier, man pack radios fit well, and with the edition of external pouches it becomes a very practical and roomy pack. The wide almost suitcase opening of the main pack allows for access to specific gear and makes logical packing a breeze. Only one area where it could be improved, and that is the pack could have MOLLE on removable padding that goes against the back when being used standalone. Again SORD, a great piece of kit.

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SORD Hydration Helmet Carrier

By: Doug Nicholson on 4 March 2017

I recall back when dinosaurs roamed the earth on penny-farthings, that there was only two ways for a grunt to carry a helmet. Option 1 – On your head. Option 2 – Contort some elastic bungee straps around the helmet to magically secure it on your pack. Option 2 usually led to a few lost helmets, or a worrisome combination of facial injuries and laughter from team mates when trying to secure the helmet with those vicious straps. In that regard, the Helmet-carrying component of this carriage system helps reduce the incidents of lost helmets, facial injuries, and embarrassment. Win / Win / Win! The Hydration component of this system is a straight-forward system that allows you to carry a water bladder, so I’m not going to spend any time describing a function that we are all familiar with. (It can comfortably carry a 3-liter bladder). The actual system, (“bag” if you will), is best described as a day-pack with an external helmet pouch. However, unlike issued day packs, this system can either be secured to plate carriers and packs via MOLLE attachments, or carried alone like the standard day pack with shoulder straps. For vehicle ops, the system is compact enough to be situated close by as a grab bag. Once you get your grubby little mitts on this system, it has a surprising number of features for its size, all of which are well thought-out and don’t impact on each other. I won’t waste space here outlining every little feature, as you can read about them at the product description. Apart from the extra features, it is friggen well-made, (admittedly like all of SORD’s kit). The stitching is sturdy, the material is thick, and there’s still room left over to add a couple of MOLLE pouches on the exterior. All in all, for a short mission, vehicle ops, water ops, helo ops, or short-duration foot patrol, this bag is a good bit of kit, that can be used as a radio pack, medical pack, mortar pack, commander’s pack, and more. As an aside, this pack is also perfectly suited for the Policing environment, especially as a grab bag in the back of a Police vehicle in the suburbs, or for long-range vehicle patrols. It’d be suitable not just for the Tactical Police Officers, but all operational Police in general. The only negative to this pack that I could find, is that due to its size, (small), it feels like it’s riding high on your back when wearing it as a day pack. But that is not something that impacts on its use, with that negative aspect falling more into the “toughen-up” column for the end-user. All in all, the SORD Hydration Helmet Carrier is worth every cent, and I believe it should become standard issue for all our Military personnel.

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