How do you decide which pack to buy?...

What I would love to see is a pack with an expansion zipper and a net to carry my helmet. It can still be small and light which is the biggest deal for me, and also carry my stuff when I need it. The net would be useful, but I strap my helmet onto my bars/stem for the uphill anyways.

Me, I store stuff on my back when I'm riding uphill. A big bulky pack on the uphill is no big deal to me. But when I'm going downhill, I want that pack as small and close to my body as possible. Right now I use a Trek WSD (yea yea, I know it's a women specific design) It's really small, which is great. It holds enough water for me to ride all day pretty much. I can fit in allen keys, my car keys, a wallet, a couple powerbars, a tube and a pump. However, I can't fit any clothing into it whatsoever, the pocket is about 4x6 inches. This is where the expanding pouch would be really useful. Big and carry whatever you want to the top, but you can still squish it down small (if you've packed right!) for the downhill.

ive had three packs since i started riding and my dakine is the only one ive been 100% satisfied with.

1. fit, i want it to be padded enough that when its on it doesnt digg into my arms, i want the waist strap to not be some pansy little piece of rope it needs to be moderatly thick. The bag also needs to not shift around when i ride, nothing is worse than being hit by your bag when ur riding.
2.storage, not only does it need to fit all my gear, but it also has to do it well. some form of organizer pockets are important to me (for keys,wallet,cellphone, etc).
3. bladder, the bladder needs to be decently big, but not so big that when i fill it it sticks out of the back causing it to bulge. It needs to easy to take in and out to clean. The valve needs to come from above me not the bottum (my last raceface bag when ever i put it down the valve would hit the ground right away if i didnt grab it and who wants water that tastes like dirt. Has to seal well and not leak (twist tight works better than zip lock imo).
4. should be able to somehow carry some of my gear on the outside not needed but a plus ie helmet, leg armour.
5. sunglasses pouch a nice little addition good for storage of music players aswell.

i would 100% recommend dakine, the pack may cost more but they are worth it. As an example ive had my dakine snowboarding bag (heli-pro) for about 4 years now and no problems. It fits amazing and is comfortable, its water proof and ive never had anything get wet in it. It can hold a bladder if i want it to and it works for school aswell. Its low profile (doesnt always fit a ton of stuff) but has a ton of extra storage for stuff like ice picks which i dont need. It still looks nearly new and is worth it. Dakine all the way they def know what they are doing

Hopfully this will all work out.
Tim

why did i buy a camelbak hawg? - it was all that the shop that i used sold. It has been great, but being as most shops will only carry one (major) brand and maybe one (minor) brand, i think where people shop will be as important as p[ack design.
I have been happy with my hawg for 4 1/2 years now, but want a dakine.

reason for wanting dakine apex- it is designed for what i do - ride slowly uphill (lots of water and room for all my stuff), then fall off downhill (its tuff and i didnt have to leave any of my armour back in the car). The camelbak havoc was in the running aswell, but following the review on this site (is that pro endorsement or advertising?) i went and reexamined the havoc versus the apex, and found the negatives in the review justified IMO.

The reason for dakine as a brand? I have been lucky enough to have the whole range 'sold" to me ( i used to work as a buyer) and it seems that they have identified their markets well. As you can see from bzerks post - different riding = different pack. Not everyone who rides "the shore" wants or needs an Apex style pack, but there are other packs that incorporate the same quality of construction and style not to mention Dakines solid rep.

2c

my buddies and i have been very happy with packs made by DEUTER ( pronounced doiter ) . the model i have is called the crossair , which is big enough for the day long epics . the pack fits me well , with a unique meshed back to keep you cooler on those long uphill grovels . it really does work . it has one main large compartment , with a external zippered pouch , which is divided to keep tools , etc organized .
there are two mesh pockets on either side , and a bungee attachment for pads .
i use MSR hydration bags of varying sizes . strong , durable with a good bite valve .
the quality of construction is second to none , as are the materials . nice little details like snaps on the zipper pulls , which prevent them from accidentally pulling away from each other and spilling your gear . also has a rain cover built into a hidden zippered pocket underneath . good waist belt and sternum strap . more expensive than your run of the mill stuff , but worth it in the long run .

Go to NSMB for an article on the HAWG by camelback. They didn't like it. My buddy and I both like the MULE by Camelback. Kinda small but effective.

one link, one pack i dream of getting, its important to have lil sectinos as well as bigger ones, also spots to put armour and your helmet is important. Durability and WATERPROOFNESS is also important!!!!!

http://www.nsmb.com/gear/dakineapex_05_05.php

one day…

PS I don't normally like riding with backpacks, but its def good to have water, food, tools, and spare parts. Oh well oneday….but I may also need a good camera bag so who knows…

[QUOTE=hecklin at y'all]Hopfully this will all work out.
Tim[/QUOTE]

One complaint I've had - not enough compression straps, and not enough adjustability…

we have 4 packs around the house - all of them different - my favorite is a Dakine, mostly because - lots of useable internal storage, straps that hold tons on the outside, and the straps are nicely adjustable and fit well to my body.

The others - one is too short, and too narrow across between the shoulder straps so it chafes my neck

the other has a silly hydration pack location but a good bite valve

and the worst part is both of those packs have hardly enough room for your keys and a powerbar…

Must haves…

- a padded water resistant storage pack for cell phones
- clip to store keys
- make sure the hydration pack is separate from all teh tools so nothings gonna pierce the pack
- how about a good run of reflective tape or a place to clip a flashing light?
- moveable clips for placing the hydration tube where you want
- adjustable waist strap that is also removeable
- rubber coated or tacky surface under pack so it won't move around
- durable materials that take alot of abuse on the trails
- velcro ends so you can keep those long compression straps tight and out of the way when riding up on the chairlifts
- well organized tool / pump / spare tube / energy bar storage compartments

Just some of the things I look for in all my packs (riding / day / skiing / backpacking)

Thanks for even asking us eh!

my buddies and i have been very happy with packs made by DEUTER ( pronounced doiter ) . the model i have is called the crossair , which is big enough for the day long epics . the pack fits me well , with a unique meshed back to keep you cooler on those long uphill grovels . it really does work . it has one main large compartment , with a external zippered pouch , which is divided to keep tools , etc organized .
there are two mesh pockets on either side , and a bungee attachment for pads .
i use MSR hydration bags of varying sizes . strong , durable with a good bite valve .
the quality of construction is second to none , as are the materials . nice little details like snaps on the zipper pulls , which prevent them from accidentally pulling away from each other and spilling your gear . also has a rain cover built into a hidden zippered pocket underneath . good waist belt and sternum strap . more expensive than your run of the mill stuff , but worth it in the long run .

Thanks for the info Patrolskid, I was wondering if anyone was going to mention Deuter. My girl picked one up at a silent auction recently and got a screamin' deal on it. I think it was really made for light skitouring but I thought it would not be a bad riding pack too. Does the Crossair have full-face helmet carrying ability? I think hers is a different model- I'll look into it.

yeah , phat , you could use the bungee crossweb to strap your pail on there . . . . for xc uphills i use the two side straps to clip into the chin strap of my switchblade , works well , sits centered on the pack . depending on how much you are packing , an xc helmet would fit inside .

As long as it can hold a couple litres of water, my armour and the fit is decent…it really comes down to price for me (maybe I'm cheap!). I'm happy with my basic MEC hydration pack, it was something like $40. I usually through the helmet on my handlebars for the climb up.

got a dakine apex pack last week, so far i wuv it.

I've had really good luck with a few generations of the Camelback Hawg. Excellent construction, the ability to carry tons of water (I usually just use a 70oz (2ltr) bladder though) and it fits all the tools/food I need without having too much space (because you know if you have too much space you'll fill it).

When my last one kicked the bucket $$$ was an issue so I purchased a pack form MEC for the replacement. MEC has a pretty big selection (including some designed to carry full faces) and they are very competitive dollar wise. The only issue I've had with them is the Platypus ™ bladders that come stock with them are pretty crappy. I'm using a Camelback bladder in mine now (one with a bigass screw top) and it is working nicely.

first fit, then fit, then fit, then economy (how well I can use its available space), then wieght (i'm an x/c guy). Price and looks are pretty cool. I mean if 2 packs are exactly the same, but the better looking one is $10 more I would spring for the better looking one. Cause if you are going to get something worth buying, you had be happy with it in every aspect.