Bought the 14.4 for a trip to Moab specifically for the whole enchilada trail. U all shipped fast. Thank u! Did the Enchilada yesterday, had four liters of water, tools, food, extra jersey, and possibly a small kitchen sink…. This is the first time using the pack at all. Super easy to adjust to my body type. Sent more stuff than ever on that trail. Pack never moved, never ran out of water, and was comfortable for the five hour day. This will be my go to for the longer adventures. Nice work Arctos.
This is a good option to reduce the stress on the shoulders when carrying a bunch of gear and water. It also helps reduce the amount of sweat build up under a normal backpack hydration system which is important in cooler weather where sweat can quickly drop your body temps when stopped. The bag is fairly comfortable to wear.
The water bladder is a bit large for a normal ride. I don't know anyone carrying 4 liters on their back. A 2 liter with more internal storage for gear would be a better ratio. The bag has lots of room but isn't well organized. You'll need to put things into smaller bags to keep things easy to locate as it's basically just three large zippered pockets without bike tool specific organization. The gear strap loop on the outside should have two for attaching larger items like a rolled jacket or additional bag. The single one in the middle doesn't making mounting easy or very secure. Also the hydration tube holder doesn't work, it just keeps popping off one side or the other constantly so you'll need to figure out something there if you don't want it flopping around.
Thanks for the feedback Chris! In case it helps, the tube retention clip has 'portrait' and 'landscape' orientations. The 'portrait' orientation makes it easier to take on/off, but can be prone to coming off. If you orient it in 'landscape' mode it's harder to get on, but once there it'll stay put. Hope that helps. -Ken
One long road ride and one singletrack session so far, but this pack is incredible. 4L capacity, but keeping weight on the hips vs shoulders is a game-changer.Construction appears to be bomb-proof. This pack should excel on endurance gravel/mountain events, which is what I bought it for.
I've always been a lumbar pack guy. But most lumbar packs don't have enough storage for say a Colorado ride. I saw this and I thought it could be the best of both worlds with the storage space of a large camelback but that down low weight that doesn't get in the way when I'm riding my dirtbike. I ordered it. There was a problem with the bladder. I called I called and they immediately sent me a new one which was perfect. Their customer service is off the charts. And I love the pack. It's very secure, the weight is down low and it holds a ton of water and a ton of gear. Five stars.
Very nice