Leatt DBX Core 2.0 Hydration Pack - Review
Leatt's DBX Core 2.0 hydration hip-pack offers an alternative to riders who don't want to wear a traditional backpack and have run out of places to stash necessary items on their bike frames. The Core 2.0 is larger than the hip-packs I have tried in the past. It can hold seven liters of cargo, including two liters of fluid. The pack is separated into two main compartments. The bladder occupies the inner one. The outer compartment has one large mesh pocket and one smaller one for easy-to-lose items, and the waistband has a pair of quick access pockets. The DBX Core pack's padded waist and wide cinch straps are designed to stabilize the load on the rider''s hips. Leatt offers the pack in basic black and it sells for $79.99 USD.
Core 2.0 Details:
• Total storage: 7 liters (2 hydration, 5 in compartments)
• Quick-access side pockets in waist belt.
• Padded and ventilated waist conforms to hips
• Bright green pockets highlight contents
• Internal see-through mesh pockets
• Elastic loops in main pocket organize small items
• Bottom exit for hydration hose.
• 2-liter bladder with quick-release hose
• MSRP: $79.99 USD
• Contact: Leatt Bike
• Total storage: 7 liters (2 hydration, 5 in compartments)
• Quick-access side pockets in waist belt.
• Padded and ventilated waist conforms to hips
• Bright green pockets highlight contents
• Internal see-through mesh pockets
• Elastic loops in main pocket organize small items
• Bottom exit for hydration hose.
• 2-liter bladder with quick-release hose
• MSRP: $79.99 USD
• Contact: Leatt Bike
Protective cap shelters the mouthpiece from animal spew.
The main cargo compartment folds out. Mesh pockets expose everything inside.
Features and Performance
Unless you've worn a hip-pack before, the DBX Core 2.0 will take some getting used to. Wide, comfortable webbing and a generous waistband ensure that you can snug the pack tight enough to stabilize it on your hips without constricting your breathing or feeling unnecessarily confined. I had a little trouble keeping the waistband adjusted. The buckles did not grip the webbing securely. I fixed that by rolling up the excess webbing and securing it with the supplied Velcro band against the buckle. Get it right and the pack will exhibit some vertical movement when the bike is bouncing, but will not wiggle laterally.
Inside, the pack is well organized and user-friendly. Unzip the cargo hold and it opens flat, like a suitcase. Inside pockets are mesh, so all of the contents are easily viewed in one glance against the compartment's Day-Glo green liner. The central panel has a number of elastic loops sew in to hold tire-tools, air-pumps and CO2 cartridges. Should you run out of room inside, a pair of compression straps double as a handy way to stash a windbreaker on the outside.
Pads in the waistband support the weight comfortably on the hips.
Side pockets and zipper-pulls for easy access to essentials.
Leatt's bladder has a central, quick-release hose that exits out the bottom of the pack. Because the pack has no shoulder straps, the user is left with how and where to secure the hose retaining clip, I tried clipping the hose to my jersey, but the fabric was too flimsy. Eventually, I chose to clip the hose to the waistband, where it was less accessible while riding, but tucked away in a less bothersome location. Drinking from the bite valve is less intuitive than Camelbak's superior mouthpiece. Grip the edge of the bite valve with your teeth and push back the plastic seal to get the most flow. That worked best for me.
Leatt's two-liter bladder has a quick-release hose fitting.
The bite-valve takes some getting used to.
In action, I appreciated the Core 2.0 most when it was lightly loaded - with the bladder about 75% full, one tube, a pump, some food, and a folding wrench. Leatt's hip-pack barely moved, and I liked the way the bike handled with the extra mass strapped lower to my body, especially on the downs.
Loaded up as depicted in this review, the Core 2.0 was about as heavy and bulky as I would ever want a hip pack to be. It never was a deal breaker, but the vertical movement was a reminder that I had ten pounds strapped above my butt when I slammed a G-out or bounced through the rocks. I never suffered a sweaty back during this review, so a little bouncing may be a small price to pay for such comfort.
Unfortunately, I experienced a zipper failure. One side of the main cargo compartment blew open while I was riding. Luckily, nothing was lost. The zipper self-healed later (with some fiddling) and continues to function. Leatt says the faulty zipper issue came as a surprise, and assured us that they would warrant the item immediately, as is their policy on all of their products.
Unfortunately, I experienced a zipper failure. One side of the main cargo compartment blew open while I was riding. Luckily, nothing was lost. The zipper self-healed later (with some fiddling) and continues to function. Leatt says the faulty zipper issue came as a surprise, and assured us that they would warrant the item immediately, as is their policy on all of their products.
One of the main compartment's two zippers failed, then self healed shortly after.
Pinkbike's Take:
 | Hip packs like Leatt's DBX Core 2.0 are a logical step for riders who don't want a backpack, yet need to carry more water and gear than they can stuff in their cargo bibs or stash on a bike. The Core 2.0 is large enough for an all-day epic, and it packs down to a manageable weight and bulk to make it viable for gravity riding. One improvement I'd like to see is a magnetic clip, so I could more easily access the drinking hose while in motion. The offending zipper? Well, it's still working fine, so I'm inclined give Leatt the benefit of the doubt on that one. |
Author Info:
Member since Mar 23, 2011
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sourceoutdoor.com/en/hydration-packs/161-hipster-hydration-belt
-Bill Hicks
I'd upvote more if I could but Pinkbike doesn't have the "+10 votes Bill Hicks Reference" button yet.
Check out this product.......
henty.cc/enduro-backpack-launches
These guys are from my home town, normally I hate running hydration packs but i’ve had one for almost 6 months. It’s a very easy bag to wear on longer rides. Forget that I’m wearing it most of the time.
The Camel Skyline is about the best compromise between a lumbar pack and traditional Camel. I don't like wearing packs due to bad sweaty back and the Skyline eliminates that, and is super stable.
For smaller loads and shorter rides, I just use a small, 20 year old Columbia lumbar pack for the very few essentials. Rides of 2 hours or less I don't need water. 3 hour rides and I'm good with 1 liter that goes into a small 1 L Platypus bladder with a screw top lid. I'm not that "hard core" that I can't take a five minute break, 2 hours into a ride, to unscrew a top and slug down a liter of water.
Don't knock it, 'till you try it.
I didn't know $20 bills smoked weed..
I currently use an Ergon BE1 and love it. The 1.5L water bladder goes low just like in these backpacks, there is some space in the upper section for some essentials and the back protector obviously covers the full length. My pump (something from Park Tool) doesn't fit so I strapped it to the outside but there are probably pumps that would fit inside. So yeah if you want something to protect your back you obviously have to accept that it is going to cover your back. But at least this Ergon pack keeps the bulk of the weight (the water) nice and low.
This magnet kit from Osprey makes the pack perfect.
www.osprey.com/us/en/product/hydraulics-hose-magnet-kit-HYDRMAGKT.html
I then thought I'd go for a pack with a bladder for longer rides in African summer. Got the camelbak one and to be honest it was kinda how I thought fanny packs would be when I was anti them. You could only have the bladder half full else it was too bulbous and pushed out from your body. Then add your tools on top of that and it gets a bit awkward. At 1.5l full and if you only use 50% of that you're not really better off than than my innov8 one with a 750 camelbak bottle. The palos was R1400 and the innov8 one was R250 with the bottle and the strap is superior.
Sometimes be needs to make a fanny pack where the bladder comes around your sides and doesn't just bulk up fatter and out from your body making it more unstable.
I also use a BR strap for a tube.
I tried the Source Hipster but it was just too bulky with the bladder anything more than half full.
Leaves the 'Source' Hipster for dead wrt to water capacity and stowage space