The Ratel Ratel backpack is one of the first packs that I bought for bigger games. It was a long struggle to find the right backpack for the games that I play and that fits my game style.
Important to know is that it takes me a lot of time to find the right piece of kit for me and one of the reasons that it takes that time is because there is a big range of products out there and there is even a bigger range of price tags out there and it’s important to find the balance between what you really need for Airsoft and what you want to spend for it.
I have been using this bag for over five years now and I have used it on bigger Milsim events but it’s also my go-to bag if we have to go on an airplane trip.
For me it was important that the backpack fits my whole bag not smaller or not bigger but that way you have the biggest dimension possible without having a bag sticking out. Because it almost covered the whole bag I had a bigger load capacity and it didn’t stick out as much as the normal day packs do. Also we started using the German foldable mats and they have a specific dimension. I don’t like to put things on the sides of the bag. I like to have my things inside the bag and those German folding mats are perfect for almost any occasion. You can use them to sit on, to sleep on, just to keep you dry and they fit perfectly inside this bag.
Features
Size, price and colors
The bag itself is 25 liters and it has three pockets one big and two smaller ones. The model that you see here is the first version of the Helikon Ratel and Helikon came out with the MK2. There are some small changes to the newer version but they’re roughly are still the same backpack.
The pack itself is 20 centimeters thick, it’s 29 to almost 30 centimeters wide and it’s 51 centimeters high.
I paid around 60 euro for this bag but the newer one is around 70-75 euro depending on the size you buy it from.
The pack is also available in a lot of colors. You have green, black, coyote, OD, green, multicam and the Polish camouflage. As you can see I chose the OD version because OD fits with everything.
Pockets and Belt
It has a detachable hip belt. My version has the wider belt with some molle loops. The newer MK2 has a smaller belt and I was a big fan of the bigger belt because it gave a lot of support and it held the pack really where it needed to be.
On top it has a very heavy duty carry handle. I use this carry handle every time if I have to throw the pack to somewhere and it has no wear on it whatsoever.
In the front you have a velcro ID panel where you can attach your patches that you want but for us it’s important to put our name or a special patch on it because a lot of the guys have the same pack and when you have a pile of Ratel packs it’s important to find and take the right one.
At the front of the bag you have the two smaller pockets and both of the pockets have organizers where you can put your small stuff in so that you don’t lose it or you don’t have to search for it as long in the field.
Inside the big pocket you have velcro loops to attach your bladder so you can have your hydration system inside the backpack and the hose comes out underneath the carry handle.
With this version of the pack you have molle all around the pack and you have those small little loops that I didn’t know the pack had but now I saw them and now I can use them. I don’t know where I can use them from but it’s a cool feature to put some keys or whatever on it if you need it.
But as I said I don’t like to put that much stuff on the outside of the pack but it’s nice if your pack is full and you need some extra carry-on you can use the molle to put extra pouches on.
Buckles, Straps and Zippers
So the next thing is the buckles. I found online that the mk2 version has wujin buckles. It’s the first time that I heard this name. I don’t know if there’s something special. I searched the internet for more information but I couldn’t find that much information about the buckles. So if anybody got more information about those buckles let me know and I like to know more about what makes the pack a whole.
One of the important things of the backpack is the straps. Those straps are very comfortable. I have no problem wearing it for a long time. They’re really padded and they’re really ventilated and I like them very much. So this bag has a stiffened back and I like that very much because if you are filling up the pack the bag keeps its shape as much as possible and it’s not crumbling in completely. It keeps its shape.
The last thing is the zippers. With the mk2 version they use the YKK zippers and we all know they are very durable zippers. With this one I checked it but with this pack I don’t know if they are already the YKK zippers or if they change it to the newer ones. But I have no problems at all with those zippers but I heard people having problem with their zippers if they just yank it too much.
Why the Helikon Ratel?
Those were are all the things that you can find online and a little bit of my personal touches. But why did I choose this pack?
I was looking for a pack that could fit all my gear for a longer event up to 24 hours and this pack came out price quality wise as the best choice.
It’s also the first pack that I bought for the bigger games so it needed to fulfill multiple roles. I also had to take it with me on the smaller missions because I only had one pack. Now I use this pack for every game between 12 to 24 hours. With the shorter missions I have another backpack to use for. In all the missions it serves me very well. I use it as a pillow, I use it as a chair, I threw it, I gave it to others if they need it, we threw it in cars and it has almost no wear on it. You can see it’s used but nothing is broken, there are no holes in it.
Another thing that is important with a bigger backpack is that it needs to come off fast and with this one I had no problems at all. You just click open your belt, you throw it off and you can use it as a cover. But the most important thing about the backpack is that it needs to be comfortable to wear and this one is really comfortable to wear. I really like it, it goes where I go, it doesn’t wobble and for me that’s a very important part. Because in the bigger games you have to walk a lot and if your backpack is wiggling you just use too much energy that you can use in another way.
If you’re looking for an all-around bag for airsoft and the bigger Games, this is the pack for you I really like how it’s built up and the features of it and if I had to make the decision again five years ago I would have definitely chosen this pack again.
A very important note on backpacks If you buy a pack that is too big for your needs You will fill it up with stuff anyway and that was just cause you to carry more weight on you that you don’t need so be careful If you fill a backpack that is too big don’t overfill it
This completes my thoughts about the Helikon Ratel backpack.