Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

[ceylonc]

Guys,

I have added Voodoo Tactical & Condor Outdoor as two new vendors to supply assault-style backpacks for 2011. I checked out their wares at the SHOT Show & the build quality & design of their products seemed to be good based on the limited inspection I did during the Show. I'll be placing orders in the next week or two with both companies & am interested in YOUR opinions of these two companies products. Lets hear it, the good, bad & ugly, with regard to design, durability, and performance, from those of you who have played with these packs in the field or theater. While they seemed like a good compliment to my current backpack lineup, it is entirely possible that the reputation or history of these packs may not be up to par with the membership here. I want to make sure that I offer you guys reliable, high quality packs that YOU want to use, not what I want to sell.

So, any help or advice anybody could provide here is much appreciated. Thanks for the imput!

Ceylon
deltaoutdoorsman.com

 

[Tripwire]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I've beat the everliving hell out of some voodoo stuff and it's still going.

I've some small misc. condor stuff that seems to be okayish.....

 

[Hasgun Willtravel]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ceylonc</div><div class="ubbcode-body">the bad & ugly</div></div>

Ceylon,

First of all, I love the products you offer, many are of the highest quality, and own several of them, including an Eberlestock Gunslinger. You reputation on Sniper's Hide is top notch, and that is hard to do sometimes with this crowd. I will try not to give opinions, rather only observations.

I have owned piles of Condor gear, specifically. I have had everything from pouches, to packs, to gun cases. I beat my gear all year around, and it is constantly going in and out of vehicles, on or off packs, and gear in and out of pouches. I was young, broke, and had small kids trying to get into the shooting game, so I figured cost ruled supreme.

With that said, the Condor line, sucks.

Nearly every piece of Condor equipment that I have ever owned has fallen apart in one way or the other. Usually the seams are sewn to close the the end of the material, and the seams fall apart, zippers detach from the seams, or the snaps pull through the webbing because they were not heat sealed correctly.

Truth be told, the lack of quality led me to buy a sewing machine instead of continually buying and replacing stuff, and the rest is history. In fact, these types of companies have taught me how to make quality gear based on the failures I have seen with it.

I understand the need to sell lower cost gear, not everyone is into Kifaru or Mystery Ranch prices, me either for that matter, but I know a thing or two about sewing, and I would rather pay it than try to make one

.

As far as Voodoo gear, they have knocked off nearly every original design for the last 10 years, including a TAB gear product, piss poor though it be:

I am not talking smack in anyways to Ceylon, nor any of the products he sells, only the Condor and Voodoo lines, based on my own experiences, and observations.

 

[kentactic]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

i own a little of both brands and it is what it is... i just got a condor sling and i hate it... to no fault of quality though... just lame design. what do you expect for 20 bucks though right?..for 20 bucks its pretty much amazing.

with that said alot of people who buy this gear will never wear it out so theres no need for higher quality so its good to offer lower end gear aswell.

 

[Hasgun Willtravel]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: kentactic</div><div class="ubbcode-body">with that said alot of people who buy this gear will never wear it out so theres no need for higher quality so its good to offer lower end gear aswell. </div></div>

In a nutshell.

 

[nefarious79]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

Both companies molle pouches suck

I have a Voodoo tactical 36in double rifle soft case and one of their drag bags, neither is 1000D cordura but the pack cloth or whatever is plenty durable enough a lifetime of range trips or visits to the farm. Their designs are nearly exact copies of other manufactures high quality gear. But from what I have seen Voodoo uses higher quality zippers than Condor, and Voodoo usually has some sort of para cord zipper pulls on their gear.

Unless you can get Eberlestock to make a sub $100 entry level pack....these packs have their place in the market

 

[RicosRevenge]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

Hey Ceylon, first off - I've done business with you here on the hide and have the utmost respect for you.

I do not have any experience with Voodoo's packs but I do have one of their gun case/mats and it looks great... but the fabric seems to rip fairly easily. Also, the zippers are not the best but are functional. IMHO, if (when) I do buy another "sniper case" I will pony up for an Eagle HSRC.

 

[TheGerman]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I don't own any Condor gear, but I have had a Voodoo drag bag for a few years now. I originally purchased it because it was cheap and figured I'd take it to the range and the occasional hunting trip trying not to destroy it.

After seeing how it held up, I've ended up dragging it through hell and back. In/out of vehicles, heavy internal loads, have dragged it through sand/rock and it has been totally saturated multiple times. The only thing that has broken so far is one of the pull cords on a zipper and the color (mine is OD) has started to change in some areas. Besides that, its GTG for what it is.

 

[Triad]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: kentactic</div><div class="ubbcode-body">..for 20 bucks its pretty much amazing.</div></div>

That got me going...

I have met the guy that started Voodoo. He is/was a swat sniper up north and we have a lot of mutual friends. As has been noted, I was not impressed with the "lack of originality" in the product line once VooDoo hit the mainstream.

As for the Condor line. I have seen a leg rig come unraveled under a heavy stare.....

 

[Captain Moroni]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I am in the market for a small pack that wont break the bank and that I dont expect to much out of just some thing that will hold a bottle of water, an extra mag, coyote call ect. If I am going to pack anything more than that or for any that I will depend on my pack not breaking down I will use one of my Eberlestock packs. I really like my Eberlestock packs but they are a bit big for what I want to do with this new pack.

ceylonc, will you be stocking a Condor Small Assault Pack? I think I will try one out and if it goes south I wont be out much.

 

[robescc]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I have a Voodoo drag bag and love it. It has some miles on it and no issues so far.

 

[jcochran]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I don't know about Condor, but I have and work with guys that have some Voodoo packs. For the price they are hard to beat. They seem to be durable. That being said, they are not of the same caliber as Eberlestock or Eagle packs of which I have. I guess it all comes down to the money and the application.

 

[ceylonc]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

Some great opinions here! I really appreciate the contributions & experience shared. While I got to give a pretty good visual inspection to both the Condor and Voodoo equipment, I didn't get to test them under any kind of load or closely inspect the stitching, etc. Getting good, real world reviews is much appreciated!

As some of you have mentioned, my reason for adding these products to my lineup has as much to do with usage as they do price point. Unfortunately, Eberlestock isn't going to make a foray into competing packs at this price point so I have to look elsewhere to serve that segment of the market. I get a lot of inquiries from guys wanting to know if I have good quality, tactical design, AND a price under $100.00-$125.00. Typically, I like to bring in a few different models and do some T&E before rolling them out here & on deltaoutdoorsman.com. This time around I decided to ask you first what you guys think & I'm glad I did!

With this in mind, I'm probably going to place an initial order with both Voodoo and Condor within the next 5-10 days. Are there any particular models & colors you want me to bring in as part of this order? I'm going to focus on backpacks & drag bags until I can further evaluate the product quality, etc.

Thanks again!
Ceylon

 

[Sportin Wood]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I might be talking out of my ass a little here, but wasn't Condor being sued by VooDoo or Blackhawk for ripping off some of their designs?

On another note, my brother in law is a dealer for voodoo and so I have quite a few voodoo accessories such as shooting mats, 3 day packs, monster pack, and the list goes on and on. I am really happy with their equipment. It sells great at local small time WAC gun shows here in WA state.

 

[black_ump]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

i have a condor plate carrier, it seems heavy duty but what do i know, i have never pouched it up or even shot with it.

 

[redrum007]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I have a couple of Condor pouches that are coming apart just sitting there, they are a few years old. Don't know about the quality now.

 

[KillShot]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I have a Condor drag bag that I take to the range, completely loaded down with 12 boxes of 168gr Hornady A-MAX / TAP along with my setup which weighs 18lbs. The bag has yet to rip, come unraveled, or have a malfunctioning zipper and I've had it for nearly a year.

 

[drumcorps]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I bought a 46' double rifle case from Voodoo Tac, all kinds of room for ammo, two rifles..my 308 and LWRC 6.8 plus two inside pistol pouches inside. All for about $115.00! Its a Great bag for the range (all in one ) and the zippers are strong, no junk. IMO there GTG !

 

[BigBoss0311]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I will only speak on the products I have tried. The Voodoo 2 rifle case is pretty nice. It has held up well for range trips being loaded down with and LWRC M6A3, Benelli M4, and a GSG5SD. Along with some cleaning supplies, a few mags and othe misc. items. So it will hold quite a bit and the price was great. The OD Green seems to be better quality than the other colors though. I have also had the Desert Tan and the zippers did not feel as durable nor did the stitching seem as good. My buddy had the black one and it seemed to have the same quality of the tan bag as well. I do recommend the OD Green bag to anyone who has need of a range case. Now on to Condor. I have/do own many Condor products. I have either given them away or they are still sitting in a cardboard box with all my extra kit that I don't use anymore. Problems with the equipment: They are not MOLLE spec!!!! The plate carriers I own both will not take actual molle spec pouches. The weave is too narrow if that makes sense. The only pouches that I found will fit without modification are Condor of course. The problem with their pouches are that mags don't fit. ALL mag pouches I have tried were too tight. I have M1A pouches, 6 mag shingles, double mag pouches, pistol mag pouches and the shotgun shell holder. They are all too tight. All the rifle mag pouches have the stretch retention thing on top. You have to work to get the mags in and out of all of them, and they don't loosen up either. Any time I see someone getting ready to buy their mag pouches I tell them my problems with them and recommend against it. Their slings. I have had 2 of their single point slings for years now and both are still going strong. I use one of them on a daily basis at work and I love it. I do recommend their single point slings to anyone needing a good sling on the cheap. I also have misc pouches, drop pouches, and camelback back pouch thingy from them. These are also pretty durable and have held up well. Again the only problem with these are that the tabs to insert into the webbing are not molle spec and are either spaced too far apart or too close or the tabs themselves are too wide. So there it is, from trying the products, there are certain ones I would buy and certain ones I know to stay from. These are my personal experiences with both companies products.

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

Two Condor Drag bags. The only thing they do is help me get my stuff to the range. Three years service on one and over a year on the other without issue. I also have four of the Bug Out bags that I got from Cheaper Than Dirt. These things have been asked to carry some really heavy loads and they have worked well week on end for at least a couple of years. They were $22 each and have been well worth the dough.
Never used anything Voodoo.

 

[Captain Moroni]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I have been PM'ing back and forth with Ceylon and he is good to go, excelent customer service. I will be buying a pack from him soon. What ever you need buy with confidence.

 

[fargo007]

Re: Voodoo Tactical & Condor Assault packs. Opinions??

I bought a voodoo 3 day pack and use it for weight training and for shorter range trips where my Eberlestock is just too much. It's not bad for the price.

--Fargo007