Lynx Defense, a Selma, North Carolina manufacturer of American-made range bags and shooting gear, has been nominated for the 2026 Coolest Thing Made in NC competition for its Pistol Range Bag, the company announced Sunday. The bag is one of 88 products competing in the statewide contest run by the NC Chamber.

Lynx Defense Pistol Range Bag in black, built from 1000D Cordura

Now in its seventh year, the competition celebrates products manufactured in North Carolina and the companies behind them. According to the NC Chamber, this year's field will produce winners in three divisions based on manufacturer size: small, medium and large business. Lynx Defense is entered in the small business category, which covers manufacturers with fewer than 100 employees.

Public voting in the first round is open through Wednesday, September 2. Voters can cast one vote per day in each category using a verified email address. Semifinalists are scheduled to be announced September 9, with the three statewide winners named October 1.

"We started Lynx Defense with a pretty simple goal: make better gear and make it here," said Michael Savage, founder and owner of Lynx Defense. "Our Pistol Range Bag was one of the first products we built, so seeing it recognized in a statewide competition celebrating North Carolina manufacturing means a lot to us."

"We're a small company, and everything we make is designed, cut, sewn and assembled right here in Selma," Savage said. "It's pretty cool to see something our team builds every day competing alongside products from manufacturers across North Carolina."

The nominated bag is built from 1000D Cordura nylon and sized to carry one to two handguns along with magazines, ammunition and the rest of a range loadout. It measures 17 inches long by 8.5 inches high by 9 inches wide on the exterior, with a 13.5-by-8-by-8.5-inch main compartment. Two removable handgun and magazine inserts let shooters reconfigure the interior as their setup changes, and a detachable rollout range mat is built into the bag for cleaning and staging guns on dirty benches. A reinforced carry handle, adjustable shoulder strap and hard bottom panel round out the design, and the bag carries a lifetime warranty. Pricing starts at $219.99 for in-stock configurations.

Interior of the Lynx Defense Pistol Range Bag showing the removable handgun and magazine inserts

The Pistol Bag has been in the Lynx Defense line since 2014 and remains one of the company's flagship products. Lynx Defense was founded in North Carolina in 2013 and builds its products at a facility in downtown Selma, where the company says every bag is designed, cut, sewn and assembled. Its catalog runs to purpose-built pistol bags, discreet and tactical rifle cases, backpacks and shooting accessories, with an emphasis on internal organization and domestic manufacturing.

Lynx Defense Pistol Range Bag with its integrated rollout range mat deployed

The NC Chamber launched the Coolest Thing Made in NC contest in 2020 to showcase manufacturing in the state and raise awareness of the industry's economic footprint. Manufacturing accounts for roughly 15 percent of North Carolina's gross state product and employs about 453,000 people, according to figures the contest cites from the National Association of Manufacturers and the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Voting for the Lynx Defense Pistol Range Bag is open here through September 2.