The tale of three (hip) packs

At some point in time I just decided I hated the idea of anything on my back when I ride. I lived through the ‘Camelback’ years, where every mountain biker and their dog wore one and I’d had enough. They were never a great idea, especially in hot weather. But the bike had no cages, or room for them, so like stepping back in time, I decided to go back to using a hip pack. But unlike the old days, where they were limited, little odd and very not cool, these days hip packs are refined, highly functional beasts unto themselves.

With so much choice on the market, you’d think finding the right pack would be easy enough but as I have found over time this is far from the reality. Depending what you want from the pack, there are a good number of options and as I have found out, some are definitely better than others. What is interesting is that there seems to be no consensus on the size or the best type of harness/belt, so it’s a case that you have to try a few to see what works best for you. For me I wanted nothing on my back – no straps, harness, nothing. The hip pack needed to be just that and absolutely nothing more.

Bontrager Rapid Pack

This is where I started. The Bontrager Rapid Pack is a minimalist design, no bells and whistles at all, just a very functional design that does a very functional job. It’s main attraction for me was the ability to stick a bottle in it. With a water bottle pouch/holster sensibly located dead centre, the idea of just taking a bottle out of the drawer and throwing in the pack is brilliantly genius. No farting around with bladders and hoses. I don’t like farting around.

Storage though is minimal at best as its located in the wings of the pack, aka the belt. You can only stick so much in there (read the bare essentials), so the Rapid Pack is limited to short jaunts where you don’t need to carry all the extra stuff you do if you are riding out the back, where if something goes south, it’s going to be a long walk in the sun.

In terms of fit, I really do like the Rapid Pack. The belt (it’s not a harness by any stretch of the imagination) is minimal but when combined with the wings, you can wear it low and snug and not know it’s there. Once on it does not move and I’ve never once have I found it hot or uncomfortable. Accessing the bottle though is a stop the bike affair as it can be fiddly to get the bottle back in, but if you are using it as a bottle swap out, it’s perfect. Build quality wise, it’s average. Mine’s been used well but has had an easy life and the zippers are playing up, the nice little zip pull tabs have both ripped off and the pocket fabric is showing signs of wear. The buckle too is a bit of pain in the arse – it looks cool but is a pain to click in.

Overall, if you want to dip your toe into hip packs but don’t want to go the full hog, the Rapid Pack is a good starting point, being one of the cheaper offerings on the market. There is also a bladder version, the Rapid Pack…. ‘Hydro’ where they have managed to squeeze a 1.5l bladder into it. While not having tried it, the fact that the bladder’s been squeezed into the existing design (so it still has the bottle pouch) probably means it’ll fit like a compromise, rather than a dedicated design. Stick with the basic version, especially considering the price jump!

Evoc Hip Pack Pro

Realising the Rapid Pack was not cutting it for longer rides where I wanted not only more water but more carrying capacity, my next point of arrival, after a lot of researching, was the German Evoc Hip Pack Pro with a 1.5l bladder. Compared to the Bontrager, the Pro is some serious kit. The belt is part of a harness system that allows you to adjust how closely the pack fits to your body, so you can adjust it on the move as the weight drops with the draining of the bladder. The pack itself is compartmentalised as well as having mesh pockets for two additional bottles and storage pouches on the belt. Topping it off, the back of the pack has a foam ‘pad’ that allows air to circulate, keeping your back cool-ish, and there are enough attachment points so you can lash a jacket or whatever to the outside.

The Evoc was a big step up from the Bonty and allowed me to carry everything I wanted – pump, tools, tube, wallet, Ventolin inhaler, phone and water, comfortably. The harness does a good job of keeping everything in place and immobile and for the most part the pack is comfortable. Where it’s let down, rather heavily, is the fastening system on the belt itself. The belt is rather light wight in construction and uses a two part system of velcro on the belt ends and a buckle to tension it. In use I found there is not enough ‘female’ velcro on the belt end to achieve a firm attachment (I have a 36” waist). So while the belt has an element of stretch and fits me well, there is not enough velro to actually hold it in place properly so you rely on the buckle to do two jobs, hold the belt in place as well as tension it – the velcro on me does very little if anything. It also means that I found myself wearing the pack a little higher than I would like.

Build quality is solid and while the materials are good, they are nothing special. On the trail, while I do not find the Evoc uncomfortable, it’s not ideal. It does not move around in the least but for me the belt is noticeable, especially if I firm it up (like you should) and end up wearing it that bit higher than I’d like and the velcro belt end has a habit of coming undone, sticking out the top, meaning the buckle is doing all the fastening work.

You can find the Evoc with or without a bladder, and the not ‘Pro’ version does not have the additional water bottle holders.

Ergon BA

The next pack in the journey is the German Ergon BA (I have a very def northern European thing going on with all my bike stuff these days). When I pulled it out of the bag I immediately thought that this one’s something special. In your hands it just looks ‘considered’ and very tidy.

Like the Evoc, it has an internalised compartment with zippered pockets, an external mesh pocket on the left of the belt and a velco flapped phone mesh pocket on the right. It has a harness system that allows you to fine tune the fit, external lash points including a zip up weather flap that helps keep what-ever dry-ish and a foam back that, also like the Evoc, allows airflow to keep your back cool-ish. A very clever feature is the Boa fitting on the rear of the pack that allows you to tighten everything up, helping to keep the pack compact and in place. This is especially neat with the use of a bladder, as you can compress the pack really easily (one handed while riding in fact) as the bladder drains, ensuring the fit of the pack remains firm.

The Ergon though is that little bit smaller than the Evoc and with the bladder at 1.2 odd litres full, it became a firm fit. Not sure if this an issue but it’s worth noting if you want to carry a lot of stuff. For me I can get everything I need in there but there’s pretty much no room for anything else.

The standout over the Evoc though is the belt. It’s sturdy and has HEAPS of velcro, so much they advise you trim it to fit. This means that you can get the whole thing to sit where you want it to and it fully supports the load. A buckle then takes up any extra slack. On the trail, with everything I carried in the Evoc, I forgot I was wearing the Ergon and that I think pretty much says everything right there. The build quality is top notch, with nice attention to detail and materials all over; it’s how I would design a hip pack.

The Ergon with a bladder is around the same price as the Evoc Pro (with bladder), so it’s a close call (they both seem to use a version of the same bladder). Certainly in terms of carrying and fit functionality they are very similar, though the Boa on the Ergon is a bonus. The belt though is what overall makes the Ergon the better pack for me and I have zero hesitation recommending the spend it you are serious about hip packs.

In the end?

I’ve stepped off the journey with the Ergon BA. It does everything I want and need and is a cut above the rest in terms of design and finish. With a bottle cage on the bike now, I don’t have much use for the Rapid Pack and the way it’s going I don’t think it’ll hold together for the longterm anyway. The Evoc is so close to the Ergon in terms of carrying capacity that I don’t see much use for it other than as a spare – the Ergon’s the better pack overall, at least for me.