PICTURES WILL BE UPLOADED SOON
Good day, readers of The Watch Post. It's been some time since the last post and in the time between, something happened; I took delivery of the Helikon-Tex RACCOON backpack.
Good day, readers of The Watch Post. It's been some time since the last post and in the time between, something happened; I took delivery of the Helikon-Tex RACCOON backpack.
Some one week back, I came by a military gear web store which was having an anniversary sale and was having a storewide promotion of 30% off. Quickly, I placed an order for the Helikon-Tex RACCOON, for a price of 32 EUR, inclusive of shipping, which I think is a great price compared to the next best price I could find. Before we get to my findings however, let's take a look at the specs to be found on this pack.
100% Polyester construction
20L capacity
Main compartment dimensions 43x23x14cm
1270 g
Adjustable shoulder straps and webbing hip belt
Hydration bladder compartment
Admin pouch on front
Quick release shoulder straps
MOLLE/PALS compatible
So there we have the specs, and it's quite a full featured pack in spite of the rather small size of it, such as the hip belt that is inclusive of the package, and the rather hefty weight of it overall.
Let's dive right into the construction of the bag. First off, I should disclose that the RACCOON is quite a fair bit easier on the wallet than your typical 5.11
Tactical or Maxpedition bag and it would therefore be an apples to oranges comparison as the RACCOON and another pack such as the RUSH 12 belong in different leagues. Still, the RUSH 12 is the one other tactical EDC bag that I've owned and I shall therefore be drawing quite a few comparisons between the two.
On the tag, we can see that the RACCOON is made in China, featuring polyester construction. The fabric does feel rather like nylon, in that it has that smooth, technical finish and texture to it. It isn't made from the thickest material and the fabric on the 5.11 Tactical RUSH 12 does feel quite a bit more substantial than the RACCOON. For the loads that I'll be subjecting it to (jackets, water bottles, EDC) however, I believe the RACCOON will hold up just fine. I wouldn't however place enough faith in the RACCOON however to go rucking with it, unless I had the A-TACS version which is constructed from 500D Cordura.
The price also meant that this bag couldn't have top-of-the-line hardware such as YKK zippers and Duraflex buckles. The RACCOON comes with SBS zippers instead. One gripe that I had with these zippers were that they kept catching onto the fabric of the bag while in operation which is a little irritating to say the least. While I can't ascertain the longevity of the zippers right now having not spent a substantial enough time utilizing them yet, I'll definitely report back here should there be any issues. Overall, the RACCOON is relatively well built for the price, with clean stitching and a good consistency in the fabric, although the fabric is a little towards the thin side. It shouldn't however be much of a problem unless you are intending to carry heavy loads, in which case you should be looking at other packs. This bag is a 20L bag meant for EDC and not bricks. The difference in price versus the RUSH 12 shows, with a cheaper fabric, buckles and zippers being used. That said, the RACCOON is decently constructed and I was pleasantly surprised at what I was getting for 32 EUR.
Design wise, this bag definitely draws inspiration from the RUSH 12. The carry handle, flanked by the openings for your hydration tube, is an almost exact copy of how the one on the RUSH 12 looks. Not that it's a bad thing however, the RUSH 12 has tube opening ergonomics down to a science and the same design appearing on the RACCOON means I get to enjoy the same ergonomics. If originality was a concern for you though, don't worry as the rest of the RACCOON has a look distinct enough to differentiate it from the RUSH series. Sadly, we start with a negative; the main compartment isn't clamshell style, a feature I miss sorely from my time with the RUSH 12. Having got used to the clamshell on the RUSH 12, you'll feel major pains whenever you get back to using a non-clamshell style pack as it makes organizing the contents of the compartment a much more troublesome affair. Simply put, once you've experienced using a clamshell style backpack there's no going back.
The main compartment features a few smaller compartments. A see-through compartment like the ones on the RUSH series as well as two zippered compartments on the other side. One of these compartments is really only good for flat objects since it doesn't have much depth to it. In my usage, I've found that a notebook or writing materials would fit well here. The other compartment plays host to the HDPE back stiffener, which is of course a must in any decent backpack. This one does its job just fine, being just as stiff as the one on the RUSH 12. You'll find no problems with being poked by irregularly shaped or pointy objects in your bag.
The other compartment that the RACCOON has would be the admin pouch on the front. It has quite a few compartments, all of which are secured by a velcro on top of each to prevent the contents from spilling out as well as to serve as a separator if you choose to put smaller items. The admin pouch isn't as well thought out as the one on the RUSH series, with there being no zipped compartments and most of these compartments were somewhat lacking in depth and width. That is of course a limitation imposed by the size of the pack. A smaller pack, a smaller admin pouch area.
I would've liked an additional compartment to be present on the RACCOON. Right now, the RACCOON features just two compartments, both of which are major compartments. A smaller compartment independent of the main ones would've been nice, to store small items such as coins, sunglasses and other small items conveniently.
Another peeve I had with the RACCOON was the strap management. Compared to the RUSH 12, which had keepers for every strap and made managing them such a breeze, the RACCOON offered no such experience. Helikon-Tex has opted for velcro keepers which fundamentally don't work very well as they are severely limited in the length they are able to manage. I had to find alternative means to roll up the excess and it just isn't all that good of a system.
One of the major advantages this pack holds over the RUSH series however is the presence of air mesh on the back. This is perhaps the biggest reason I could not continue using the RUSH 12, it was just too hot given the weather conditions in Singapore. The RACCOON on the other hand, with air mesh on the back and the straps as well, manages to keep temperatures manageable. It's not as good as not wearing a backpack at all of course, but air mesh is a significant improvement in keeping your back cool. I can carry this backpack with both straps on in Singapore weather (that being 30 degree Celsius and at least 60% humidity all year round) without soaking the back of my shirt. Helikon-Tex has done a great job in this aspect on the RACCOON. The pack is rather tall and thin as well, a welcome departure from the RUSH 12 for me as that was one of the gripes I had with it.
The RACCOON has shock cord on the front of the pack, which although I don't frequently utilize, can see it having its uses such as stuffing a thin jacket outside for easy access or dirty clothing so that it won't dirty the contents. I also found another use for it; to hang a ring off the end of the cord, which I really liked as I felt it really helps personalize your backpack.
The whole pack is covered in MOLLE, making modularity a possibility and also giving the pack a tacticool look. I'd very much see myself adding a water bottle pouch in the future so it's good that I can do that thanks to MOLLE.
In closing, while this pack seems to lack some things such as premium materials and several shortcomings in the design aspect, the price for which I acquired the RACCOON is just half of what I paid for the RUSH 12. The RACCOON doesn't have YKK zippers, Duraflex buckles or Cordura construction and that's OK, because lacking those it is still a very decent, usable backpack. The RACCOON is growing on me by day honestly and I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a small and well-priced daypack. So that's it for the review of the Helikon-Tex RACCOON, thank you for reading and have a good day!
EDIT: Took the pack out for a 13km trek today (23rd May 2015), and I'm glad to announce that the pack fared supremely well throughout the trek. The mesh back did wonders in keeping my back at a comfortable temperature, and the straps were very comfortable. Sometimes, I felt like I wasn't even carrying a backpack, as long as the straps were configured to the right length.
On the tag, we can see that the RACCOON is made in China, featuring polyester construction. The fabric does feel rather like nylon, in that it has that smooth, technical finish and texture to it. It isn't made from the thickest material and the fabric on the 5.11 Tactical RUSH 12 does feel quite a bit more substantial than the RACCOON. For the loads that I'll be subjecting it to (jackets, water bottles, EDC) however, I believe the RACCOON will hold up just fine. I wouldn't however place enough faith in the RACCOON however to go rucking with it, unless I had the A-TACS version which is constructed from 500D Cordura.
The price also meant that this bag couldn't have top-of-the-line hardware such as YKK zippers and Duraflex buckles. The RACCOON comes with SBS zippers instead. One gripe that I had with these zippers were that they kept catching onto the fabric of the bag while in operation which is a little irritating to say the least. While I can't ascertain the longevity of the zippers right now having not spent a substantial enough time utilizing them yet, I'll definitely report back here should there be any issues. Overall, the RACCOON is relatively well built for the price, with clean stitching and a good consistency in the fabric, although the fabric is a little towards the thin side. It shouldn't however be much of a problem unless you are intending to carry heavy loads, in which case you should be looking at other packs. This bag is a 20L bag meant for EDC and not bricks. The difference in price versus the RUSH 12 shows, with a cheaper fabric, buckles and zippers being used. That said, the RACCOON is decently constructed and I was pleasantly surprised at what I was getting for 32 EUR.
Design wise, this bag definitely draws inspiration from the RUSH 12. The carry handle, flanked by the openings for your hydration tube, is an almost exact copy of how the one on the RUSH 12 looks. Not that it's a bad thing however, the RUSH 12 has tube opening ergonomics down to a science and the same design appearing on the RACCOON means I get to enjoy the same ergonomics. If originality was a concern for you though, don't worry as the rest of the RACCOON has a look distinct enough to differentiate it from the RUSH series. Sadly, we start with a negative; the main compartment isn't clamshell style, a feature I miss sorely from my time with the RUSH 12. Having got used to the clamshell on the RUSH 12, you'll feel major pains whenever you get back to using a non-clamshell style pack as it makes organizing the contents of the compartment a much more troublesome affair. Simply put, once you've experienced using a clamshell style backpack there's no going back.
The main compartment features a few smaller compartments. A see-through compartment like the ones on the RUSH series as well as two zippered compartments on the other side. One of these compartments is really only good for flat objects since it doesn't have much depth to it. In my usage, I've found that a notebook or writing materials would fit well here. The other compartment plays host to the HDPE back stiffener, which is of course a must in any decent backpack. This one does its job just fine, being just as stiff as the one on the RUSH 12. You'll find no problems with being poked by irregularly shaped or pointy objects in your bag.
The other compartment that the RACCOON has would be the admin pouch on the front. It has quite a few compartments, all of which are secured by a velcro on top of each to prevent the contents from spilling out as well as to serve as a separator if you choose to put smaller items. The admin pouch isn't as well thought out as the one on the RUSH series, with there being no zipped compartments and most of these compartments were somewhat lacking in depth and width. That is of course a limitation imposed by the size of the pack. A smaller pack, a smaller admin pouch area.
I would've liked an additional compartment to be present on the RACCOON. Right now, the RACCOON features just two compartments, both of which are major compartments. A smaller compartment independent of the main ones would've been nice, to store small items such as coins, sunglasses and other small items conveniently.
Another peeve I had with the RACCOON was the strap management. Compared to the RUSH 12, which had keepers for every strap and made managing them such a breeze, the RACCOON offered no such experience. Helikon-Tex has opted for velcro keepers which fundamentally don't work very well as they are severely limited in the length they are able to manage. I had to find alternative means to roll up the excess and it just isn't all that good of a system.
One of the major advantages this pack holds over the RUSH series however is the presence of air mesh on the back. This is perhaps the biggest reason I could not continue using the RUSH 12, it was just too hot given the weather conditions in Singapore. The RACCOON on the other hand, with air mesh on the back and the straps as well, manages to keep temperatures manageable. It's not as good as not wearing a backpack at all of course, but air mesh is a significant improvement in keeping your back cool. I can carry this backpack with both straps on in Singapore weather (that being 30 degree Celsius and at least 60% humidity all year round) without soaking the back of my shirt. Helikon-Tex has done a great job in this aspect on the RACCOON. The pack is rather tall and thin as well, a welcome departure from the RUSH 12 for me as that was one of the gripes I had with it.
The RACCOON has shock cord on the front of the pack, which although I don't frequently utilize, can see it having its uses such as stuffing a thin jacket outside for easy access or dirty clothing so that it won't dirty the contents. I also found another use for it; to hang a ring off the end of the cord, which I really liked as I felt it really helps personalize your backpack.
The whole pack is covered in MOLLE, making modularity a possibility and also giving the pack a tacticool look. I'd very much see myself adding a water bottle pouch in the future so it's good that I can do that thanks to MOLLE.
In closing, while this pack seems to lack some things such as premium materials and several shortcomings in the design aspect, the price for which I acquired the RACCOON is just half of what I paid for the RUSH 12. The RACCOON doesn't have YKK zippers, Duraflex buckles or Cordura construction and that's OK, because lacking those it is still a very decent, usable backpack. The RACCOON is growing on me by day honestly and I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a small and well-priced daypack. So that's it for the review of the Helikon-Tex RACCOON, thank you for reading and have a good day!
EDIT: Took the pack out for a 13km trek today (23rd May 2015), and I'm glad to announce that the pack fared supremely well throughout the trek. The mesh back did wonders in keeping my back at a comfortable temperature, and the straps were very comfortable. Sometimes, I felt like I wasn't even carrying a backpack, as long as the straps were configured to the right length.
