Gear Shots Oct 2024: a Hip Pack, Pants, Fancy Valves and more!

Evoc Hip Pack Pro E Ride 3

I have tested a few hip bags in the past, the Hyperlite Versa, and the Raceface Stash Hip and Gear bag. The Evoc Hip Pack Pro E Ride 3 is not only the best of the lot, it has the longest and hardest to type product name. From here on I will refer to it as the Ride 3.

I don't usually wear a hip bag unless I am on a long ride or a ride needing supplies like food, extra water, jacket, work gloves and small tools or a summit beverage. The Ride 3 was used about a dozen times for these reasons.

Of the features listed below, the ones I appreciated most were comfort, the snug fit when cinched up with the compression straps for riding downhill and the ventilation on hot days.

Features

• Designed for maximum ventilation with Air Flow Contact System
• Key holder
• Bottle pocket
• Tool compartment
• Hydration system compartment (Hydration bladder sold separately)
• Extra wide hip wings
• Compression straps
• Mobile phone compartment
• Nutrition compartment
• Material: N210 D Ripstop, 3D Air Mesh, Airo Flex
• Volume: 3L
• Size: 28 x 18 x 8cm (11 x 7.1 x 3.1”)
• Weight: 460g (1lb)

Evoc is marketing this bag as an E-bike product. Two E features are the strap attachment system for secure charger storage and a separate compartment for control display. I do not understand the charger storage as there is no way I would ever lug around my charger. Are riders going to hit a battery burning ride then stop at a café and charge for another two hours? This seems like an excuse to just add the letter E for electric, exposure and extra as in more SKUs. The control display feature is also one I don't understand. If your eMTB uses a separate control display isn't it on your phone? Whatever the reason, the Ride 3 has all the compartments, comfort and functionality I could ask for in a hip bag.

The one feature missing is the bladder (sold separately starting at 66 CAD) but I have never liked carrying a water bladder on my hip so I do not see this as a negative.

The foam blocks covered by breathable mesh, the padded side pockets and the dual locking belt combine to make the Evoc Hip Pack Pro E Ride 3 the most comfortable hip bag I have used.

Evoc Hip Pack Pro E Ride 3: 160 CAD

Yeti Renegade pant

Yeti has updated their Renegade that Deniz reviewed last year. The soft and stretchy recycled nylon Toray 127G/M2 woven fabric makes the Renegade a very comfortable biking pant. Yeti has included a number of design features that have led me to reach for the them over my other 6 pairs of riding pants. And yes, I do have a pants problem.

Features

• Recycled Nylon Toray 127G/M2 stretch woven fabric
• PFC free C0 durable water repellent finish sheds water
• Ratchet buckle closure allows for secure dialed in fit
• Two zipper secured angled side pockets
• Rear envelope pocket at waistband for small item/food storage
• Laser perforations on inside legs for breathability
• 31" inseam, 33" inseam for long version
• Race Fit is snug while allowing for movement
• 88% recycled Nylon/12% Spandex

Starting at the waist, the ubiquitous ratchet buckle closure is common on many mtb pants. It works well with the velcro waist and fly closure pieces. The waistband is about one inch and has a small stealthy rear pocket storage slot that I never used. Some riders might make use of it for packing a bar or even a spare tube.

The mediums I tested fit tight compared to other brands' mediums. I did not mind the snug feeling due to the light, stretchy and ventilated material. Reading reviews on the Yeti site, many respondents mention sizing up one size however I think that would lead the waist and crotch being too large for me and my 'five nineness'.

The only issue I had with the Renegades was a hole in the crotch I created. I am guessing it happened when the crotch caught on my saddle getting on or off the bike but I'm not certain. I sewed it up with nylon thread and it has been fine for the past 8 rides.

Both side pockets have a small pocket within. I used the mini pockets for my car fob in one and my glasses in the other. The main pockets are large enough for a phone and similar sized items in each pocket. Personally I prefer an additional two open front pockets like the ones in the 7Mesh Glidepaths I tested. I use these pockets for carrying random things to and from the ride so I don't have to twist and unzip the side pockets. But do I really need this added comfort? No, I did just fine without them.

Yeti claims their PFC free C0 durable water repellent finish sheds water. I had a few rides where puddle splash and light rain did shed and not penetrate the fabric; however, riding through puddles soaked my butt on all roll-throughs.

The Renegade design uses perforated laser vents on the inner thighs and back of the calves for cooling on hot days and climbs. I wore the pants on two warm days (about 22 celsius) and appreciated the vents on all the climbs.

The knee sections feature a light see-through mesh on the back for more cooling. I could not tell if this worked or not because my knee pads blocked any sense of chill that may or may not have been there.

The ankles are snug but use stretch fabric to make putting them on and off easy. When compared to my Glidepaths, that have no stretch and need a bit of leg wrestling to take off. I appreciated the stretchy ankle cuff.

Even though the pants fit snug and I tore a hole in the crotch, these are my go to pants for all conditions excluding wet days. The comfortable material, quality waist closures and zippered pockets as well as the stretch and vent holes all function well.

Yeti Renegade pants are currently selling for 180 USD

Muc-Off Big Bore Tubeless Valves

Presta valves and sealant are not a great combo. In fact, presta valves and tubeless aren't a great combo full stop, without a small intervention. Trying to get a tire to seat while pumping air through a presta valve is like trying to inflate a balloon by blowing through a whistle. The valve core takes up a lot of volume and cuts the air flow down to maybe 25% of what it would be without the core. If you haven't tried, pump up your tire with the core removed and then compare the effort pumping it up with the core in place. The difference is enormous.

I have a compressor to seat tubeless and a couple of years ago I stumbled upon something that was remarkable and new to me. I had my Schrader head compressor line in my hand and a wheel in the other with a core-less presta valve. I pushed the head on and voilà! Air flowed in like I couldn't believe. The problem wasn't the bore of the presta valve, it was the valve core. Since that time seating tires has been a breeze and I've only blown off one with my newfound flow.

This was probably on Muc-Off's minds when they were trying to figure out a better valve for inflating and seating tubeless tires and installing sealant. In the process they decided to get rid of the tubeless valve core and use a ball valve to keep the air in. You simply turn the lever 90º and the system goes from open to closed and vice versa. This makes a lot of sense for everything you need from a valve: better flow for inflation, seating tubeless tires and adding sealant. The caveat however is that the flow will be determined by the smallest diameter of the tube, which in this case means the diameter of a regular presta valve. The upper tube has a larger diameter, but that won't matter much, the way the diameter of your pump hose doesn't matter, because there is a smaller diameter downstream. The big however here is that a hand or floor pump is not a compressor and they don't play nicely with core-less presta valves. The presta side is usually too small and the Schrader side is too big to get a good seal. The Big Bore Valves however fit perfectly. All you need to do is fix your pump to the larger upper bore, secure it, either with a clamp or by threading it on, open the ball valve with the wee lever, and pump away. You'll be able to pump much more volume with less effort and in less time.

I haven't yet had the chance to use these, and at first I was a little skeptical. They are a little heavy (9.9g compared to 5.0g for a presta with core) which is a slightly bigger deal when it is weight on one side of your wheel spinning,* you are well advised to use the valve cover because the large open top will gum up easily, and you aren't actually getting more bore than you would from a presta valve with no core, except if you are using some sort of manual pump, which is very likely to be the case in an emergency. Another bonus is you never have to remove an easily clogged valve core that isn't there, and the upper bore here should be easily unclogged.

*This is why wheels for automotive use get balanced with weights.

Muc Off Big Bore Hybrid Valves - 50 USD

Preview - Vittoria Air-Liner Protect E-Bike

After the premature call on the Panzer inserts I'm a little reluctant to predict how these will go but I like what I see so far. These have a lot of volume and a great shape and they weigh only 150g. These are the E-Bike model at that weight and I put them on a pedal bike. I haven't ridden on them much yet, nor have I done any run-flat testing or inspected them after any hits, but I'm hoping the foam is as durable as that used by Octamousse, as one example.