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Accessories Kulkea Micro Pack

Philpug

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Sometimes taking a product out of its natural environment will emphasize its strengths as well as its shortcomings. @Brian Finch did a great job reviewing Kulkea’s clever Micro Pack doing what it was designed to do: pack in and out what you need for a day hiking trip. See his review HERE.

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My use of the Micro Pack was a little different: I wanted to see how it would work on two wheels. No, this is not what Kulkea originally designed the Micro Pack for, but like I said, let's check the bag's character and how it performs in an application for which it was not intended. Let me get the one negative out of the way: there is no place to put a water bladder. While this was an initial concern, it wasn’t a huge drawback. My trusty steed was set up with a water bottle, so I have been running bottles on most of my rides; the Micro Pack actually holds two bottles in its lowest compartment, so on a longer ride, I can rotate the bottles out with minimal inconvenience and not have to worry about having enough water

As for overall design, fit, and function, I don’t think there is a person on this site who has used a Kulkea product that can question the company's commitment to quality. It is making arguably the best-built product on the market. Everything we have tested from Kulkea has shown consistently high quality, and this continues with the Micro Pack. A lot of thought went into the bag: pockets, zippers, and placement are top notch. The padded shoulder, chest, and waist straps are all where they should be; when you put on the loaded pack, it does not feel cumbersome at all; everything is nicely distributed.

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Will this review plant the seed with Kulkea that it needs a mountain bike pack, or will it confirm what it already knows, and maybe keep that thought process rolling. Again, using it with a bike is not its intended application, but it does the job. Get the Micro Pack based on Brian’s review and realize that it can be used as a bike pack, that's just gravy on a piece of prime meat. (But whoever puts gravy on a prime steak has never had a great steak au poivre).
  • Who is it for? Minimalists who are looking for comfort in a bag and still want to take along the essentials.
  • Who is it not for? Those who prefer a hydration bag might want to look elsewhere.
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Plus, the chicks dig it. @Tricia @Luvbug
 

Brian Finch

Privateer Skier @ www.SkiWithaGrimRipper.com
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I strapped a full size axe to mine & trail ran the other day to help clean up trails. No bounce & the leaf peepers hopped right out of my way.
 

Andy Mink

Everyone loves spring skiing but not in January
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I've used my Micro Pack for its intended purpose during some hikes around a few National Parks but needed a small pack when I got into MTB. My solution until I got the Kulkea OTRmost Hydration Backpack was a Camelbak 1.5 liter bladder and some heavy duty Velcro to hold it in place. It worked well bouncing down rocky trails and even off some drops. The only drawback is the tape doesn't adhere as well as I hoped. It's pretty old tape so that might be the issue.

Another option that I believe @Philpug used was to cut the divider strap where water bottles would go and drop the bladder into that pouch. I didn't want to cut my pack, so...
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Dougb

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I loved my Micro Pack last season in all regards except the hydration issue. I jumped on the OTR during the Kickstarter phase and hiked with it at Yosemite this weekend. It was awesome. I’ll post something in that pack’s thread but I think it will be replacing my Micro Pack next season: carries more and gives you the water.
 

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