When I originally bought the Haley Strategic Flatpack Plus (reviewed here) a year or two ago, these organiser inserts were definitely already on my to buy list. But it took longer than it should have for me to finally make the decision to buy them.

I kept on thinking and thinking on it but not actually buying, until one cold wet evening I just said fuck it and clicked add to cart whilst buying some other bits and pieces. Thinking back, it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made and something I wish I’d done a lot sooner.

Whilst the HSP Flatpack Plus on it’s own is a great little day pack, it is somewhat spartan in its interior layout. A lack of organisation space seemed to put a bit of a downer on such a relatively expensive bag for its size, but I’d actually purchased this bag in the knowledge that I could use these organisers to tailor the bag to my needs.

Poor organisation is something that plagues a fair few manufacturer’s bag designs, with many producing bags with far too many individual compartments to be of any real use. My 5.11 Rush 24, although an excellent bag in general, it suffers a little from its over-complex storage design… I literally found a torch I’d lost three years previously, in the bottom of my Rush 24.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Haley Strategic have gone too far the other way, the minimalist design of the Flatpack Plus feeling somewhat lacking in comparison to other packs.

However, the inserts provide the answer to a customisable and flexible solution. Haley Strategic actually offer a small range of internal storage solutions for the Flatpack Plus, which more than makes up for the basic bag’s layout. There are laundry and tool insert bags, perfect for those of you with specific needs.

I found with the Flatpack Plus being everything from my range bag to my lunch box, traditional storage inserts would best suit my needs… Mostly food based needs, if we’re completely honest. The ability to separate and identify what I’ve packed, certainly helps find things a lot more quickly than before.

In the end I bought two sizes of organiser, both for different reasons but designed to work together.

The smaller of the two inserts to fit on the top, perfect for small items such as an Individual First Aid Kit, tools and other small, easy to misplace items.

Measuring 9″ x 5″ x 2″ (228mm x 127mm x 51mm), a good size for CATs, dressings, loose ammo and other smaller essentials.

The larger insert I bought specifically for clothing, magazines or food and drink.

The dimensions of this insert are 9″ x 8.5″ x 2″ (228mm x 215mm x 51mm). It’s worth noting that 6 Magpul PMAG 30 rounders will fit perfectly in this insert… As will a low loft jacket such as the Wild Things SO 1.0 (reviewed here)

The basic design is the same on both bags, a clamshell zipped design with a cordura body and a durable clear front panel. Only the dimensions differ.

The zipper extends around three of the sides which allows items to easily be put in and taken out, there are two zipper pulls on each bag which allows for access from either the sides, the top or simply unzip completely for full access.

These bags have been seen used in conjunction with Haley’s pull tabs in some of their promotional material but are supplied with YKK metal pull tab zippers. Whilst I’m not a massive fan of Haley’s pull tabs as they’re pretty weak compared to the cord such as Spiritus Systems use in their pouches or Ferro’s ITW orbit loops, for an internal pack they’d have been a nice (certainly quieter) alternative to the supplied metal zippers.

On the rear of each pouch is a pair of Velcro type hook strips, these allow the bags to be attached to the inner faces of the Flatpack Plus.

I’ll admit though, I was expecting a larger panel of hook and not just a pair of strips to be what held the bag to the inside of the Flatpack Plus. After actually using it with this system in place with what I’d consider relatively heavy and bulky items, they still hold firm despite my initial fears.

The clear front panel is pretty durable, similar in feel to the type of clear material used on caravan awnings, it hasn’t yet marked or scratched to a noticeable degree.

In use, the bags have certainly helped stop certain items being lost at the bottom of the bag and has stopped the bag deform into odd shapes when carrying odd shaped objects.

The fact that they’re easily removable is a massive benefit if you’re using it as part of a medical bag system, I’ve heard of guys having specific medical kits for different scenarios such as chest/abdomen GSW or limb amputation trauma bags. The user or their team mates being able to rip out the required bag or have a team mate remove a pre-packed and labelled trauma pack, without any confusion as to what they’re grabbing.

The material for the main sections is almost a cross between 330d cordura and the thin nylon material you find good quality garment bags made out of, a bit shiny but as it’s an internal organiser it really doesn’t matter how it looks. It feels pretty durable but also soft enough to keep whatever is inside nice and safe.

The build quality overall is also up to the rest of Haley Strategic’s soft goods. Taped seams keep everything feeling and looking great on the panel edges, whilst keeping it and the enclosed stitches as safe as possible.

The interior of each bag is also comprised of a full size loop field, this means you’re able to further organise the interior of each compartment with BFG Dappers, Haley’s own hook field backed organiser panels or… That collection of custom ordered Anime Waifu Patches you won’t admit to owning.

Whether you’re looking to organise a flatpack plus for use in a Military/Law Enforcement environment, an Airsoft game or simply make your tacticool carry on bag that little bit more useful, I’d certainly recommend looking at Haley’s insert range to see what’s best for your needs. Overall, these are a great addition if you need some compartmentalisation in an otherwise bare looking Flatpack Plus.

I bought my inserts from Tactical Kit who have the Haley Strategic pack and rig ranges in stock almost permanently, check out their site for the full list of packs and inserts available.