Backpacks

Posted by: shoreboy

Posted by: XXX_er

Posted by: shoreboy

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Posted by: thaaad

I bought a brand new Evoc hydro pack last year for a couple long day trip rides. Set it up with all the gear in the garage, rode around the block a couple times, immediately stripped everything and set up the hip bag again. It is just way too hot for me now.

Forgot to return it so now it just sits in the closet with the tags on :/

Yeah, I am with you on having water on my back.  I assume part of your hate on is because of the water bladder?  I like my water weight as much on my bike as possible.  Even in my hippack which holds 1 or two bottles isn't fun.

I would be the exact opposite of this. I want no extra weight on my bike, id prefer to carry it on my body. Do I notice the 3L of water weight on my back? No, not really. Would I notice 2L in bottles on my bike? Most definitely. Granted packs are hot, but I have ridden with one for so long now, it doesnt feel right without one there. I can carry all my tools, water, food and the extra protection for your back and sides is an extra bonus.

I thot this ^^ concept would be obvious ?

I also thought this concept is obvious, yet people cant seem to find enough way to strap extra stuff on their frames. SWAT boxes, gear straps, water bottles, frame bags. Each to their own I guess.

For some riders strapping stuff to the bike like tool pouches and such is about managing issues due to injuries. Reality is for some riders severe and traumatic injuries long term effects means that too much weight in a pack triggers injury pain and such. Which means miserable riding. So for some things like SWAT and so on is a way to reduce that. Even reducing the effects by 25% will do a lot.

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Cool. Shoreboy, what kind of pack do you use? Both of my packs are Deuter and the larger of the two is a TransAlpine 32 and is actually the more comfortable of the two although it's sort of heavy (even without anything in it lol.)  The smaller one is the Race X I believe and is the one I've used most over the years. The built in rain covers are handy AF.

Same as Craw above. Osprey Raptor 14. My wife has the same one as well. Carries 3L bladder, small first aid pack, pump, tools, extra layer, food etc.  Its definitely a light pack on its own, but will definitely carry all that you need for a bigger day. I noticed the Last Hunt has them on sale for a pretty good deal right now too.

https://www.thelasthunt.com/products/osprey-raptor-14l-backpack-llll-osp-rapt1457#?style=Cedar%20Green

If you add the code 'mystery15' it will give you another discount bringing it down to close to 50% off. Looks like these ones come with a 2.5L bladder, which would be fine with me.

Posted by: craw

I have an Osprey Raptor 14 that's hard to beat. It's light, full of great features and stays in place really well. It's light and very compressible so it works on days where I'm not carrying much. It's also surprisingly roomy when pushed so if I need to carry more food and a jacket it still works well. I haven't tried anything else that even comes close. It also comes in two sizes; the long version is long enough that the waist band actually goes around my waist and not my ribs, which is nice.

I tried an Evoc hip pack pro for a while. I absolutely love the overlapping velcro waistband. 100% improvement over having a big buckle right where you're leaning over. But it's basically impossible to get a water bottle back into the slots while riding, which totally sucks. It also generally works poorly when maximally loaded, but that's true of any hip pack. I really like the look of the Evoc hip pouch pro, which keeps the velcro waist band but adds a more supported water bottle slot. I think this will be the sweet spot for me for shorter rides.

I have the Evoc hip pack pro.  I like it a lot.  It doesn't bother me that the bottles are impossible to use while riding, I will stop and drink water.  I have used the bladder with it as well and generally like it.  Carries just enough stuff, combined with the tools I have on the bike.

I was using a Dakine hot laps waist pack before and I agree with you, the buckle was a deal killer.  Uncomfortable and if I had any weight in the pack, it would start to loosen by itself.  

For longer rides, I have an old mil-spec Camelbak (essentially a Mule) that I sometimes use.  Or an old Osprey full-size pack that I have had for years.  I generally hate using backpacks though, causes old shoulder injuries to flare up after a few hours.

Posted by: Endurimil

Posted by: shoreboy

Posted by: XXX_er

Posted by: shoreboy

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Posted by: thaaad

I bought a brand new Evoc hydro pack last year for a couple long day trip rides. Set it up with all the gear in the garage, rode around the block a couple times, immediately stripped everything and set up the hip bag again. It is just way too hot for me now.

Forgot to return it so now it just sits in the closet with the tags on :/

Yeah, I am with you on having water on my back.  I assume part of your hate on is because of the water bladder?  I like my water weight as much on my bike as possible.  Even in my hippack which holds 1 or two bottles isn't fun.

I would be the exact opposite of this. I want no extra weight on my bike, id prefer to carry it on my body. Do I notice the 3L of water weight on my back? No, not really. Would I notice 2L in bottles on my bike? Most definitely. Granted packs are hot, but I have ridden with one for so long now, it doesnt feel right without one there. I can carry all my tools, water, food and the extra protection for your back and sides is an extra bonus.

I thot this ^^ concept would be obvious ?

I also thought this concept is obvious, yet people cant seem to find enough way to strap extra stuff on their frames. SWAT boxes, gear straps, water bottles, frame bags. Each to their own I guess.

For some riders strapping stuff to the bike like tool pouches and such is about managing issues due to injuries. Reality is for some riders severe and traumatic injuries long term effects means that too much weight in a pack triggers injury pain and such. Which means miserable riding. So for some things like SWAT and so on is a way to reduce that. Even reducing the effects by 25% will do a lot.

I would agree with you there which is why I commented that it was each to their own. I can see how a pack would affect a bad back, and having the option of stowing it on your bike is a good alternative.

I tried using the dakine for a summer ski tour but I forgot about the carrying skis and boots ... didn't work well

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

So on a big ride in the summer you guys wear a hydration pack with tools and don't put anything on the bike?  Or do you balance things out more and put at least a water bottle on the frame and some tools and stuff in a small frame bag like I do?  I generally try to keep my pack somewhat light if possible.  It all depends I guess.  I guess I see you're point though on bike handling and not putting too much stuff on the bike itself.  Makes sense.

I use a fanny pack + bottle for shorter rides, but anything bigger means the Skyline comes out. I'm a chronic over filler of packs, so large bladder capacity with smaller stowage keeps me in check.

I like how it leaves most of my back free to sweat while being more stable than the fanny. 

I'll add electrolytes in the bottle for hot rides.

Posted by: shoreboy

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Cool. Shoreboy, what kind of pack do you use? Both of my packs are Deuter and the larger of the two is a TransAlpine 32 and is actually the more comfortable of the two although it's sort of heavy (even without anything in it lol.)  The smaller one is the Race X I believe and is the one I've used most over the years. The built in rain covers are handy AF.

Same as Craw above. Osprey Raptor 14. My wife has the same one as well. Carries 3L bladder, small first aid pack, pump, tools, extra layer, food etc.  Its definitely a light pack on its own, but will definitely carry all that you need for a bigger day. I noticed the Last Hunt has them on sale for a pretty good deal right now too.

https://www.thelasthunt.com/products/osprey-raptor-14l-backpack-llll-osp-rapt1457#?style=Cedar%20Green

If you add the code 'mystery15' it will give you another discount bringing it down to close to 50% off. Looks like these ones come with a 2.5L bladder, which would be fine with me.

Hey thanks.  That's a good deal and a sweat looking pack.  Might just buy!  Not that I need it but the Deuter is starting to get a bit stinker.

I simply use whatever makes sense for the ride plan.

I always have a water bottle on my bike because why not? Does anyone really notice the difference between a full and an empty water bottle on their bike?

On my back:

Shorter local rides (= most rides): minimalistic 1L Evoc hip pouch for tools, tube, pump, wallet, keys, phone, energy bar.

Medium length rides or unknown trails = Osprey Raptor 14 (still using the one I reviewed) for more water, food, layers.

All day big mountain adventures = big Camelbak Mule or Kudu pack with 3 L water and lots of food, layers, spares, first aid etc.

Posted by: shoreboy

Same as Craw above. Osprey Raptor 14. My wife has the same one as well. Carries 3L bladder, small first aid pack, pump, tools, extra layer, food etc.  Its definitely a light pack on its own, but will definitely carry all that you need for a bigger day. 

Agree the Raptor 14 is a great pack and it's still my 1st choice, but for big missions into the unknown in the Chilcotins or Alps where you need to be prepared to get lost in the wrong valley in bad weather with a broken bike, I've found it too small to comfortably carry everything I wanted.

Posted by: [email protected]

Posted by: shoreboy

Same as Craw above. Osprey Raptor 14. My wife has the same one as well. Carries 3L bladder, small first aid pack, pump, tools, extra layer, food etc.  Its definitely a light pack on its own, but will definitely carry all that you need for a bigger day. 

Agree the Raptor 14 is a great pack and it's still my 1st choice, but for big missions into the unknown in the Chilcotins or Alps where you need to be prepared to get lost in the wrong valley in bad weather with a broken bike, I've found it too small to comfortably carry everything I wanted.

Agreed on a bigger pack for Chilcotin type days. I have a 20L EVOC for the 'way out there need to carry everything I can think of' rides.

My Osprey running pack fits so much better than any MTB pack I've tried or seen.  The big problem with a lot of MTB gear companies is that they compromise on the packs fit & performance in order to create something that is stylish that mountain bikers will wear.

Get yourself a good running hydration pack and you won't be disappointed.

Big picture they don't look any goofier than a hip bag, are much cooler (temperature wise) than a biking pack, and stay in place better than both.

Mine holds 1.5 litres of water in the hydration bladder which I find is more than I ever need on 30 km+ training runs or multi-hour bike rides on a hot summer day.

Having said all of that I eschew riding with a pack or hip sack as much as possible.  Most of my rides are less than 2 hours so I don't really feel I need more than a standard water bottle.

But if you want/need a pack - check out running packs.

Running pack.  Interesting idea.  I'm going to look into that.  But right now I'm just going to try my packs out more and see if I can get comfortable with them again.

thanks for the tip on that deal!  have been using an MEC hydration backpack for years that i never really liked, gonna give this one a try.