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Can the big pack maker enter the freeride market? |
Words by Stuart Kernaghan
Photos by Kim Beck and Stuart Kernaghan
Hydration packs are a way of life around these parts. There’s no two ways around them if you want to carry water, tools, food, and all the other semi-essential crap you bring on a ride, because most freeride bikes just don’t come with water bottle mounts.
So which one is right for you? Depends on what you're carrying - entire workshop, kitchen, closet, and water cooler? Go for a bigger pack. 5mm Allen key and two sips of water? Smaller pack. But then there’s your armour and lid. Where do you put those when you’re climbing or riding to the start of the fun stuff?
Until very recently, you either had to wear your pads on the climb (hot and uncomfortable) or use thin bungy cords to strap them down, which meant you looked like a Yugo with a full load of furniture tied on the roof with a shoelace. There was stuff sticking out all over the place, and you prayed that it would stay there for the duration of the trip. And then there's your helmet. Hanging it off the bars is an option, but mine usually ends up snagging the brake lever at the worst time possible, bringing me to a rather abrupt halt.
Camelbak, the biggest name in hydration packs, believes it has a solution to all of those problems - and a few that you might not have even known you had - with its new Havoc pack.
The features There's enough room inside to stash a pair of arm pads (or short leg pads), a lined pouch for goggles, and another for your iPod, one big mesh pouch for tools and snacks, and hook-and-loop straps for a pump. Shoulder straps are comfortably padded, and the Independent Suspension™ attachment design is supposed to improve arm mobility while you’ve got the pack on. Other vitals include a 100 oz / 3 litre water capacity, dimensions of 21" x 10" x 6" (533mm x 254mm x 152mm), 794 cu in (13.00l) of cargo capacity, all of |
MSRP is US$100 or CDN$180. (And yes, I know the numbers don't sync up when you do the conversion.)
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Improvements over previous models The first is with the reservoir, which now features a positive-closure lid that’s connected to the reservoir. Thank you for that, Camelbak. The reservoir compartment is easier to access now that it’s separated from the main gear compartment and the hang strap is much more effective – there’s no more sloshing going on, which was a real distraction before. Velcro pump straps are a nice touch, as is a CD / MP3 player compartment and rubber headphone cable port. I use mine for my wallet and cell phone, because the only noise I like to hear when I ride is my chain clanking and my wheel sliding on wet logs. But that’s just me. Heavy-duty zippers on the main and reservoir compartments mean that you shouldn’t have to worry about them blowing out, and thicker nylon will stand up to crashes, in the event that you eject and land on your Havoc. |
A long list of problems The first problem that I encountered was trying to fit my size large Specialized Hucker helmet under the rear panel. There wasn’t enough room to properly cradle the helmet, so there was a large gap between the back of the helmet and the bottom of the panel. That then impacted on the way the panel sat, and it usually slid to one side or the other when I tightened the straps. For some reason, that whole issue with the helmet complicated things when I tried to strap pads on the side. I didn’t seem to be able to get them in straight, and they were always hanging on a weird angle. It may have had something to do with the position of the female ends of the buckles, which seemed awfully low on the side of the pack. |
 The Havoc carrying a full load - note the awkward helmet placement || Photo: Kim Beck |
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Then there were the small straps used to hold the helmet in place. There are two of them that snap around the mouthguard on a full-face, but instead of being able to pull away from the bag to tighten them, you have to pull towards it. Combine that backwards design with closed buckles that sit quite close to the bag and it’s almost impossible to get them snug enough. |
And then there was the drinking tube. For some reason, it was considerably shorter on the Havoc than other Camelbaks I’ve used in the past. I wasn’t able to use it in the normal fashion - grab the tube and bring it to your mouth while you’re looking ahead (or wherever). I had to turn my head to reach the tube, which sat on my shoulder. Not a huge deal, but definitely annoying. I’m willing to concede that these last two issues may be tied to my height – I’m 6’4” – but I didn't run into them with the H.A.W.G. and M.U.L.E. packs I’ve had in the past. I wasn't the only one, though. One of our smaller testers (who's a foot shorter than I am) was able to use the drinking tube as it was, but even they said it could have been longer. |
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Things didn’t improve a whole lot with the inside of the Havoc.
 Goggles at the top and tools at the bottom - the best use of space? |
The tool compartment is just one large mesh pouch. There’s no divider, so everything you want to carry with you gets stuffed in there to rattle around. It’s also big enough that you have to root around to find smaller items. The fleece-lined goggle pouch is a nice touch, but most of the people who ride with goggles (myself included) usually strap them onto their helmet when they’re not using them. I’d much rather have a smaller sunglass pouch and another zippered compartment instead of one large one. |
Final thoughts
As you can tell, I had my fair share of issues with the Havoc. It was comfortable enough when it was time to head back down the hill, but there were a lot of headaches to deal with before you ever got to that point.
Yes, you can fiddle with things to make then work. Yes, the pack will fit differently on a smaller person, and maybe even with a smaller helmet (the shorter tester's size medium helmet didn't fit all that much better, though). And yes, it is a well-built pack. I won't deny the quality. But, and this is a very big but, there some very real design flaws here, and it’s hard to get around them.
Poorly conceived straps for the mouthguard were one of the most glaring, but so is a tool pouch that ends up looking more like a junk drawer. I can live with the somewhat-odd positioning for pads on the side of the pack, but I have a hard time believing the helmet is supposed to sit the way it does, or that the back panel should be so difficult to strap down properly.
And what was up with the short drinking tube? That would be annoying as hell to deal with when it’s hot out. The thing that makes it most difficult to accept these shortcomings is the price for the Havoc. For US$100 / CDN$180, I expect more. A lot more. Camelbaks have always been pricier, and I can deal with that if I'm getting a good product. But there are a number of other freeride-specific packs out there that do a much better job of offering up the same or similar features for considerably fewer of your hard-earned dollars. For example, the Dakine Nomad pack has a 19 litre capacity (6 more than the Havoc), straps that go from one side of the pack to the other so you can bundle all your gear (including upper body armour), the ability to carry a full-face or XC lid, and better-designed interior compartments. For only CDN$125. |
 The straps are long, but they don't work so well || Photo: Kim Beck |
Sad to say, but Camelbak needs to go back to the drawing board with the Havoc. The designers should talk to riders who don’t live in Southern California, have real people use and abuse the pack, and look at the shortcomings I’ve pointed out. Until they make major changes to the Havoc, I’ll stick with a more user-friendly pack.
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