I love large-format pistol caliber pistols. You know, guns like the Ruger PC Charger, the Micro Scorpion, the SIG MPX K, the CMMG Banshee, and all the other micro pistol caliber braced pistols. I just call them subguns and blame that on my love of submachine guns. I was a kid raised on ‘Die Hard’ and ‘Cobra’ so what do you expect?
Along with the rise of braced pistol subguns, we’ve also seen the rise of a supportive industry to cater to them. One such company is Lynx Defense and their Byte bag.
The Byte – Inside and Out
Lynx Defense built the Byte as a discreet submachine gun or PDW bag. It’s not loaded down with the typically tactical telltale features like MOLLE straps, hook and loop fields, and all that fun stuff.
On the outside, it’s just grey and black with an embroidered Lynx head logo. The only real hint as to what’s inside is the small tag that exclaims Lynx Defense.
On the outside, we have both a carry strap and a handle. Users can choose to swap the carry strap around for an over-the-shoulder configuration, or you can move the strap to the back and use it as an oversized sling bag, like a Range Backpack.
The strap and handle are both super wide like a seatbelt and that extra width helps support whatever you choose to stash in the bag.
My loaded-down bag weighs 17.5 pounds, and the padded strap never feels like it’s digging into my shoulder. I packed it and carried it around my house, yard, and even on a half-mile walk to check my mail at the end of a dusty trail. The weight tugged at my shoulder, and I’d occasionally swap, but the strap never dug in or caused pain.
The grey portion of the Lynx Defense Byte outlines a small external pocket. It’s big enough to pack some small essentials. I tossed in a notebook, a battery, and a spare magazine with room for more. It could be a dedicated IFAK pouch, carry a good bit of ammo, or ear and eye protection. It’s a generous pouch, but sits flat when not in use.
What Fits In the Byte?
Inside the main compartment, we get a roomy pouch fitted with a loop panel. Loop as in hook and loop. Two straps with a layer of hook backing are positioned in the bag and allow you to position and tie-down your braced pistol or submachine gun.
Lynx Defense lists compatibility with the following firearms:
H&K
HK SP5
HK MP5K
HK MP7A1
Sig Sauer
Sig Sauer Rattler Folded
Sig Sauer MPX Copperhead
CZ
CZ Scorpion Micro
CZ Scorpion Pistol
CZ Scorpion Folded
Palmetto State Armory
PSA AKV w/ Folding Stock (SKU# 5165490611)
B&T
APC9 Pistol
APC9 SMG Folded
APC9 PRO / APC40 PRO Folded
TP9-N
GHM9 Compact Gen 2
GHM45
Q
Honey Badger
Mini Fix 300 BLK Pistol
Miscellaneous
AR Pistols w/ <10.5″ Barrel with Law Folder
SBR’s with <10.5″ Barrel with Law Folder
Stashing Gats
In my testing, I can confirm it fits the CMMG Banshee and PC Charger as well. The interior pouch is 20 inches wide and provides plenty of room for most SMG-sized firearms. If you want a larger option of the same bag, check out the Lynx Defense Bronx and Bureau bags. The main pocket of the Byte is large enough to fit a wide variety of accessories with your firearm.
Lynx Defense also sent me individual pistol and pistol magazine attachments. So besides my Banshee Mk17, I added a P320 AGX and three extra P320 magazines in the bag. These guns share magazines, so the setup made sense. I had some extra room, so what else could I add?
How about a My Medic trauma kit? It fits perfectly and gives me a must-have medical kit. I was slowly turning my Lynx Defense Byte bag into some kind of super-spy kit you’d see in an action movie.
To stay on the theme, I added a Tru-Spec Armor shirt equipped with a Premier Armor soft panel. Now I was loaded with a little soft armor, two firearms that share magazines and ammunition, both sporting red dots — a total of 97 rounds of 9mm — a medical kit, and a few other goodies.
Zipped Up and Packed
Once the Byte was zipped up, it didn’t look overly bulky and there was no telltale printing. The front and pack are padded. That adds a much-needed layer of protection that also prevents printing and gun-like shapes from being evident. It looks like a slightly oversized laptop bag.
With all my stuff loaded, I went on that aforementioned half-mile walk. I live down a very long dirt road, so plenty of time and space to get some exercise and carry a big bag. I swapped shoulders every now and then, and picked up my mail. I popped the bag open and was happy to see nothing had slid in the bag. Both of my guns and all of my magazines stayed perfectly in place.
This isn’t a bug-out bag, but if the hook and loop sucks, then your guns might rattle around, and that’s not good. The Byte keeps the guns and gear secure, carries them well, provides a good degree of discretion and protection. It’s simple, well-made, and, as the tag says, handcrafted in the US of A. Price = $219.
I dunno, even without the tag that thing screams gun to me. That said, it is a good looking bag and sounds well made.
You know what doesn’t suck …… a brown paper bag and when it’s an AR15 platform pistol the even larger ones with the handles.
Nice setup. I wish I could have a PCC like that here, but muh SoCal, Democrats, and all that…
I made my own using one of these ($70)
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-16-in-Pro-Tool-Backpack-H-68004-03/312420749
Self-customized interior, holds smaller or taken down pistols, backpack to operator operating operationally: 30 seconds
AND! It’s exterior is urban camo. Splatter some paint or drywall mud on it. Hang a roll of electrical tape on the side.
No one will look twice.
I have a bag like that that I carry my AP5 in. But I also have several mags double clamped in there too. Mine weighed 5lbs more than yours. But bags such as this one are very handy to use for PDWs.
Racquet bag works well for me and doesn’t scream “gun”, especially if you throw a tennis ball on top when it’s riding shotgun.
Not worth $219.00.
Not sure what their understanding of “discreet” is but the thing screams ‘special purpose use’ which makes it stand out like the lap top carry bags did and plenty of those were snatched by thieves just thinking a lap top was inside even if there may not have been. A generalized backpack styling would have been more “discreet” because they are common and don’t scream ‘special purpose use’.
“Handcrafted in the USA” is an empty ‘marketing’ claim that doesn’t actually mean anything in this case as their web site information contradicts this claim, its called an ‘unqualified U.S. origin’ claim. Its not like a claim of ‘Handmade in the USA’. Its not the same as ‘Made in the USA’ or ‘American Made’ claims. The materials could have come from outside the U.S. .The distinction in commercial industry: ‘handcrafted’ means it was made entirely by hand or with the use of simple tools (e.g., knife, needle, paintbrush.) and there was no machine involvement in the creation of the goods …. ‘handmade’ means that machine production may have contributed to the production of raw materials or parts but the product was made by hand. The term “Handcrafted in the USA”, the ‘Handcrafted’ is misapplied here as they do use machines to create the product and they are not made entirely by hand and they indicate this on their web site.
Given that Lynx sources materials from U.S. sources one might think what it says on their web site means its all US made with US produced materials. This is what it says on their web site > “We strive to source all our materials, labor, and marketing products from suppliers in the United States. We want to ensure our customer’s money supports other like-minded businesses in the USA.” – it says it ‘strives’ which means they try, make an effort, and they do that, but they source from “suppliers” in the U.S. (which does not mean all organically U.S. based companies exactly – they show the ‘products’ they use in their creations on their web site at > https://lynxdefense.com/about/). “businesses in the USA.” does not mean an organic U.S. based business, lots of foreign companies have “businesses in the USA.”. And although the Lynx products are put together here in the U.S. – they use materials that are sourced from U.S. “suppliers” and those materials, although some may have originated in the U.S., they also originated from these suppliers manufacturing plants that are located in China or India or Europe or other areas of Asia. This is not a bad thing, its pretty common, but like most things in the gun world today someone might wonder ‘was it made in China?’ (or some other country).
100% US materials 100% US labor 100% sewn on a Chinese sewing machine.
We cant get away from them.
🤣
When ever I dont want someone to know I’m carrying a long gunm I put it in a cardboard box.
I just bought an antenna, a vacuum cleaner.
Your close-up photos are nice. But it would be cool to see a wider photo, perhaps of someone carrying the bag.
$219 price tag Sucks BIG TIME!
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