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Interesting - if you Google "pack mentality", you get information on wolves, dogs, mobs and street gangs. I thought it meant you liked to own a lot of packs, like I do.

It started innocently enough with a small black pack back (try saying that five times fast) in 1983 for a trip to Arches National Monument with my best friend from high school, Tim. Following that, I experimented with an Alice pack and pack frame. Then came larger, smaller, taller, wider, black, camo, tan, green, flat dark earth - and it was clear:

"My name is Mark, and I am a packaholic*."

I recently had the good fortune to attend the 5.11 Dealer Retreat in Glendale, Arizona. Realizing that it might not be a good idea to arrive with a competitor's product, a few weeks before the event I ordered yet another pack, a 5.11 Rush 12 pack, in Multicam. Why Multicam? I get out in the woods occasionally, it was a new color for the product, and I enjoy being singled out for uncomfortable conversations with the TSA at airports.

The Rush 12 got broken in on a trip to Texas a couple of weeks before going to Arizona. I did get scrutinized at O'Hare airport - I have a really short haircut, and with my Multicam pack bearing a nametape and a subdued US flag (the Rush 12 has velcro name tape and flag/patch holders), I was asked by TSA if I wanted to use the priority line for deploying military. Because I have a finely honed sense of right and wrong (and no deployment papers), I politely declined.

Once on the plane, the Rush 12 slid perfectly under the seat in front of me. While the Rush 12 is the smallest of the Rush Series packs (the family includes the Rush 12, the Rush 24 and the Rush 72), I was able to get in the things I normally require for a long flight, and the things I didn't want to "donate" to the fine folks that rifle through the checked luggage.

A person can stuff any pack full of belongings, but the thing that makes the Rush 12 stand out is the organization. 5.11 has put a lot of thought into the Rush Series. The first feature I used was positioned between the carry handle/grab handle and the attachment point for the shoulder strap suspension system. There is a zipper that reveals a fleece-lined pouch intended for your sunglasses. It's high up at the top of the pack, so your sunglasses won't be crushed, and the soft material won't scratch lenses. Since I'm at the point in the sunglass cycle where all four pair I own are missing, I used the pouch for my iPod and headphones and my handheld ham radio. That pouch is perfectly positioned for immediate access - 30 seconds and I was listening to old "Dragnet" episodes on the iPod.

The outside face of the Rush 12 is covered with PALS webbing, and I attached my late, great Pentagonlight MOLLE light to the webbing. The left and right sides of the pack have PALS webbing as well, so I attached a Maxpedition Mini Rollypoly to hold the bottled water or Mountain Dew you purchase after passing security. Blackhawk Speed Clips work well for attaching things to the PALS webbing.

The Inside of the front pouch has two pouches sized to hold two 30-round AR magazines. Since that probably wasn't the best thing to bring onboard, I used one pouch to hold a Maxpedition Volta Battery Pouch, and the other to carry my Moleskine notebook. Two key attachments held a compass and a pill fob. A pouch sized perfectly for business cards held - business cards. A pen and a highlighter went into appropriate slots - there are 16 total compartments, pockets and slots on the Rush 12.

I added a Maxpedition EDC Pocket Organizer that goes everywhere with me - it carries an assortment of technical pens, mechanical pencils, markers, erasers and a sketchbook. There was room left for the survival kit my wife packed for me - granola bars, and also the survival kit I packed for myself - four airline-sized bottles of Jim Beam. In a shallow pouch I carried my Garmin GPS and charger for my Macbook, and still had an unused deep zippered pocket.

Inside, I carried my 15" Macbook in a drawstring pouch in the back of the main compartment, and an external drive. Having had luggage go more than once to a destination different than my own, I used one of the two zippered mesh pouches for the ziploc baggie of mouthwash, toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant, and the second for miscellaneous cables for my phone, radio and computer, along with medications my doctor thinks I need and vitamins my wife thinks I need.

This trip to Crystal City, Texas would mix business and pleasure... we would end up hunting, so I brought my favorite water bottle - stainless steel so you can boil water in it, and a cup sized to slip over the bottom of the bottle. Both fit perfectly inside of the Maxpedition 10 x 4 Water Bottle Holder Pouch, with just enough room left over for the Maxpedition Tactical Can Case in the top. It's sized to carry a can of chewing tobacco, but I keep a small alcohol stove in mine. Unused and empty, I had neglected to remove it before the flight, but TSA never aked about it. They were, however, very interested in my empty stainless steel bottle. No one raised an eyebrow at my hearing protection.

I threw in a half-dozen gun magazines (the kind you read, not the kind that hold ammunition), not just because I enjoy keeping up with the products we carry, but for some reason, you never have to fight over the armrest when you're reading one .

In the zippered pouch on the back of the pack intended for a hydration bladder, I placed my itenerary, boarding pass, and drivers license. If you're not using it for a filing cabinet like I was, it will hold hydration bladders up to 60 oz.

With all that inside, I was prepared for the normal uncomfortable experience when I shouldered the pack. The suspension system and shoulder straps are, bar none, the most comfortable I have encountered, including products from mountaineering stores that carry brands that specialize in backpacks.

While attending the 5.11 Dealer Retreat two weeks later, I found out why this product works so well. The Rush 12 was designed by special operations combat veteran Kyle Lamb of VTAC. Allow me to repeat information from 5.11's web site:

"Kyle E. Lamb served his country for 21 years, 17 of which were with the most elite elements of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. He was decorated for valor for his actions in Mogadishu, Somalia, during the battle that was made famous by the movie Blackhawk Down, and during Operation Iraqi Freedom. SGM Lamb's master-level expertise comes directly from real world experience, making him one of the most credible and sought-after shooting and tactics instructors in the United States. He also owns Viking Tactics, Inc. and is the inventor of the Viking Tactics Sling."

Who designed YOUR pack?

If the Rush 12 is too small for your needs, the Rush 24 and the Rush 72 offer additional capacity and features:

Rush 12 - 1,296 cubic inches, 18 x 11 x 6" main compartment

Rush 24 - 2,000 cubic inches, 20 x 12.5 x 8" main compartment

Rush 72 - 2,639 cubic inches, 23 x 13.5 x 8.5" main compartment

*I have never owned a fanny pack.