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The best mountain bike backpacks have storage for spare clothes, food, hydration and storing body armour between descents. With some genuinely clever ways to carry spares and tools, mountain bike backpacks have gone out of style for riding. However, sometimes no amount of velcro straps or tools stashed inside steerer tubes can tote what you may need on a ride, and sometimes you need to carry A LOT of stuff.
What Is a Mountain Biking Rucksack?
A mountain biking rucksack or mountaineering rucksack has evolved as a way to carry even more stuff to your local trail. If you’re going into wilderness, some true adventure bike packing backpacks are super burly for carrying meals, tents, sleeping bags, cooking equipment water, extra clothing and other vital gear you may need to survive in the wilderness.
Some mountain bike rucksacks have removable carriers for a pretty simple front loading backpack, but you have to be careful some have welded parts that cannot be replaced.
Mountain bike rucksacks are made from materials like nylon or Cordura, and some are very lightweight and simple in design. Compare the different mountain bike rucksacks to find a few that you’ll love on the trails, and always fit your backpack before you make a purchase.
What Makes a Good Mountain Bike Rucksack?
The main feature in the best mountain bike rucksacks is a really large main shovel. Make sure the main shovel at least has three large pockets on the outside, but is designed like a rucksack with sleeves between the pocket to flatten down what you’re carrying. These mountain bike rucksacks tend to be mesh lined, so that you can sort of see the kit you’re carrying, and can be attached to bike racks or luggage mounts on racks and panniers. These mountain bike rucksacks have wide straps that stand the pack off from your body, cutting down on sweat and chaffing.
Why Will You Need A Mountain Bike Rucksacks?
For something like hardcore bike packing, you’ll need to pack a lot of stuff, with space for spare clothes, food, and needed supplies along the route. Although you can carry a lot of this on your back, you may want to have a mountaineering rucksack, or ergonomic hiking rucksack to carry the extra weight. Or, if you’re touring to international trails, a pack like this is a great addition to your bike touring kit.
How To Choose The Best Mountain Bike Rucksacks
There are a few factors to consider when choosing the right rucksack, and they have to be a good fit to make mountain biking rucksacks you’ll love. For a minimalistic mountain bike rucksack, you want a rucksack that has great ventilation in all climate, is quick to strap on and off the bike, and has a wide enough and comfortable support system to carry heavier loads.
For people who want to mountain bike rucksack on trails, there are small, simple, lightweight packs that hold just the essentials. Usually, these mountain bike rucksacks fold into a biking attachment, on the front of a bike frame, and have a simple pocket system for a hydration bladder.
Mountain bike rucksacks are great for rides of an hour or so, but if you’re travelling with heavy loads, you’ll need to take extra care with the design of your mountain bike rucksack. The best mountain bike rucksacks are typically made from aviation nylon or Cordura, and have a shoulder strap system that makes hiking easier. Plus, they have a sleeve on the back for a hydration bladder and hose.
The right pack will fit your body, and has the right contour and padding for your body shape. The right rucksack will have selective internal pockets, so that you can separate food from clothes and shoes from electronics and tools. You may even choose to carry a camera in a water resistant pouch, and any tools or spares in a sleeve or low compartment.
The best mountain bike rucksacks are made from materials like nylon or Cordura, and some are very lightweight and simple in design. Compare the different mountain bike rucksacks to find a few that you’ll love on the trails, and always fit your backpack before you make a purchase.
How Will Mountain Biking Rucksack Help You In Case of Emergency?
Being prepared on mountain biking trails is important, and a rucksack can have the tools you need to repair basic bike repairs, and prevent any further damage. These mountain bike rucksack are great for carrying tools, spares and supplies, and getting these easily when you need them. The best mountain bike rucksacks have a separate sleeve for sliding bleed and repair kits, as well as a repair kit in the tool section.
When you’re mountain bike rucksacking, you want a rucksack that has a fast access section for repair tools, and a packet that can be accessed from the outside of the rucksack. This way, you can reach the essentials for repairs as you’re riding back down, or back to your campsite. Besides a repair kit, you may find a patch kit in the best mountain bike rucksacks, as well as a tire irons and levers to repair faulty tubes.
If you’re mountain bike rucksacking on hilly trails, you’ll need a rucksack that has a waist strap or chest strap for more weight distribution and to keep the pack stable when you’re mountain bike rucksacking. Many of the best mountain bike rucksacks have a bladder tube support, and attachment loop for keeping the hose tidy and dry. Some have low-level attachments for things like lights, a GPS or camera.
Where Can You Use A Mountain Bike Rucksack?
In the wilderness, a mountain bike rucksack can come in handy for carrying food, water and clothing. Most of these mountain bike rucksacks have hydration sleeves, so that you can use a bladder with a hose for water, and some have a pocket for storing food and carrying extra food packs. You can layer your clothing to take with you on a bike packing adventure, but you can carry extra clothing and layers in case the weather dictates a change, or the trail is extra tough.
If you’re mountain bike rucksacking on trails and the weather changes, you have to consider what you’ll need for refuge. Keep rain gear in your mountain bike rucksack just in case, because just because the weather is warm, you don’t know if you’ll need to change in the next few hours.
In a pinch, a mountain bike rucksack can be used as a backpack, to carry a change of clothes for middle of the night pit stops or when someone gets injured and needs to stop riding. By packing a few windproof layers, spare underwear, socks, food and a map, you can set up an impromptu shelter or start a camp in under twenty minutes. It may mean the difference between a ride home on the back of a pickup truck, or waiting until morning.
What To Look For In A Mountain Bike Rucksack?
There are some really good mountain bike rucksacks out there that are perfect for carrying your gear, and should be able to fit almost any bike. There are some mountain bike rucksacks whose straps are neither padded nor wide enough for heavy duty bike journeys, so make sure you pick a rucksack that will withstand the weight and abuse that you are going to put it through. Make sure the rucksack fastens securely to the bike frame, and isn’t a bear to strap and un-strap.
Always measure the circumference around your waist to make sure a rucksack fits you. There’s nothing worse than ordering a great mountain bike rucksack that is way too small or way too big for your body. Fully loaded backpacks need a good fit, and you might be uncomfortable riding back up hill with a backpack on that is too small or too big. Make sure your rucksack has adjustable straps on the waist, and is super comfortable to carry for long times.
Osprey Packs Raptor 10 Men’s Bike Hydration Backpack
This product was recommended by Ali Rizvi from Dream Superhero
The pack is made of soft breathable fabrics to ensure comfort throughout the ride.
KUYOU Hydration Pack with 2L Hydration Bladder Water Rucksack
This product was recommended by Osama Mushtaq from Outfitrs
For the price this pack is fantastic, Easy to clean. The opening to the bladder is large enough to get a bottle brush into for cleaning. Very light weight, I sweat a lot when I ride and this thing dries very quickly after rides.
BX2 Evo Blue by Ergon
This product was recommended by Ryan Raffel from PaleoPhysicality
It is lightweight, easily adjusted to fit closely and is very stable. It comes with a rain cover in the bottom pocket and has a lot of storage space within various sized compartments. It’s colour and design mean that not only can I use it for biking but for other sports and leisure activities making it excellent value.
evoc Stage 12L Technical Daypack
This product was recommended by Mia Clarke from Invert Pro
It’s smallish, and – well, it’s honestly a bit ugly. But it also has fantastic airflow. I’ve noticed that my water never heats up during a ride – the airflow is designed perfectly to keep your back (and the hydro) nice and cool.
Osprey Raptor 14
This product was recommended by Melanie Musson from AutoInsuranceCompanies
This back is designed to hold your gear and your hydration pack. The bite valve attaches to the backpack’s sternum strap with a magnet, so it’s accessible while riding. It’s equipped with LidLock to easily carry your helmet. Your maintenance and repair tools can be conveniently stored in the roll-up tool pouch.
