If you have ever worn a bag around your waist, you’ve worn a fanny pack. They are also known in the UK as a bumbag, and currently being rebranded by hipsters as waist bags or hip bags. But what’s the difference between a normal fanny pack and a tactical fanny pack? Read on.

A fanny pack is simply a bag that is strapped solely around your waist. Most often it will clip into place. The best fanny packs for you depends on what you’re wearing them for.

Often, they are promotional items that are given out during sports games or other corporate events. These aren’t the most stylish bags. However, they are very useful in a lot of different situations. Fanny packs are small in size but grant the wearer easy access to items that they need to keep on their body. This usually means money or a wallet or a mobile phone.

Photo, Matthew Reyes.

Fanny packs usually don’t have much more room than this. The size is by design. You don’t want to strap an entire backpack to your waist. That isn’t the point. The main use of a fanny pack is to carry your most important items exactly where you need them. This way you have the best access and the most convenient and efficient access.

It could mean that you are hiking or working out, and literally don’t have any pockets to put your items in to protect. A fanny pack isn’t just a larger pocket, but it also zips closed so you can ensure that the items won’t fall out. It’s somewhere in between.

Photo, Utopia By Cho.

What Makes a Fanny Pack Tactical?

Normal fanny packs aren’t made for extreme uses or highly technical items. Instead, they are more casual bags for everyday use. A tactical fanny pack is something that is more useful in more extreme situations. Think of a time when you would need a bag that is both durable and useful for more unique situations. This could include camping, hiking, adventuring or cooking outside. Even just working in shops or anywhere not in an office.

So, a fanny pack becomes a tactical fanny pack when it has tougher material, more specialised pockets, and straps that hold on better and more secure. If you find a fanny pack that is slim, small, and petite, then it is probably a regular fanny pack.

Is it bulky and made from something that looks it would go through a war? Then it probably rises to the level of tactical fanny pack.

Photo, Ronan Furuta.

Are There Unique Uses for a Tactical Fanny Pack?

There are definitely unique uses for a tactical fanny pack. They are times when you need something that is more than just a simple bag. These are events that are most likely outside. However, this isn’t a requirement.

You could be in a workshop and need a tactical fanny pack. All that really matters is that you need a specialised bag that will hold your tools as you need them. The tools could be medical equipment, booze, woodworking tools, camping gear necessities, or anything that needs a secure spot on your waist.

Photo, Joanna Nix-Walkup.

Let’s take a look at some fanny packs that will work for those specific moments:

The Bandicoot® Medium-sized Waist Pack

With a detachable internal organiser, zippered blind-side external pocket and adjustable and detachable hip belt, this is the bag for day-to-day essentials, such as your wallet, smartphone, first aid kit and snacks.

Maxam JX Swamper Waist Bag

Perfect for your next outdoor adventure this is the bag you need when your pockets are too small but a backpack is too big. The Swamper Bag features five separate secure compartments, is water-resistant and allows you to get to your bits and bobs with ease and without fiddling.

Waterfly Tactical Fanny Pack

With a bottle holder big enough for two water bottles, this high-grade Fanny pack with an adjustable waist belt and removable shoulder strap comprise multiple outer pockets, a gauze pocket side bunker and of course, a water bottle holder. Although portable, its hand-carry design gives it a decent bearing capacity.

Tactical fanny packs are great when you need quick access to an item at your waist. If you keep items in your backpack, then you need to take the backpack off to get to them. Often times the backpack is just too big and awkward to carry around with necessary items in it. Other times you are already wearing a backpack and still need a tactical fanny pack to make sure that you have the best access to the items that you need.

So, the tactical fanny pack is useful in just about any situation you would use a regular fanny pack. Also in just about any other more extreme situation where access is needed to stuff immediately. So, don’t think that tactical fanny packs aren’t useful.

Photo, Jose Luis Espindola.

Should I Get a Tactical Fanny Pack?

Yes, you shouldn’t just buy a fanny pack. Most likely you won’t be able to find a regular fanny pack that is worth the price. They will be of inferior quality and won’t last that long. You get what you pay for and this absolutely applies to tactical fanny packs.

Instead of a cheap one, you should get a tactical fanny pack to ensure that you can always have a bag at your waist that will last and protect your stuff. If you buy something of inferior quality, it is most likely going to develop a hole. That hole will get to the size that your stuff won’t be secure.

A tactical fanny pack won’t have the same issue. It will fully protect your items all the time. This can give you the peace of mind that you need to walk through the woods with your personal items and not be afraid that you will lose them or that they will fall out in the middle of the trees.

And for those that want to be able to throw their hands in the air with ease at festivals or safe in the knowledge that you won’t lose your valuables or that they will get stolen. Or those that just want to look a bit well hip, a tactical fanny pack has your name written all over it.