My Next EDC Bag - Helikon-Tex RACCOON

Greetings readers, six months ago I shared with you some of the shortcomings I faced in using the 5.11 Rush 12 backpack. In the same post, I surmised that the solution to the problem was a bag that Helikon-Tex had just released back then; the Direct Action Dragon Egg. Well, six months later, I still haven't acquired the Dragon Egg, and now I don't think I will. Why? Straight up, the Dragon Egg isn't the cheapest bag. It'll set me back by at least $150, which I didn't think was worth it considering the Rush 12 still serves me decently. Second, and also the main reason behind this post is that I've found something else.

The Helikon-Tex RACCOON backpack.

Now, why was I dissuaded from going with the Dragon Egg?

Picture credit of KICKAss Tactical

I came across several pictures of the Dragon Egg in actual use and it simply seemed to large for my purposes. Understandably, I did mention that I wanted a larger bag than the Rush 12 in the aforementioned post. I've now graduated from college though and gone are the days where I have to pack my textbooks along with my gym shoes and a shaker bottle. I have begun to find even the Rush 12 a little larger than I'd like it to be. Therefore, the next EDC bag I go for would have to smaller than the Rush 12. I was faced with another choice, competing for attention with the RACCOON however.

The Direct Action Dust is the Dragon Egg's little brother, sporting similar features, construction materials, but being five litres smaller in capacity (same as the RACCOON at 20L). It would also ideally by my EDC bag of choice. Here's the thing though, the lowest price I could find for the Dust backpack was 82 EUR while the RACCOON was just half of that at 41 EUR. Of course, there's a trade-off; the RACCOON is made from polyester and doesn't feature Duraflex buckles like the Direct Action line does, which is also made from 500D Cordura.


 

Still, the RACCOON sports the meshed ventilation on its back, one of the things I needed most but the Rush 12 didn't have. The RACCOON is relatively cheap, seems to be decent and it looks great to me. And for that, the RACCOON shall be my next EDC bag purchase. Expect to see a review of the RACCOON in a couple weeks time. Thank you for reading and stay tuned!