Top 7 Overland Gear Bag Companies for Camp Storage & Vehicle Organization

Top Companies that make Overland Gear Bags, Vehicle Organization Systems & Camp Kitchen Gear Bags

When you start the journey into the overlanding, off-roading, or even just camping, storage is key.

Organizing your accessories and gear into the back of your 4Runner is important when heading out, whether that’s for the day, a long weekend, or multiple weeks at a time. It’s important to keep that gear organized into multiple compartments or gear bags in order to find what you’re looking for efficiently.

Gear bags are great because they can be organized into tight areas, drawer systems, or even larger storage boxes. Small zippered-style pouches and pockets are some of the most convenient secondary accessories that might be often overlooked. They offer the ability to quickly identify a set of essentials you need at any given moment especially if the case or bag is see-through or labeled.

These gear bags can range from wax canvas to mesh fabric, poly vinyl to see-through, velcro backed with straps, and much more. Some companies offer MOLLE webbing, velcro, integrated straps, zippered sections, and even multiple pockets throughout the entire design (inside and out).

Some of the higher-end gear bags, pockets, and pouches are a more advanced strong, non-elastic woven material (Nylon, Polyester, DuPont, or even Kevlar). Some of this stuff is made in China and some of it is made right here in the great US of A.

I wanted to dive into the top companies to look at when buying overland gear bags and organizing gear into your rig.

What are overland gear bags?

Any type of bag that makes life on the road more organized and easily accessible. That includes camp kitchen accessories, everyday carry, safety equipment, recovery gear, tools, toiletries and personal hygiene. Anyone who travels in their vehicle can use a good gear bag.

Don’t skimp on gear bags; they hold the items you depend on to survive.

Types of bags

1. Small pockets & pouches
2. Medium-Large gear bags & boxes
3. Tool rolls & tool bags
4. Specialty Bags

Depending on the style of travel you do and the amount of gear you roll with will depend on which bag(s) your gear essentials go into.

For small- and medium-sized accessories, it’s nice to have compact see-through zippered pockets. For large-size gear items, you may want something strong and possibly labeled. For oversized tools or specialty gear, you definitely want a bag with quality zippers and beefy pull straps or handles.

1. Small Pockets & Pouches

Pictured: Step22 Gear see-through Zippered Pouches

These are your everyday carry MOLLE bags, pockets and zippered pouches that you might find all over Amazon, Etsy, eBay, along with boutique sellers on the web. There are hundreds of small gear bags out there but only a handful that I would classify as offroad, mil-spec or overland-specific bags.

These smaller accessory bags and pouches are great for EDC gear such as tools, knives, pens, lighters, flashlights, wallets, keychains and more. Zippered-style pouches and pockets are also great for smaller camp cooking accessories and random miscellaneous items you can’t seem to keep contained or organized.

2. Medium-Large Bags & Storage Boxes

Pictured: Readywares Wax Canvas Bag +  Zarges K470 Aluminum Box 

Medium-sized bags are great for the gear essentials you carry in your truck on a daily basis; jumper cables, tow straps, first aid kits, tire repair kits, small recovery gear items (D-rinds, and shackles), and anything else that ranges from 5″ to 10″ and even 20″ wide. These medium-sized gear bags are great for leaving in your truck at all times.

Everyone has their own specific needs for transporting gear in larger bags or boxes, whether it’s soft or firm. Some of the items I find useful in larger gear bags are larger tools like:

• Hammers
• Crowbars
• Ratchet straps
• Recovery straps
• Tow straps
• Inflation systems,
• Portable compressors
• and much more.

Depending on your hobby, this has a pretty wide range.

For the off-roader and vehicle camper, you will likely have a box or bag dedicated to each category; camp kitchen accessories, recovery gear and everyday carry gear. Almost anyone can use a large gear bag or box to carry those essential gear items for that next epic adventure.

Aluminum boxes and large wax canvas duffles are really great for some of those larger items. You can see a review of the Zarges boxes here.

3. Tool Rolls & Tool Bags

Pictured: Bucket Boss Tool Roll + Step22 Gear Pangolin Tool Roll

Tool rolls and bags are typically designed to carry just that, tools. Their design has been tried and tested over many years resulting in the manufacturing of many different shapes and styles although they all have a similar concept.

You typically have three types here; tool bags, tool rolls, and wrench rolls.

Bags are designed to fit some of the larger tools like hammers, breaker bars, 1/2″ drives, etc. Tool rolls are designed with large zippered pockets and will fit just about everything you need on a daily basis 3/8″ drives, 1/4″ drivers and down. Lastly, you have wrench rolls which are typically designed to fit your open-end wrenches from around 24mm and down.

You will find many different manufacturers in this category. Everything from your generic Amazon and eBay brands to the one-off waxed bespoke pieces, there are plenty of options out there. I would consider a tool roll a must-have gear essential for any off-roader, Overlander, or generally speaking; any guy who is even remotely handy.

4. Specialty Bags

Pictured: Last US Bag Company Spare Tire Bag

Specialty bags are, well, special. In this category, you will find everything from a customized camp cooking utility roll to a spare tire storage bag, toiletry rolls, Dopp kits, and much more. In this category, you will also find plug-n-play MOLLE systems that are designed for certain seating areas in your vehicle.

Some specialty bags are designed for specific items like camp grilles, water bottles, compressors, recovery gear, riffles among many others. If you want a gear bag for your specific item, it’s likely that a company somewhere has made it.

Specialty bags are great as they are specifically designed and over-engineered for one use. These products tend to be a bit more high-end, and usually cost more than the universal bags. There are a handful of companies out there that make really cool specialty bags for spare tires, recovery gear, first aid, camp cooking, personal hygiene, EDC and much more.

Top Overland Gear Bag Brands

This is not “every overland gear bag company” however, a quick overview of some of the industry’s highest-quality overland gear storage and offroad focused gear bag manufacturers. We don’t have hands-on experience with each of these products or product offerings but for the company’s we do have experience with we go into a little more detail. We are running gear from five out of the seven companies mentioned below so the first five features have a little more detail than the last two.

1. Step 22 Gear

What they make:

• Tool roll
• Toiletry roll
• Wrench roll
• Storage box
• Tool/Gear pouch
• MOLLE gear bags
• Camp kitchen storage
• Recovery gear + more!

Company Highlights

• Materials: USA, Japan, Korea, Vietnam
• YKK® zippers
• Multi-Function and Over-Engineered
• Deep knowledge of the off-road industry
• Extensive background in textile manufacturing
• Wide product offering

Find them online

• Company Website

Step 22 Gear provides a wide variety of Overland gear bag essentials; including MOLLE pouches, tool rolls, storage boxes, toiletry rolls, recovery gear, and much more. Previously known as JackCovers.com, Step 22 Gear now manufacturers much more than jack covers alone.

The company started when the founder (Adam Wood) wanted a higher quality Jack cover for his Hi-Lift Jack. Since then, the well-known JackCovers.com line of jack covers expanded into adventure travel bags, recovery gear, and many other high-quality overland gear essentials and the company now goes by Step 22 Gear.

Coming from an offroad background combined with a deep understanding of textile manufacturing, Adam has years of experience in working with and producing some of the highest quality recovery gear on the market. This guy is actually out in the field pushing these products to their limit in order to give them his stamp of approval. He also teaches recovery gear classes at events such as Overland Expo.

Prior to 2020, there were many options on the market, however, Adam wanted to produce something better. Something truly special. Adam wanted vehicle equipment gear bags that did more than just hold stuff. He wanted a set of bags that were so over-engineered, they literally made your life simpler, easier, and downright better!

After nearly a year of traveling the world in search of the highest quality materials, Adam has created a pretty impressive line of gear bags.

Trail Takeaway?

After getting to know their Pangolin tool roll, Stingray flat box, and Hedgehog toiletry roll – we have been thoroughly impressed. From the second the products arrived, it’s been a near-perfect product experience. They arrive in ziplock bags, tagged and branded all the way around, including thank you card/stickers, and much more. Their presentation was absolutely flawless.

Running their actual products has been an eye-opener, to say the least. I honestly didn’t know that a tool roll could be as robust and feature-packed as the Pangolin tool roll. With the detachable mesh see-through zipper pockets, it makes running a tool roll incredibly convenient. And with the integrated wrench roll – the Pangolin tool roll really might be one of the best all-in-one tool rolls on the market. It’s on the larger side once you have everything packed up so if you are running short on space this may not be the best option for you but if you want a centralized location for all your tools and a user-friendly work environment on the trail – it’s a game-changer.

We haven’t had a ton of hands-on experience with the Stingray flat box or the Hedgehog toiletry roll so I won’t go into too much detail here. We will save this for a follow-up review on each item individually.

2. Last US Bag Company

What they make:

• Wrench roll
• Tool/Gear pouch
• Camp kitchen/tool storage bag
• Spare tire trash/wood/universal storage bag
• Tools/gear/first aid “Happy camper” bag
• Gear day packs and duffle bags
• Dopp kit
• Hand locker gear pouch

Company Highlights

• Made in the USA
• YKK® zippers
• Boutique gear bags
• Product-specific bags
• Made to order

Find them online

• Company Website

The Last US Bag Company is a US domestic and overseas manufacturer of textile bags and accessories, including soft cases, rolling bags, totes, backpacks, and more. Most of their product line is focused on producing industrial lines of gear bags for medical & front line professionals, along with many industries like Oil, Gas, Utilities, and Work-at-Height. They also serve a wide range of products that specialize in the Military and tactical contracting industries.

Okay, so how does this apply to off-roading and overlanding? Well, a ton of these gear bags actually crossover to very user-friendly applications. They have an outdoor, tactical, and adventure line of gear bags that are made right here in the USA. Each bag is made from recycled materials and every product is typically made to order.

From poly-vinyl gear bags to wrench rolls and back seat caddy systems to gear pouches – these are some of the highest quality gear bags I’ve ever seen.

Trail Takeaway?

Wow, a very impressive experience with this company.

We are running their spare tire bag carrier (Oscar’s mobile hideout) which is great for trash, wood, gear, and any other accessories you can fit in there. This is going to be something like a Trasharoo on steroids. This spare tire bag is made of a fade-resistant poly reinforced vinyl, has massive buckles, an integrated bottle opener, built-in d-rings, cinch straps, webbed pockets, and even more detailed features that make this bag the dominant player against its industry competitor (if you can even call a Trasharoo that).

Once I save up a few more bucks, I’m going to run their backseat gear caddy along with a handful of their hand locker gear pouches. If you are running a drawer system or storage containers, definitely give their hand lockers a look. They appear to be super high-quality little gear pouches and judging by the quality of their spare tire bag, the quality won’t disappoint.

Because everything is made to order, you may see longer than expected lead times but once you get the product in your hand it’s worth every second of the wait. Our industry deserves more companies like the Last US Bag Company.

3. Kifaru

What they make:

• Duffle bags
• Day packs
• Zipped pockets and pouches
• Quick pullouts
• Organizer pockets
• Mesh pullouts
• High-Quality hunting gear + more!

Company Highlights

• YKK® zippers
• Made in the USA
• Many pullout bag options: shapes, sizes, colors, etc.
• Unique-size pouch and pocket offerings

Find them online

• Company Website

If you are looking for the ultimate multi-size gear pouches in a wide variety of build-quality and colors, take a look at Kifaru. Their smaller accessory bags come in a wide variety of types offering you insane flexibility when dialing in your overland gear organization. In a nutshell, Kifaru offers a wide variety of products for hiking, fishing, hunting, and camping industries.

Some of the product lines that specifically stand out in the Kifaru lineup are their Belt Pouches, Ultralight Pullouts, and more specifically, the 500D Cordura Pullouts. These 500D Pullouts (pictured above) are offered in a wide variety of sizes; 8″ x 5″, 10″ x 6″, 13.5″ x 8″, 15″ x 10″, and 19″ x 14″. These pullouts are basically zipped pouches that let you manage small, medium, and large gear essentials.

These “grab-and-go” pouches have been quite popular because they let you easily organize permanent caches of gear that can be hung inside your pack, pocket or on a gear room wall. Rugged and incredibly lightweight with a full zipper for complete access. – Kifaru

Kifaru is one of the leaders in producing pouches, and zippered pockets for organizing gear. These products are great for recovery boxes, drawer systems, and storage systems that hold larger items. You can head over to their accessories page to see more of the product line on what they offer.

Trail Takeaway?

The Kifaru pull-outs that we have experience with have been extremely helpful in our drawer system and previously in boxes resting on the cargo tray of the 4Runner.

The different size pull-outs allow us to store smaller gear essentials all the way up to an extra set of boots in order to keep things organized. The thick YKK zippers plus their hand-tied pulls are very durable and after a couple of trips out, appear to hold up pretty well.

The shipping from Kifaru was pretty impressive. Each bag was inside of one another and the entire outside package was in a Ziploc bag, everything was tagged and branded, and they included thank you cards (notating their story).

4. 5.11 Tactical

What they make:

• Zippered & boxed pouches
• MOLLE pouches
• Duffle bags with pockets
• Backpacks
• Hexgrids
• Sling packs
• Gun storage

Company Highlights

• YKK® zippers
• Started in 1968
• Huge product offering: clothing, footwear, bags, EDC, etc.

Find them online

• Amazon Store (bags, pouches, and packs)
• Company Website

5.11 Tactical offers superior tactical apparel and gear for law enforcement, first responders, tactical operators, and recreational enthusiasts. The company originally started making pants after the founder hiked one of the toughest lines in Yosemite. Which is what the company is named after; 5.11 is a specific trail climbing difficulty. They have a pretty cool wiki-bio.

The company now makes everything from women’s and men’s specific outdoor gear to everyday carry accessories and gear bags. If you have been around the outdoor industry for any amount of time, it is likely you have heard the name 5.11 Tactical. They are a massive retailer of outdoor gear supplies and for the most part, on the more expensive side.

5.11 Tactical is pretty well known for some of their large duffle bags with sectioned pockets, small gear bags, backpacks, and MOLLE systems. If you are looking for a specific size bag, pocket, or zippered pouch, 5.11 Tactical likely has you covered. They offer a huge variety of gear packs, organization systems, and bags with many color options to choose from.

Trail Takeaway?

We are running a few of their smaller MOLLE pouches and they have worked great. Most of the 5.11 Tactical gear is very branded and has extremely high-quality parts with YKK zippers all the way around. Even though most of its products are made overseas, they have a high caliber of production. 5.11 Tactical gear offers a wide variety of designs that can be optioned with MOLLE straps, MOLLE webbing, and velcro so whatever you need mil-spec wise, they have it.

Most of their lineup is very robust and highly engineered with many features throughout the design making them very user-friendly and highly functional.

We can’t speak to any of their backpacks or clothing but from reviews around the web, it all seems to be pretty nice stuff.

5. Blue Ridge Overland

What they make:

• Tool rolls
• Recovery gear bags
• Seat organizer systems
• First-aid kits
• Camp cooking storage bags
• MOLLE gear bags
• Vehicle specific applications

Company Highlights

• Made in the USA
• In business since 2012
• Huge product offering: MOLLE systems, bags, pouches, first-aid, camp cooking, etc.

Find them online

• Company Website

One of the originators in the overland gear bag industry is Blue Ridge Overland Gear. They have been in the business of making organization and storage systems for the offroad, overland and camping industry since 2012. As one of the leaders and pioneers in the overland gear bag segment, hundreds of enthusiasts such as campers, overlanders, van life enthusiasts, and many others have depended on Blue Ridge Overland Gear for their high-quality long-lasting products.

All of their gear is handmade and stitched together right here in the USA. The prices are not cheap but are among some of the highest quality bags you will find in the industry.

Like you, we are passionate about exploring new horizons and getting outdoors as a way of life. Whether you are preparing for a weekend of camping, a family road trip, or an expedition across the continent, we’re here to help you get equipped and organized. – BROG

They have a huge product offering that includes camp cooking, first aid, MOLLE systems, specialty bags, tool bags, recovery gear bags, and even vehicle specific applications for the Toyota 4Runner, Tacoma, Land Cruiser, and more. Blue Ridge Overland Gear may have the largest lineup when it comes to “overland specific” bag applications.

BROG is well known for its zippered pouches (pictured above) and for good reason. These units are incredibly user-friendly and come in multiple shapes and sizes. Not only that, but they can be optioned velcro or no velcro and with see-through and non-see-through panels.

If you are looking to fully kit out your vehicle with Type-A focused organization, look no further than BROG. Take a look at their website as they offer a huge product line for the off-roader and vehicle camper in all of us.

Trail Takeaway?

We are running a few of their see-through zippered pouches and they are pretty nice. One of the zippered pouches has velcro backing and it has proved to be pretty universal throughout the cabin of our 4Runner and especially in our drawer system. If you are running a drawer system then I would consider looking at the BROG line of zippered pouches.

I wasn’t particularly impressed with their lead time, shipping, packaging, or customer service. We ordered three of their zippered pouches. Our order took a little over three weeks to arrive and when it did, it was less than impressive.  The three non-branded bags were loosely thrown into an oversize shipping bag with nothing else; not bagged, no card, no thank you note, no branding, no sticker, nothing. It was pretty sloppy, to say the least… the packaging was so bad it didn’t seem normal so I reached out. When I reached out to BROG and showed them how it arrived, they confirmed that was normal.

For a hand-stitched product in America, you would expect more but I guess they don’t so much care about presentation. Which at the end of the day, really made me question why I spent almost $80 on three zippered pouches. I had high expectations for BROG but I was pretty disappointed.

They make nice stuff but appear to be lacking in the customer experience department.

6. Overland Gear Guy

What they make:

• Van gear bags
• Bags and pouches
• Seat organizer systems
• Vehicle specific organization
• MOLLE gear
• MOLLE hooks + clips
• Cool patch titles
• Recovery gear bags

Company Highlights

• Made in the USA
• Made to order
• Huge product offering: MOLLE systems, bags, pouches, pockets, boxes, etc.

Find them online

• Company Website

Although we have no hands-on experience with Overland Gear Guy products, they look really nice. Overland gear guy is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and specializes in a wide variety of textile storage bags, MOLLE systems, and zippered pouches. They also offer an impressive line of visors, seat organizers, window covers, and much more. Most of their products are made by hand and made to order just like the Last US Bag Company.

The company prides itself on producing practical, reliable, functional American made products.

Some of their most notable products are vehicle-specific MOLLE organization systems. These systems are designed to work with front seats (headrests) and they even make cargo area (rear seat) storage systems. They are also well known for their labeled tool bag zippered pouches (offered in many colors) along with a large selection of item-specific bags and pouches.

Trail Takeaway?

Although we aren’t running any of their products yet, we wouldn’t be opposed to it. Most of their organization systems and tool pouches seem to be pretty impressive and well respected throughout the overland community.

With the wide variety of colors offered and title-specific patches that can be applied to each application, the options for customizing the interior organization of your vehicle are virtually endless.

7. Adventure Tool Company

What they make

• Tool rolls
• Wrench rolls
• Tool organization systems
• Pockets and pouches
• Gear bags
• Camp kitchen storage

Company Highlights

• Made in the USA
• MIL-SPEC Standards
• Old world waxed canvas production
• Lifetime warranty
• YKK® zippers

Find them online

• Company Website

Another brand that we have no hands-on experience with but was a detailed mention is Adventure Tool Company or commonly referred to as ATC. Based in Colorado, all of their products are made right here in the USA. ATC supplies high-quality waxed canvas bags and tool systems for the expedition and overland communities that need organization on the go.

As their name suggests, they specialize in a wide variety of tool bags, wrench rolls, and tool organization systems. They also offer a pretty decent selection of camp kitchen storage organization systems as well.

ATC has recently started to produce all of the recovery kit bags for Factor 55. You know the quality has to be up there in order for Factor 55 to have ATC manufacture and brand all their bags. Factor 55 has since been bought out by Warn so we will see if they continue this trend in their recovery kits seeing how Warn has their own line of gear bags; Warn Epic Trail Gear.

Trail Takeaway?

We have seen this brand mentioned throughout the community quite a few times. From previous reviews here on Trail4Runner.com to branded Factor 55 recovery bags, it is clear that many people have come to know and trust this company. If you are looking for a high-quality waxed canvas tool bag or tool organization system for your vehicle, take a look at the Adventure Tool Company.

Final Thoughts?

Honorable Mentions

• Topo Designs
• Atlas46 Tool Rolls
• Klien Tools bags
• Warn Epic Trail Gear
• Readywares Supply Co.
• Filson
• Matador Travel Equipment
• MIS

There are plenty of options out there when it comes to choosing overland gear bags. It really comes down to the shape, size, and type of bag you are looking for. Every piece of gear calls for different storage functionality and it’s likely you will find one company on this page that makes something for your intended application.

What works for one vehicle may not work for another. With the list above, you should be able to find enough bags that fit your exact vehicle build setup quite well. We did our best to scour the web in order to find the best overland gear bags out there and we feel like we did just that. You really can’t go wrong with any of the brands mentioned on this page.

Personally, I really like the Step 22 Gear VisiMesh tool pouches, the Kifaru Pull-outs, and the Readywares Wax Canvas Pouches the most. I would consider these amongst the three highest quality and most universal Overland gear bags out there for the smaller items.

My favorite item on this list of many would be the Last US Bag Companies spare tire bag. It’s super feature-packed, crazy universal, and just makes me want to travel.

If you feel like we missed a crucial bag or if we missed a company, please drop the information below!