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Unlike the other admin pouches we've covered here, the 7" x 7" NSW was clearly meant to ride on your chest. Sure it can hitch a ride on a bag, but that'd be a waste. It's wide and slim design rides out of the way until needed. The ingenuity of the flat design becomes apparent when it's packed solid. It's still only 1.25" thick and has a PALS field out front that will fit a double wide mag holder. You may never know it's right there, center, high on your chest till you need it. If you don't need the space, there's a bit of Velcro on the front for some tactical flair or name tape.
Employing the NSW panel, we found the single zipper layout fast and easy to use. Inside, the layout accommodated lots of admin gear without ever making us hunt for an item in a crevice. The drawbridge feature keeps things from falling out, but the center loop did get in the way a bit. Seems like it would make sense to cut it and knot the ends to keep the flap open at a comfortable working angle without having that loop in the middle. Easy fix.
One thing worth pointing out is either a miserly triumph or design genius. Instead of using flat webbing out front, SOE made the PALS rows out of sewn-over and backed Cordura. The thread lines make the fabric stiffer than webbing, so weaving PALS through it is much easier. It's got to take a while to sew the webbing this way, but it might be cheaper than using branded MultiCam webbing. Either way, it's an interesting touch. The NSW Admin Panel is sewn in the US and made entirely from 1000d Cordura for undeniable strength, and comes in Black, Coyote, Olive, Foliage, Khaki for $55. Add $5 for Multicam or US Army UCP.
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