Current Hip Pack Du Jour

If you want a bladder, the Osprey Seral series is the one you want but you need the 7(L?) to get hip pockets.  We have a Savu one for bottle use and it works well.

I also really like my Dakine 5L with or without bladder.

Evoc always comes up too. The pro version has nicer straps apparently.

Evoc hip pack pro. Good size and has an elastic wide waistbelt with velcro and a clip. 

Had mine about 5 years now and it is still great

I have the evoc. It's ok. Preferred the osprey it replaced tbh but I suspect that as you're looking to put a 1.5l bladder in a smallish pack our usage cases differ.

Thanks all, the Evoc might be the way forward, would be good to have a look at one before buying though. 

@Del I don't use the bladder very often and if I do I never fill it with more than a litre. I'm just not keen on the idea of a bottle on my back. 

At the recent Bespoked I got a Wizard Works Hobgob. Made in England, optional bottle holster for the right side, offset fidlock buckle for comfort, ~4.8L capacity and 2 pockets. 

no side pockets though. And no bladder. The Evoc and Fox packs were on my list but I figured while a backpack + bladder is easy and works well a bumbag bladder might not get as much use. Plus ‘buy local’. 

All for supporting and buying local but that seems a seriously steep price...having not bought a bumbag for a good few years, is it a steep price???

Thule Rail is 4l, comes with a 1.5l bladder with a great magnetic fixing for the hose, wide velcro belt with clip over the top, side pouches for small stuff and a dedicated phone pocket you can use one handed.

Posted by: billoddie

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If you want a bladder, the Osprey Seral series is the one you want but you need the 7(L?) to get hip pockets. 

I have a Seral 7 and find it really good. I don't always use the reservoir - depending on how long I'm going to be out - but I like having the extra capacity to stow a lightweight windproof, snacks, random spares etc. It sits really nicely on my lower back and is stable and comfortable. The belt pockets are fab for quick access to bars etc. I can also, just about, fit in some ultra-lightweight insulation for winter use. 

You can also stow bottles under the tensioner straps, even if they're not designed for that purpose and while they're not quite as secure and pocketed-type bottle stowage, it works well enough for occasional use. 

They appear at half price on Sport Pursuit pretty regularly if you balk at the price, but it's a really well sorted bag. Haven't used the Dakine, so no idea how that compares.

The missus has a Wizardworks frame bag and it's nice enough, but 200 quid for a hip-pack seems insane tbh. This is why manufacturing has gone global. People who'd like a UK-made Gore-Tex jacket for example, might reconsider when they find out what the likely price-tag would be.

On my second Evoc Hip Pack Pro. Loads better than a Camelback Repak (that I also have) 

First one failed at just under a year old - webbing strap came away. Supplier said send it back no problem, but I never got round to it. 

Useful side pockets, wide belt, can stow two bottles if you don't want a bladder

I've got the Thule 4L Rail - I agree the magnetic hose clip is superb and the size is just right for me, I especially like how easy it is to slide a phone in the back pocket whilst wearing it. But i do find the fit a bit boxy and it bounces too much to be really comfortable. I wouldn't get another one.

I have got the Evoc Pro which replaced the Osprey which I couldn’t get on with. The magnetic hose clip came away every time you moved and stuck to the steel frame. However the Evoc suffers from the same problem as all hip packs, half way through the ride it slides down over your bum because you have used half the water!

I use the tightening straps on each side as the amount of water drops.  Works well, but requires someone to have an ass to hold it up like all hip packs

After I had a reasonably major fall, caused by the drinking hose coming loose while riding, I got fed up with bladders in hip packs. For reasonably long rides, I’ve moved back to a Mule. I still use my Seral 7, but without the bladder. I have both a Seral 7 and the Repack. FWIW, you can fit a lot more stuff in the Seral than the Camelbak.

Even though I haven’t yet attached drinking bottles to any hip packs (I don’t you can on either the Seral or Repack?), if I was buying again, the ability to attach 2 bottles would appeal to me and make the pack more flexible.

Posted by: DickBarton

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All for supporting and buying local but that seems a seriously steep price...having not bought a bumbag for a good few years, is it a steep price???

Maybe. But at Bespoked I got to meet the makers and got a in-person show discount. Also, made in England and in a high cost city (London). 🤷🏻‍♂️ to me it seems better to pay a fair price for a ‘locally’ designed and made product that does the job I want rather than a price discounted by offshore manufacture and scale.

i made a similar choice with Timberland/other mass produced boot vs William Lennon. 

YMMV

Posted by: BadlyWiredDog

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This is why manufacturing has gone global. People who'd like a UK-made Gore-Tex jacket for example, might reconsider when they find out what the likely price-tag would be.

Many factors to consider here (UK wage stagnation, housing costs,  tariffs, subsidies, …).

I’d suggest that manufacturing went global and locally made prices then appeared ‘insanely’ high.

I've got the Evoc Hip Pack Pro, and put the bladder from my Camelbak Repack in it with no problems. I did buy the Evoc hose clip and magnet, though, as the Camelbak one didn't quite work. https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Evoc-Hydration-Bladder-Magnetic-Tube-Clip_203141.htm?sku=616038&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Evoc&utm_campaign=shopping&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1543318725&gbraid=0AAAAAC9Cc1bCyqXIwK5yIrwLpkPvvclpV&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8vvABhCcARIsAOCfwwqN-cXjs5hxlJWN32cGS_CY5HGc8Pb9zLYi3bgFu3elezLdXA5h2o0aAoY3EALw_wcB

@fathomer you have a PM, sir

I've got a dakine 1l and 5l hip pack.

Both good. The 1L takes a bottle, a sandwich some snacks and a tiny jacket.

The 5L takes a 2L bladder, sandwich snacks and a jacket without complaints.

I'd rather ride with bottles on the frame, but both my MTB only take one bottle. The 5L is irritating if full, but possibly because I generally don't ride with it full.

I've got an Evoc hip pack pro that I never use as the hose for the bladder is too short for me (I'm 6'4"). I tried to find a longer hose online, but couldn't get one. Does anyone have the same problem? I now use an in frame mini tool for short rides, and a normal backpack for anything >1.5 hours.

Posted by: FOG

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However the Evoc suffers from the same problem as all hip packs, half way through the ride it slides down over your bum because you have used half the water!

I don't really find that with the Osprey Seral 7, but I also get that it's partly a personal fit thing - ie: depends a bit on how prominent your Butt Shelf'™ is. I find just tightening the waist belt slightly makes it fine. 

Posted by: prettygreenparrot

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Many factors to consider here (UK wage stagnation, housing costs,  tariffs, subsidies, …).

I’d suggest that manufacturing went global and locally made prices then appeared ‘insanely’ high.

I'm sure there's an element of that, but once the genie's out of the bottle, it ain't going back - that the 'issue' that Trump's idiotic tariff regime is crashing into, globalised manufacture and supply chains are massively enmeshed into our system, not just complete products, but componentry etc.

I have a lot of friends in the outdoor industry and far eastern factories have made huge investments in advanced manufacturing machinery to produce the technical construction and features we take for granted. Ditto, highly skilled workers, quality control etc. And yes, lower labour costs, though in China that's changing and big brands are shifting production to other countries, Vietnam for example to minimise costs.

Of course it is possible to manufacture in the UK - Alpkit does it with some of their bags / packs - but while they're competitively priced, my experience is that the workmanship has a 'basic' feel that makes you appreciate just how advanced the stuff coming from people like Osprey, Lowe Alpine, Gregory etc is.

I guess most of us can agree that UK-made stuff from home brands is something we'd like to encourage and reward, but equally, £200 for a hip-pack is a lot to pay. There's a home-brewed UK running brand Usual Objections, that makes lovely kit in the UK, but again the prices reflects that. 

So yes, we've been 'spoiled' by lower prices facilitated by global supply chains and manufacturing, but I'm not sure how you realistically row back from that.

Anyway, Osprey Seral 7 🙂 

I've got the camelbak m.u.l.e 5 hip pack.

Has additional storage for 2 bottles and a bungee cord for stowing a jacket. 

Only thing I don't like is the magnet on the tube that holds it on place.

Amazon have them from £57.79 for the grey one.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CAMELBAK-M-U-L-Waist-Gibraltar-Orange/dp/B0BFCZVK6M/ref=mp_s_a_1_7_maf_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4lhFmw27Ya5ZEqxQntjmhPS0xoWTyMnXvyYnHpuEVE4k9UWeD653HhC4do2_FUfc_v7SsTFT20aJhJ2EUFU9WGrZtPTK7bHxfxyMHg1rXOl_iDt_aYNSae2tWGE4npJ5eidmgbu3Yp5soRu80CR8Oo-HuqnfZM5pUHGG2JE_UwaGMCmCBSiFS_oO2k4A2BGzYYhAGxsQO7fxNoP0EvwH1Q.Sk5IQz6qQVPbLg-u9VUs3LLaKAOGj21CQOYM7QK8h0I&dib_tag=se&keywords=camelbak%2Bmule&qid=1746954094&sr=8-7&th=1&psc=1

Anyone got the Rapha Trail hip pack?  Has good reviews and is pretty cheap atm.

I do really like the look of the Hobgoblin pack however.

I really sorry (not really if I’m honest), but there’s no was im paying £200 for a hip pack. And also, I personally wouldn’t like to be building a business plan based on lots of people having the amount of disposable income to do so. I hope im wrong.

Another vote for the evoc hip pack pro … had mine for several years now brilliant bit of kit. I’ve used it out on the motor bike too and works great there 🙂

I've got the Rapha one but never used it tbh. Every time i get it out for a ride, i remember that it's almost impossible to get the bottles in using one hand and just throw it back on the shelf and get a backpack out instead. Well made though otherwise.