There was a time when you either put all your ride necessities in your jersey pockets or, depending on what year it was, possibly in a strange, cycling-specific backpack that looks the result of a 1990s windbreaker having unprotected sex with a child's school bag. Nowadays, the trend is to make your bike carry that stuff instead of you having to do it, but there are also more options than ever when it comes to being your own sherpa.
It's only been in the last few years that the infamous fanny pack has gone from 'weird dad on vacation' status to being a functional solution for us mountain cyclists, and High Above's $100 USD Lookout pack is just one of many bum-mounted storage solutions these days.
Lookout Pack Details• Removable, multi-position bottle holder
• Waterproof VX shell material
• Heavy duty nylon webbing
• Three divided interior pockets
• Weather resistant external pocket
• YKK weather resistant zips
• Long para-cord zipper pulls
• Top-mounted utility straps
• Aprx. 204 color combos
• Dimensions: 9" x 3" x 5.25''
• MSRP: $100 USD
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www.highabove.net High Above designs and manufactures their bags at their Bellingham, Washington, headquarters, including the Lookout pack that's reviewed below. You can call them whatever you want - fanny pack, bum bag, hip bag - but the gist is the same: get the weight off of your back and shoulders and down into your hips where it's lower and less likely to flop around like a sack of doorknobs. The Lookout can also carry a bottle, which not all fanny packs can do, and you can get the 9" x 3" x 5.25'' bag in a few hundred different color combos.
Design The Lookout ain't your pops' old neon butt pouch, with High Above designing-in a handful of mountain bike-friendly features that make this little bag more functional than its size might have you believe. The most noteworthy is High Above's 'Bottle Rocket' system that lets riders carry a single bottle on either side or even a bottle on both sides for rides that require more fluids.
It's a nifty little modular setup that consists of some fabric tabs on both sides of the Lookout and plastic clips that lock it into place. This allows you to mount the Bottle Rocket on either side of the bag so you can use your dominant hand to grab it, or you can stick one on each side.
The bottle holder clips onto fabric tabs where the wings meet the bag. It's quite sturdy.
There are two separate, zippered storage pockets, with a smaller one on the front face of the bag and the main pocket being accessed from the top. Both sport YKK weather resistant zips, and extra-long para-cord pulls should make them easy to grab no matter how clumsy you are or how numb your fingers might be. Opening the main pocket reveals a few dividers to keep things separate, as well as another para-cord pull with a key clip on the end of it.
The adjustable waist strap is wide so as to keep it from feeling like it's splitting you in half, and even wider supports on each side are used to have it be as steady as possible. One of the issues I've had with fanny packs is that there's usually not enough room to stuff a jacket inside of them when I get too warm, but High Above has solved that with a set of adjustable para-cord straps on the top of the Lookout that you can use to carry a jacket or even a larger pump that won't fit inside of the bag.
My tester has even used them to carry a folding saw on many rides to clear trail debris. He's such a good Samaritan.
Heavy duty, water resistant zippers should keep Mother Nature out, and a strap to clip your keys onto means that you'll even be able to drive home after you're done.
Performance I think of on-body storage in three different ways. The most obvious, and probably the most common, are backpacks that vary wildly in carrying capacity and are surely the best way to go about it if you need to carry a ton of stuff. At the other end of the spectrum are pockets, including those built into bib shorts, some of which can even store things like a large-sized water bottle.
Somewhere in the middle are fanny packs, with most offering enough room to carry whatever you might need for most types of rides that don't stretch into all-day epics.
The Lookout pack has a good amount of storage room that we found to be enough for nearly any ride that doesn't call for a water bladder, and the jacket-stashing straps on top of the pack is a big reason for this. It's not uncommon, at least here in southwestern B.C., to have to put on and take off your jacket multiple times during a ride, but you'll need a place to put it when you're not wearing the damn thing. No backpack needed here, though, as the straps on top of the bag do the job perfectly.
They were also used to hold a folding saw, goggles, a pump, and a few other things as well. Not at the same time, of course, but it never once lost its grip on those items.
Internally, there's enough room for a bunch of energy bars if you like to eat gross stuff, or a sandwich or burrito if you're a sane person who likes real food. Other things stuffed into the Lookout included a multi-tool, tube, pump, wallet, some TP because you never know (you did eat the burrito, after all), and even the newest phone that might as well be a tablet.
There's space for much more than just that stuff, however, with it being surprisingly roomy inside. You can also fit a small-sized bottle inside, just in case you're doing a three-bottle-ride on a warm day, but it's a bit tight with everything else in there.
The pack also proved to be quite water resistant. High Above uses the word ''waterproof,'' but I wouldn't go that far. Sure, no moisture got inside, which is important if you bring your phone with you on rides so you can call someone to come get your body when you scorpion, but I don't think I need to tell you not to throw the Lookout into a lake with your stuff in it.
The modular Bottle Rocket system is the most interesting bit about the Lookout, and while it's not perfect, it does work pretty well. Not a single bottle was lost, regardless of how rough the trail was, and it doesn't flop around at all. In fact, it's essentially invisible until you need fluids, and that brings us to the Lookout's only real issue: the sleeve is so tight that you need to stop riding to get your bottle in or out of it. The idea is that it'll never drop your drink, of course, but good luck getting a sip while on the move, which is kind of a bummer. The sleeve isn't stretchy or adjustable, either, so think of it as more of a water storage spot instead of a drink-on-the-go feature.
Our test bag was equipped with a single Bottle Rocket setup, but we'll probably get a second for the opposite side as the days get warmer and rides get longer. There are other fanny packs that can carry a bottle, and even some with a bladder, but High Above's seems to be the most unobtrusive. Well, at least until you want to take a drink without stopping, that is.
Those wide, red wings and the tall waist strap help to keep the Lookout from rocking back and forth.
What's the weirdest thing about a fanny pack besides the fact that it's a fanny pack? It's how some tend to want to tilt backward or even spin in one spot, especially when fully loaded with tools and mid-ride donuts. This is usually down to either not enough support where the straps meet the bag, or the straps being sewn too low on the bag. Due to the large wings (the red bits on our test bag), and the fact that High Above is smart enough to know not to attach the straps too low, the Lookout essentially refuses to tilt or rotate backward. It did take a few rides to get the waist strap adjusted correctly, but the pack was pretty much invisible after that, even on the roughest of descents. Velcro strap keeps also keep the waistband from backing off, which is a nice touch.
Pinkbike's Take: | No matter what style of bag you prefer, it should be all about utility over appearance. After all, we're pedaling bikes in the forest, so it shouldn't matter if we're rocking a fanny pack, as long as it performs well, and the High Above Lookout bag does exactly that. At $100 USD, it's not an inexpensive choice, and the water bottle access could be a little easier, but the essentially custom color combos and made-in-the-USA quality make it a neat, effective option when it comes to carrying your ride essentials.— Mike Levy |
MTB fanny pack........$100.00
Ok....?
Got a mountain warehouse one for £10 and been going strong for 3 years now. Great for those summer eve / commute minimal short rides
On a different note, why not just use a military mole waist with mole bag/bags for $25? $100=SMH
As normal as one can be when wearing matching shirt and shorts, a large styrofoam hat, and riding an oversized child’s toy that cost more than my car.
I could get a pretty good MTB specific large backpack from EVOC for those 100 bugs. Nope I go for the military mole waist instead..
odditymall.com/dadbag-dad-bod-fanny-pack
(Says the man who is known to use one riding occasionally!)
Are Mountainsmiths too passe? I would think an old one would cement your O.G. hip-pack credentials.
These new mtb-specific ones don't look bad, but the better they get, the more they look like mountainsmith copies (whether intentional or not). The bottle holder clips are kinda slick though.
My assumptions as to the change to this new less wide format? 1) I know initial reviews of the Cascadia pack had some saying they found they were tagging their bottles on trees in particularly tight sections of trails. Never resulted in crashes, but it definitely plays with your body English. (I’ve never experienced this issue)
2) The Cascadia has a nice, big, wide storage space... that kinda becomes a black hole with a bunch of stuff in it. (At least I find so) The Lookout pack seems to remedy this with better/more pockets.
I’ve got myself a new Lookout pack to try vs that Cascadia. Initial home “setup” seems it will be less blackhole like (which I’m stoked about) and it’s still just as comfortable. Buuuuut, I think I’ll keep my Cascadia around for those goofy rides that I need to fit a bottle of Jameson in there for!
If your bag doesn’t have a spine protector built in, like the evocs, camelback kudu and others then it isn’t going to help you
i believe they meant pumping as in pumping the section of trail somewhat like on a pump track. not pumping a tire if that's what you were insinuating.
What, the SWATS are all mesh and are very cool in the heat. No baggies needed.
Bottle on frame and good to go for most rides. Bye bye fanny for most my riding now (1-3hr rides)
enduro-mtb.com/en/best-mtb-hip-pack-you-can-buy
My favorite so far is the Dakine Low Rider. 70 ounces of water and the outside straps can carry clothing when you heat up.
www.dakine.com/en-us/bags/backpacks/bike-backpacks/low-rider-5l
enduro-mtb.com/en/best-mtb-hip-pack-you-can-buy
I'm thinking of subscribing to Fanny Pack Action Magazine
Every hip pack distills down to a rectangular shape, and when anchored by straps mounted flush to the back, has a rotary axis that leads to bouncing/instability. My Dana pack's straps were anchored from the seam farther from the back, allowing compression via the main waist buckle, and the load rode tight and stable.
You're welcome, or what do I know? I'm just an end-user.
I ride with a pack and it stays where I put it. Guess where all the weight goes to? Right at the bottom. Where I put it. I can pack as little as I need or enough for a few days. I like cold water on my rides so the fact that I can stuff an ice pack in with my 3l bladder means I never have to freeze another water bottle again.
It's like drivetrain gearing, we reached 30spd and someone said that 11 or 12 is enough...d@mn you marketing
Using a fanny pack doesn't mean to make compromises on your back protection. I'm using a bliss back protector which covers more than my evoc pack.
And i'm not doing so to avoid a sweaty back. I don't care at all about that. But after a big whiplash i got massive problems in my neck wearing a back pack. The fanny pack gives me the freedom in my upper back/neck that i need to enjoy my rides and i still feel well protected, honestly much better than with my evoc.
And on top i do several enduro races a year, and i feel so much better with no weight on the back.
The good thing is, there are enough options for everyone out there.
I destroyed my AC joint in a crash a while back and now have a chunky metal pin halfway along my collarbone.
Backpack straps are very uncomfortable, so as well as being a messenger-bag wearing hipster on my regular commute, I can be a hip-pack wearing enduro-bro on my MTB rides! \o/
I'll stick with my camelbac thanks.
Would Be slightly worried about bending my lower back around fanny pac.
I bought one and it was $$$ well spent if you like waist packs
. Quality is top shelf, same with customer service.
A bum pack or a back pack?
I like the extra protection I get from a back pack if I crash and do a turtle