To help you settle the debate and identify which is best for you and your particular needs while mountain biking we ve unpacked the major pros and cons of each with the help of evo.
Mtb hip pack vs backpack.
This pack offers a large amount of storage space.
This pack lets me keep my 3l hydration pack usually only filled to 2l.
Any core repair items and snacks can go in the pack along with pressure gauges tools and co2 canisters.
A hydration reservoir some pockets and a burly hip belt.
I sweat a ton so riding without a hydration pack is a non option for me most the time.
This article was updated on 11 07 19.
Also the weight of my hip pack is a pound lighter than my backpack osprey syncros 10 vs.
If you need a waist bag for long days in the saddle the osprey seral 1 5 is a no brainer.
In other words hip packs are a good choice for relatively short rides on familiar trails and in mild conditions.
It also delivers stellar levels of comfort and has a well executed hydration system.
It s like bike backpack manufacturers haven t caught on to what ultralight hiker.
The ergon ba3 mountain bike pack is a part of ergon s gravity line.
The hydration backpack isn t dead but it s certainly ceding popularity out on the trail to the latest generation of hip packs offering adequate storage for tools and gear and water carrying capacity without sweating up the rider s back an important benefit as the riding season kicks into high gear and sweltering summer temperatures approach.
While it might be tough to fit a sandwich and a rain shell in most of the packs in our review its a non issue with the seral 1 5.
For water bladder users these might even be the better choice because the load is more evenly distributed fixed more efficiently and usually also turns out larger in terms of water volume.
For ripping up trails a hip pack is an easy way to ditch cumbersome backpacks.
This means that it is intended for the more extreme disciplines of mountain biking such as downhill and enduro.
It s an easy way to take a load off your back.
The pack itself is low like a hip pack but the shoulder straps keep it from moving around too much when things get rough.
The camelbak chase bike vest source rapid hydration pack or uswe vertical 4 plus or airborne 3 models offer a similar amount of storage room at the same weight of a hip pack.
I have really like it.
The state of the art 4 step back fitting system elastic hip belt and automatically adjusting shoulder straps give this backpack an amazing fit with virtually no bounce when out on the trails.