So booked up for the London to Brighton off-road and looking for a nice comfy pack for the trip.

Will have a bottle on the bike but I drink like a fish so need a bladder. There are plenty of refill spots so does not need to be a huge bladder.

Tube/levers on the frame so will just be water and a selection of munch!

Key is comfort ove anything else. My bigger pack was the Evoc 6L but I just don’t find it that comfortable. It’s quite solid so doesn’t move too much.

I know we are all different bu5 be good to get user opinions. Mule, Lobo, osprey stuff? Octane, open to suggestions!

Has anyone tried wearing a hip pack for longer rides?

Got a camelbak skyline LR, the reservoir being lower down does make it much comfier than other packs I’ve had. Just seems to fit much better and move around less.

Same Lobo for over a decade now, I love it. No idea what the new ones are like…but this has two generous zippd pockets with inner pockets for organizing phone, keys, tools, cards etc- and also a larger ‘open’ pocket that cinches up and is useful for carrying larger items ie waterproof jacket, big samosas etc 😎

When on short journeys I remove the bladder and use the extra space for small shopping trips or cooler day-trips with a water bottle on the bike.

Lobo looks like a good size. Not too small and not too big! Looks a bit smaller than the Mule.

Very happy with my new Osprey Raptor 14 but might be too big for your purposes. For me, perfect all-day trail ride size for everything except, possibly, big mountains in the middle of winter.

Has anyone tried wearing a hip pack for longer rides?

Did the Trans Cambrian a couple of weeks ago with my Evoc Hip Pack Race and it was very comfortable. It’s also deceptively spacious if you are creative with the pockets (e.g. packable jacket in the water bottle mesh holder), although I did supplement it with a frame bag for sandwiches etc. on the trip.

My Mule LR 15 is pretty good, takes plenty of kit, extra layers etc and all the weight is on the waistband.

Has anyone tried wearing a hip pack for longer rides?

Yeah..Evoc race pack here too…good for all day rides if you can fill up the bottles.
I pop 2 bottles on my bike, and ‘stuff’ in the race pack.
I guess if you want a ‘proper’ change of clothes or multiple layers, then it’s a bit small, but for summer rides it’s great..

DrP