Hi, from the last discussion (http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/recommend-me-a-mtb-friendly-rucksack) I have narrowed my choice down to the above manufactures rucksacks, I am looking to purchase a bag for my coast to coast mission this spring. To cut a long story short, I used a walking rucksack last year on our epic 7 day ride and my back was I bits during and after the mission.

So does anyone have first or second hand advice/experience with the packs mentioned above, if so I would love to hear what you have to say about them.

Cheers Tom496

Not used the ergon but have a wingnut and use it 80% of the time now, I only use my mule now for summer rides when I need no jacket or extra stuff.

i have an ergon bc1 or whatever the smallest one is and love it. it takes some getting used to and setting it up takes a little time but once it’s done i doubt you’ll have another pack.
the question i have is do you need something that big? i appreciate you’re doing the c2c but the ergon pack i have could easily hold enough for two days and that’s the smallest. if you can find one to try for capacity then i suggest you do that otherwise you’ll end up with a big pack that you don’t want to use on anything other than big trips.

Not used the Adventure,but used this http://www.roughrideguide.co.uk/Hyper-3.0-colour-option-of-all-black-or-red-black.html riding the South Downs last summer and it was very good. You might find that the Enduro is big enough http://www.roughrideguide.co.uk/Enduro-colour-option-of-all-black-or-red-black.html

I’ve got the wingnut M.P.S. which is the biggest they do. I’ve used it to carry up to six day’s worth of camping equipment and food (well, I had my sleeping bag strapped to my handlebars). Longest trip with it was 14 days and it was perfect.

The above must have weighed in at close to 10kg, but it was still fairly comfortable. I added a big fat sternum strap to make the bag more stable on descents.

On smaller trips its been particularly impressive, doing four dayers with all the camping gear but far less food I was riding more or less as I would have with a day sack, jumping around and getting a bit untidy over loose rocky sections.

Would definitely recommend.

Ive got the adventure and its a great pack, for a big(multi day) trip id be tempted to go for the ergon, my mates got one and swears by it, from seeing it on him you can see the stability and the fit. also the guy i got the wingnut from (who also has back woes) had gone ergon and said the fit/ feel was better. im considering a bc1 for this year.

I have the Wingnut 2.5, the Ergon BC2 and the Ergon BA3.

The packs are similar in many ways- they are about equally comfortable for loaded carrying, however the Ergon system is slightly more comfortable for heavier weights. The Wingnut is comfortable when fully packed out, but the BA3 is *completely* comfortable- I barely feel the weight as it’s transferred so effectively to the hips, I just feel the additional inertia on technical descents that require a lot of body movement.

Access to the Wingnut is better. The side pockets are extremely convenient. And the zips on both Ergons are really a bit too stiff, and the external pockets are really quite poorly thought out. The main compartment access on the BA3 is pretty poor, but the BC3 main zip looks a lot better thought out.

Build quality for both brands is really good. Top quality materials, good stiching. The overall feel of the Wingnut is a soft, malleable, high quality pack. The feel of the Ergons are that they are stiff, slightly bulky, high quality packs.

Both are great. For heavy loads I’d say the Ergon has the edge, but either are far better than the majority of other packs on the market.

I Did have the BC2 but now got the BC3, both great, I up graded as I needed to fit more stuff in (first aid kit, tools etc) also I am carrying stuff for the girlfriend!
Both fit well and took the weight of the shoulders which is good as I do get a bad back sometimes.
Lots of room, like someone said above I think side pockets could be more/better.

This may help

I use the Wingnut Hyper 2.5 for most duties, but just treated myself to the Adventure for some epics planned for in the year as the 2.5 has been so comfy and the side pockets are such a huge advantage.

The adventure is light as anything too (when empty), and seems really robust.