The NutSac Guide to Admin Pouches

Everything you need to know to choose and use this tactical organizer for your everyday carry.

The admin pouch is one of our most popular items here at NutSac — so we’re always amazed to find out how many guys don’t even know what an admin pouch is! But once you’ve been introduced to just how much of a game changer one of these storage packs is for everyday or tactical carry, you’ll never go back to your old setup.

So for those of you who aren’t currently using an admin pouch, this guide is for you. We’ll cover the basics of what an admin pouch is and what you might store in one, as well as cover your options for different styles of admin pouches and how to combine them with our TacSac to make a complete gear system.

What Is An Admin Pouch?

The admin pouch design comes to us courtesy of the United States military. It’s an integral part of the MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) system, introduced in 1997 to give soldiers an all-purpose gear setup system that could be customized to meet the needs of any type of mission.

All of the gear in this system, including the admin pouch, is instantly recognizable by its molle webbing — tough nylon webbing arranged in rows that allows for quick grab-and-go storage for small pieces of equipment. (Though it’s worth noting that we’ve gone a little off the beaten path, and offer handsome all leather admin pouches as an alternative, too.)

What Goes In An Admin Pouch?

True to its name, the original purpose of an admin pouch is to hold items that soldiers would need for administrative purposes (think GPS, maps, small cameras, and communication devices).

But for the everyday user, an admin pouch is best used to store items you want to have instant access to, over and over. Nestle one into your bag of choice, and you’ll have an instant organizer system for your most useful (and fragile) gear. Phones, flashlights, prescription medicine, and headphones are ones we see most often, as well as pens and notebooks for fast access when you need them.

Slim Admin Pouch vs Large Admin Pouch

You may have figured out by now that the name of the game with admin pouches is efficiency. By keeping all your small and frequently used gear in one place, you can make it second nature to grab exactly what you need when you need it.

But using an admin pouch comes with a responsibility, too: You have to resist the temptation to throw just anything in there on the off chance you might use it. That’s one of the reasons why we offer two different types of admin pouches.

Our original Admin Pouch is a slim and streamlined organization tool. If you already have your EDC setup narrowed down to the essentials, it’s an excellent choice — but we also suggest it to people who have trouble keeping themselves organized in the first place, as it will force you to decide on what’s truly essential and what you can leave behind.

Our Double Admin offers four open stash pockets, each with two extra strips of webbing above them for additional storage. You can fit a lot of gear in here, including things that would be unwieldy in the original Admin Pouch like external battery packs. If you’re a maximalist at heart or need an admin pouch to take into the field for days at a time, this is the way to go.

Next Steps: Combining the Admin Pouch and TacSac

An admin pouch on its own is a versatile piece of gear that can get you organized in a flash. But the key here is that an admin pouch is modular — and we’ve designed ours to be paired with our range of TacSac bags, too.

Curious to see how the two work together? Check out this short video we’ve made that will show you the ins and outs of pairing our modular EDC bags: