Review: Helikon-Tex – EDC Backpack Cordura

It is my pleasure to give you another review by Lazarskyy! Recently she had the opportunity to take a closer look a one of Helikon-Tex‘ backpacks: the EDC backpack. Make sure to also check out her reviews on the Womens Cumulus or Wolfhound jackets!

Introduction

Sailing further on the sea colored shadow gray, we reach another Helikon-Tex product – the EDC backpack. The main assumptions of EDC (everyday carry) are: minimalization of weight and size, while at the same time maximizing functionality. Having that in mind Helikon-Tex created a backpack with a simple structure, consistent design and possibilities to expand its features. A possible competition for women’s handbag, and perfect to grab and run into new adventures.

Specs

HxWxL: 29 x 46 x 13,5 cm/ 11,5 X 18 X 5,3 in
Materials: Cordura® 500D, Woojin buckles, YKK zippers
Volume: 21L
Weight: 1090g
Compatible with the Versatile Insert System®

Overview

The EDC backpack is built with the thought of a spacious, two-chamber structure in mind:

The main chamber has no additional pockets, partitions or organizers. The only thing is a tape that allows you to install the hydration system.

And the obligatory port to route tubes to the outside

On the other side, we have the second chamber that is trimmed inside with a soft velour type material – to personalize it however you want with pockets and organizers compatible with the Versatile Insert System®.

Inner compartment to the front with velcro

Other personalization options are the sewn-on straps on the front and the sides of the backpack for modular systems compatible with MOLLE/PALS. There’s also place for your moral patches on the front hatch and some shockcord with cord lock– and we all love shockcord. 🙂

PALS webbing to the front to attach MOLLE items

Another feature are two compression straps, that can hold the backpack really well. The carrying system of the backpack is quite simple and consists of anatomical shoulder straps and a basic hip belt, that can be detached. In addition, the back is stiffened and has two mesh spacers that are designed to improve ventilation. Overall, the backpack is simple, without any frills and has a really good design.

Shock cord to the front and veclro panel for ID/insignia

Manufacture

As the construction is pretty basic, there’s not much to complain about. Mostly I’m always worried about buckles in backpacks, as winter trekking in cold temperatures might make them crack – this didn’t happen on my trip while walking in -20 Celsius degrees, so I suppose till that level they’re fine. 😀

The YKK® zippers are handy to grab, securely attached to the backpack. Going to the seams – in my backpack I didn’t spot any outgoing threads, even after some time of using it, but some of my friends noticed that in their packs, around the MOLLE/PALS straps, threads might come out.

In Use

I really like the idea of a backpack that if you want, you can throw everything inside and don’t care about what happens inside, or on the other hand – your inner pedant wakes up and you organize it like crazy. I decided to take the Cordura version, because I like to go hard on my backpacks by throwing them around, catch on different things etc. But despite high exposure to the elements nothing really happened to it, the seams do not come off and the material does not abrade.

What I didn’t like about the pack was the “hip” belt that’s not really reaching your hips. For me it places around my waist and it’s not very comfortable to wear, good thing is that you can detach it. In my opinion such kind of backpacks don’t really need hip belts – even while running without the hip belt, it sits well and does not hurt the back.

The „hip“ belt, which is not really necessary

The 21L capacity is one of my favorites – can hold one’s laptop, shoes, gym stuff, one or maybe two day of trekking things. It’s very universal and with help of the MOLLE/PALS system you can even magnify it, plus you have a nice amount of shockcord that can hold a small sleeping bag, jacket or fleece.

A similar role plays the Versatile Insert System® which has a pretty nice pocket selection – starting from simple elastic holder, to panels and adapters, and ending at pistol holders and magazine inserts. By the way, their price is also affordable.

Although if you care much about weight, you can get a backpack with the same capacity but with lower weight – I’m not going to complain about things that one could delete to make the backpack lighter, cause if you need even a more basic one, Helikon-Tex offers a simplified version – the EDC backpack lite, made of nylon that weights 515g less! The construction is basically the same they’ve just got rid of the MOLLE/PALS system and added some small pockets made of elastic mesh on the sides. One thing I would take from the lite version is at least one of the mesh pockets instead the MOLLE/PALS stripes on the backpack side. Also, one of the advantages is the fact that you can get Helikons backpack in many different camouflages and plain colours (literally you can get it even in Melange!).

Conclusion

The Helikon-Tex EDC backpack is perfect for every day, urban use. It is also an excellent choice for short field trips, where there is no need to carry a large amount of equipment, and you’re not really in the mood for a larger pack.

Also, if your budget is not huge, it’s a great price to quality ratio, cause you can get it for around 47,90 €/$57.90 on Helikon-Tex official site shop. It’s a great product if you’re looking for something more low profile, but still want to have something useful with the ability to improve. What can I say more, it’s a really nice basic backpack. 😀

With that being said, many thanks for reading and also thx to Helikon-Tex for making this review possible!

Take care!