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Review: G Code – Contact Series – Traveler 

Craig Metzger

Scenario 1

• Exit the vehicle carrying the bag and carbine
• Make my way to cover and open bag
• Put on the chest rig
• Engage targets
• Move to secondary cover position
• Engage and reload from chest rig

Scenario 2

• Exit the vehicle carrying bag
• Retrieve carbine from back of vehicle and head to cover
• Fight from bag
• Engage targets and move to secondary cover position
• Reload from chest rig while still in the bag

Scenario 3

• Exit the vehicle
• Retrieve carbine and bag from back
• Fumble chest rig and don’t get it fully on (use it as a sling pack)
• Engage targets and move to secondary cover position
• Reload from chest rig and try to secure properly

I’m going hot.

In Scenario 1 I kept the bag containing the chest rig in the passenger seat while the carbine was muzzle down on the inside leg of the drivers seat. On signal I opened the door, grabbed the bag and brought up the carbine. While holding the carbine in one hand and the bag in the other, I made my way to the back of the vehicle. The chest rig and bag contained three fully loaded AR mags and two pistol mags. In the suspension pouch I had a bleeder kit, medical shears, duct tape and few extra bandages. The larger utility pouch (for this scenario) contained two extra AR mags and one more pistol mag.

Exiting the vehicle was smooth for the most part even with both hands occupied. When I made it to cover I quickly opened the bag from a kneeling position. Its contents came out similar to how those oh-no-we-are-crashing oxygen masks in airplanes deploy. The hook-n-loop on the inside rim allowed the straps to remain orderly and easy to control. Once the bag was clear I put on the rig and secured all the straps, then from cover engaged the targets.

The first thing I noticed is how light the rig is. Even with all the ammo and extra ammo I jammed into it, the rig remained fairly light. The small plate with all the gear managed to stay out of the way and never felt bulky like other more traditional rigs. Reloading from the Scorpion mag carriers was super smooth and quiet (compared to plain kydex). The reason for this smooth and some what quiet transition has to do with this soft fuzz like material that lines the inside of the carriers. This fuzz is a permanent laminate with an almost suede-like feel. The carriers tension can be adjusted via bungee cords with cord locks. The biggest take away from Scenario 1 is how light the rig is with all the extra weight added. The straps were comfortable and wide enough to distribute the weight evenly.

In Scenario 2 my main focus was to fight from the bag and never get the rig on. Grabbing the bag from the passenger seat, I would exit the vehicle and make my way to the back to retrieve the carbine. I then loaded the carbine, unzipped the bag and made my way to the secondary cover position while carrying the bag like a suitcase. When running to cover, none of the contents shifted in the bag. I had unzipped the bag to a 3 and 9 o’clock position; when it was time to reload, I just grabbed mags from inside the bag. In this scenario I wanted to see if I could fight from the bag and use it almost like a go-bag or ammo mule. The Traveler’s bag doesn’t allow the contents to move and shift, making it easy to get to gear or ammo quickly. Biggest take away from this scenario was how easy it was to fight from the traveling case. Sure, it’s not ideal but if time is not on your side you now have the knowledge that you can fight from the carrying bag.

Scenario 3 was to be my unconventional use of the system. The carbine and chest rig were in the back of the vehicle where I made my way to retrieve them and get into the fight. Instead of setting up the rig the normal way, I threw the rig over my neck and shoulder (like a sling pack or messenger bag), disengaged the lower back strap and fought from the rig that way. This chest rig was surprisingly great in this unconventional manner. I would swing the rig to my back while I moved to cover. When it was time to reload I swung the rig to my front and reloaded from there. The chest rig is obviously not designed for this but it’s nice to know that it could function in other ways.

Final thoughts.

G Code did a great job with the Traveler from the Contact Series. Compact, rugged and easily to set up and customize for whatever your needs might be. To me that is the most important part. We all want the ability to adapt our gear and customize it to serve our purpose. Besides its obvious uses being born from combat, I could see it making a great active shooter response kit for law enforcement and/or bug-out kit for the responsible citizen. The Traveler by G Code is all made in the US and depending on how busy they are you can get it in 2-6 weeks (I got mine in 2). It comes in black, OD, coyote and coyote with multicam. The Traveler retails for $245 but if you have Scorpion mag carriers you can purchase the chest rig and straps for $55. It is not MOLLE compatible. To see the entire Contact Series visit G Code here or build your own kit by starting here and adding carriers from here.

Studio photos by: Aimerito Photography

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About the Author: Craig Metzger is some sort of evil creative genius who enjoys everything from Billabong to Zev Tech. He’s one of those dudes who mountain bikes, hikes and snowboards with the same enthusiasm as he does spending time on the range, offroading in Moab and attending Ren Faires. He’s definitely our first minion so far to have a subscription to Thrasher. Kyle Lamb (Viking Tactics) really does call him the Tactical Hippie, that’s a true story. Although we cannot confirm rumors that he played the role of Everett in Delta Farce, we can advise you to check out some of his work on his website or on his blog.