Thinking of getting a Camelbak Mule, anyone had any problems with it? Seems to get good reviews!

Mine is still going very strong after a year or two, it’s a good purchase. Had a zip break (just the bit you pull, the string snapped), replaced it with a new one and it’s been fine. Get one.

i have one better than my mayhem but i now want a evoc!!

I’ve had mine for a few years now – they seem to last forever. Never had any problems with mine. They are a great all round option I reckon…

they are not a bad option, comfy to wear, I have the NV which has good ventialtion.

Does not seem the best designed main luggage space, i.e. really dificult to get stuff in, when the bladder is there, and really bows out when you have a full bladder installed (3L) also.

Apart from that, happy with mine.

Kev

Had one, sold it. Didn’t like the sweaty back it gave me and found that it was actually not that roomy if you wanted to carry a decent amount of water (along with tools, pump, tubes, spare layers, snacks, one man tent, emergency fire lighting kit, VHF radio handset and full set of OS maps for nipping to the shops in the STW tradition).

Deuter and Vaude are the places I’d look as well. But the Camelbak bladder is good though, and a guy I ride with now & again still has my ~5 yo Mule and it’s still going strong so it’s not going to fall apart on you. He even stuck it through the washing machine so it’s shiny & bright again too.

Mine’s been going strong for about 5 years – not sure how long tbh, long enough ago I can’t remember where I bought it. Only damage since then is a small rip on the top when I misjudged the back/headroom under a tree, hardly the fault of the bag!

Agree that it’s quite a sweaty bag, despite having lumps and bumps on the back to supposedly provide some kind of airflow it doesn’t seem to work very well, with a full bladder at least. Not enough of a problem to want to change it, though.

Yep pretty happy with mine, great value. My dakine bladder leaked after a few rides, camelbak seems pretty robust.

Prefer my Lezyne one (with Camelbak bladder). Shoulder straps on the Mule creaked constantly and drove me nuts. Apart from that, fine.

I’ve a Lezyne smartpack in the garage if you want to try one cheap – all the bits, 3 litre bladder still sealed. Mrs NBT just didn;t get on with it, wanted a shorter bag

If you’re looking for a bag to carry a fair amount of kit then you’re better going for the next one up (Hawg), but for <4hr rides a mules would be fine.
I did have a Havoc, but there was basically 1 big compartment which didn’t work for me.

I’ve got a Mule and I used it for about 5 years, but for adventure racing I bought an Octane. I prefer the Octane. It’s lighter, it’s got more room (it expands depending on how much kit you need to carry) and the side (waist) pockets are really useful. The Mule is now being used by my wife and is still going strong with no faults at all. It won’t be money wasted if you decide that’s the right sized pack for you. I agree with one of the previous posters though, when you fill up the 3l bladder it does take up some of the room of the main storage compartment and also it does change the shape of the pack slightly so you may need to adjust the straps.

CamelBak is pretty good, but if you fill it with all this crap, you won’t get any water in the bladder.

Camelbak Kit by MilkieKula, on Flickr

It’s fine for half that kit and 3L of fluid. 😉
If you want to carry all that crap & fluid, then go for something bigger, like the Hawg.

I have an 8 year old MULE still fine, only bought a new one (MULE NV 2010) as they were on offer from Merlin in Essex White 🙂

I prefer the old one to be honest, but the new bladder keps water tasting nicer!

Nicely put together. I’m using a Mule NV now that’s it Summer and I dont have much to carry:
3 litre fluid; pump; tubeless repair kit; 2 tubes; tools; spares; tiny waterproof; lunch; gilet

but I can’t see me being able to manage in the depths of winter when I need to add a proper waterproof, a mid layer and spare pair of winter gloves.

I don’t tend to carry decks around with me on the bike….

Had a mule now for 4 years… great for day rides you can get loads of stuff in it and it is robust – only issue was one of the zip strings came off replaced it easily so not really an issue!

It’s all a matter of stuff.

Got one in 1999. Great in summer but not big enough to take me into Winter so got a Blowfish, still a bit of a faff with the Blowfish so got a Trailblazer which is great for full on winter kit or using on a bivi trip or an over nighter. Then again another mate of mine did the TransCambrian Wales 3 dayer thing with his Mule. It depends how stuffed you want it to get and how much stuff you want to stuff in it.

I had a mule which I found great, unless as other posters say I needed to carry more than 1.5. L of water, and even then it was a bit of a fat getting the bladder in and out. Since then I have a wingnut hyper which is a much better bit of kit. Takes some finding wingnuts though – tracked them down to rough rides if you are intersect though I don’t think they have stock until end of month.

Got a Mule NV, 3rd Mule bought. This one has the hard plastic insert but the fabric of the bag seems to be shrinking due to washing resulting in wear where the hard plastic, which doesn’t shrink, is rubbing through the fabric. I would buy another one but I may bin the hard plastic insert next time

I have used them for years. I got a new 2011 one in February – big improvemnt on the 09 one which was already good – easier pockets and very clever bladder with clip off hose and fold out drying wing things – I’d definately reccomend

I’ve also had one for over 4 years. Used for commuting and off roading, it’s one of the toughest, best built bits of biking kit I’ve ever used. Still going strong so well worth the cost.