Pack’n It

I am on the quest for a nice all day epic worthy hydration pack. I need to be able to carry lots of stuff. Water, clothing, food, tubes, tools, bottles, etc. I have read up on a few different candidates that I think will work. Camelbak offers the Hawg and the Ventoux. Both look like very durable and quality packs, that would most likely work out very well. Another option I am considering is the Wingnut Gear Adventure. This is a unique pack, in that it sits lower on your back. The idea is that the weight of the pack is evenly distributed over your seatpost while you ride.

Each of these packs holds 3.0L (100oz) of water. Each holds at least 900 Cu In. of gear. The Hawg is the smallest at 916, then the Ventoux at 1312, and the Adventure is the largest at 1600. Pricepoints for these packs are comparable to each other.

So…which one to choose? The Camelbak models I can check out at my LBS. I can try them on, handle them, zip the zippers, pull the velcro, all in all kick the tires so to say. I don’t have the luxury with the Wingnut products. There is a good discussion at MTBR on the merits of these wingnut packs. They seem like a great product. The “lowrider” system as wingnut calls it in interesting, and has me curios.

Are any of you out there using any of the above mentioned packs? Are you using something similar? I know there are models in this type of pack from DaKine, Northface, and others. What is the best value pack for epic all day and night self supported rides?