The 5.11 Tactical Rush 12 is a gateway bag for many of us bag enthusiasts — affordable enough as a first dip in the waters of serious bag addiction and robust enough to count as an “only bag you’ll ever need” bag. As you’ll see from this review, it’s extremely usable and practical, but has a couple of drawbacks that could send you firmly on the quest for your next “only bag”. Be warned! This is not a quest to be undertaken lightly.
My bag with patch and dangly bit
I’ve had my Rush 12 a couple of years now. It’s been in boats, on hikes in the bush, on computer-based trips out of town and on all sorts of other adventures. It’s been soaked in salt water and cleaned off again several times, and not much can survive that.
Salty sea bag
First impressions of any product tend to start with how it looks, so let’s begin there. As you probably already gathered, this is a military-style backpack and although its size and configuration of pockets make it quite practical for business trips it has the obvious downside of being a bit… butch. Especially in any colour other than black. I have taken it on business trips, but only when the destination is a military base. More on that later.
Butch bag
When worn on an average/small sized person (I’m 5’ 6”) fully loaded it might also come across as somewhat bulky as much of the capacity is housed in depth rather than height. The two compression straps are not quite enough to counter the bulk effect because they mainly act on the top of the main compartment.
Compression straps act on the top portion of the bag
Close up compression straps
Fully packed, the bag sticks out from my back quite a lot. I’m 5’6” and of medium build. For a girl.
Lighter loads sit a bit better with straps cinched
Societal preconceptions aside, I actually quite like the way this bag looks. It is well proportioned and, with the squarish main compartment and smaller front panel pocket, is a classic backpack configuration. Having only one exterior pocket with its own capacity, the Rush 12 retains a bit of a sleek silhouette despite being covered in molle. Other backpacks in this genre can end up looking like a rock with barnacles even before any molle accessories join the party.
A well-proportioned, backpackey bag
Looks aside, this is a very usable pack. The Rush 12 is comfortable to carry, even with a full load. The harness is very robust, and the yoke at the top of the straps helps to distribute weight across the whole shoulder area. The straps themselves might seem a bit stiff to some people, but I find that along with their generous width and thickness this all goes towards a comfortable carry with heavier gear.
The chest strap improves the carry for those of us with narrower frames, but I have found over time that the elastic part has become stretched and the strap is now just a bit too long to do the job properly. There are triglides available to attach a waist belt up to 1.5 inches but you might have to make your own unless you get lucky stealing one from another bag. It’s nice to be able to use this wide webbing though, because you can get enough stuff in the bag to warrant transferring some weight to the hips and I find that thinner waist belts only really help with stabilisation and not weight distribution.
In terms of capacity this backpack can pack away just about enough for a lightweight overnighter and easily caters for a day trip in the wilderness or around town. The official 5.11 website has the capacity at 24 litres, which is a pretty common size for a day pack or EDC bag. You can see a few loadout pictures there too.
I’ve added a bottle holder and a first aid pouch to the sides when I need more space, and although this does make things a bit wide it’s certainly convenient to be able to do. Same goes with adding an admin pouch on the front. The downside of adding molle pouches is always that it disrupts the lines of the design, but when you’re out for a hike in a remote patch of bush I suppose nobody will judge you on your silhouette.
Practical pockets
Just the right configuration of pockets makes organising gear really easy. The quick access pocket on the front is easily my favourite ever pocket on any bag I own.
My favourite pocket
The mesh pockets on the inside of the main compartment lid are perfect for stashing gloves, hat and neck warmer, a bunch of snacks or your cables and chargers.
Front mesh pockets make stuff easy to get to
My latest loadout was for a music festival where it can get cold at night, so the main clamshell compartment held a mid layer, a sweater, a light down jacket and a packable rain coat as well as bug repellent, sun screen and my first aid kit. I think there’s a microfibre towel in the bottom too. Lighter loads often just use pockets, with nothing in the main bag, which is a bit odd. Good thing it has compression straps.
Festival loadout
Access to the main compartment is less easy than the outer pockets. It can be a bit hard to get into at times due to having to get the zip past molle on the rain guard and past flapping compression straps and pouches. The quick access pockets are easy though, and get used a lot. The stretchy pocket inside the main compartment lost one end of the elastic cord - it came free from the anchor point and snuck out the hole at centre. I sewed it back in.
Under the sweater is the stretchy pocket
The front admin pocket has plenty of organisation, including pockets sized for a knife or multi-tool, flashlights, notebooks and pens. A larger slip pocket can contain, for example, a Maxpedition admin pouch and if that’s still not enough there’s a zippered pocket behind all that as well. This is a bag that doesn’t need any extra admin pouches, but those of us who change bags often might find that it’s easier to slip one in and not use the built in organisation at all. Either way, this is a useful pocket.
Front pocket
To sum up, the practical nature of this bag is enough to get you properly hooked, with plenty or capacity and organisation and a comfortable carry system. The aspect that has sent me further on the quest for my perfect bag is the overtly tactical look, the extent it sticks out from my back, and perhaps ease of access of the main compartment influenced my quest a bit too.
Rush 12 on a hike
This bag is well worth the money, and the best entry bag for budding serious bag addicts.