So I normally dig out my ancient Blowfish for this dort if riding, but it really is useless. It’s has no rigidity at all, and rolls about on rough descents, the straps are uncomfy there’s no where to strap pads or carry a helmet it’s old and tatty  and it badly needs replacing

What’s the bag of choice? I keep looking at Evoc but the range is confusing, anyone able to recommend something?

Evoc are a good shout just depends on how big a back you want.  I have the FR Tour for family rides out so I can take the kitchen sink with me in terms of 4 different tube sizes, spare clothes for the kids and assorted snacks and drinks.

Suspect it would be a good bag for very long rides but aside from the family rides it’s my commuter bag, laptop work clothes etc.

My normal riding pack is the FR Blackline, essentially the 20l bag.  I could get away with a smaller bag for most of my riding but occasionally it gets used for big days out… not happened this year 🙁

I think all the evocs with back protectors have straps for armour and can carry lids.  You just need to work out how much stuff you normally carry.

Dakine do some great lager hydration packs. Well worth a look. I have one I’ve used in the Alps when I’ve been riding up a lot and wanted to carry my pads up the climbs.

I have the Evoc FR trail (20 litre) which I use for pretty much everything. It has plenty of space for big days out and is set up really well with useful pockets & internal divisions as well as having a large main bag area. I discovered a couple of months ago in the Pyrenees that the main space can fit an entire unbroken baguette and still zip up!! 😀
I could probably have gone for the FR enduro (16 litre) but personally wasn’t keen on the water bladder being located in the main part of the bag. It has a separate section in the trail.
It’s worth a trawl through the Evoc website to figure out the differences between the models. I also found it quite confusing at first but eventually realised that there are a lot of slightly differently named versions of the same bags.

Just got my bro a camelbak skyline for his birthday to use in the same way. It has a large bladder and space for helmet and pads on the outside leaving plenty space inside for clothes etc.

Not very fashionable (because it’s not an Evoc) but I’m very happy with my new Osprey Raptor 14 litre for big days out. I ordered an Evoc originally and sent it back coz it was massive, heavy, and I wasn’t convinced my helmet wouldn’t hit it on very steep downhills. Some folk love them though. Osprey has no back protector and the magnet on the hose isn’t strong enough on really rough trails but apart from that it’s great, and less than £80 on Go Outdoors. Comfy, light, stable, and big enough for a waterproof, spare layer, grub, tools, emergency foil blanket etc.

I’m currently weighing up some of the Osprey Escapist options. Just trying to work out how large I want to go.