USWE Patriot 15 and Airborne 15 Backpacks – Review

The Patriot 15 is almost identical to the Airborne 15 in terms of design. While it lacks the Shape-Shift hydration system, it features an attachment system for protection gear at the bottom and an extra pouch with a CE-certified central back protector made from SAS-TEC. The lightweight multi-impact memory foam is highly flexible in a wide range of temperatures, tested to absorb 90-percent of the impact energy and therefore exceeds the requirements of a level 1 CE-certification.






On The Trail

While riding with the backpacks, the USWE's 4-point harness system drew plenty of interest. More often than I thought possible, riders wanted to try out or know more about USWE's offerings when I came to a stop. It undoubtedly goes to show that having a pack unwantedly shift its position during a ride is a problem that a lot of people have experienced - I know that I've been annoyed by it on more than one occasion. There's one very steep root-infested trail in particular where I usually stop before entering, strap down all the buckles beyond a comfortable level, and am still thrown off when certain packs bump into the back of my helmet or pull to one side or the other while trying to negotiate some tight turns that are littered with nearby trees on both sides.

For that reason, I hit said trail as one of the first descents on my list of testing grounds. In some sections, the pack moved up on my back a couple of inches but was far from bumping my helmet or distracting my focus, while always staying centralized on my back. The sentiment that if it could perform there, it could perform anywhere, was proven on most of the following rides. Even when hitting jumps or drops, the backpack moves as one with the rider, not suffering from sluggish movement of the pack due to delayed inertia. Not having to deal with a hip strap is quite the sensation, by the way, and it feels as if the entire backpack is resting a bit higher on your back than usual.

The flexing strap system takes a bit of getting used to at first. It's not like the straps crossing your chest are going to restrict your breathing at a functional level, but when switching from a regular backpack carrying system, the pressure is noticeable and might even be annoying to some people who don't like anything running tightly over their chest.

On that topic, while USWE promotes the backpack as a unisex model, letting my girlfriend try the USWE lead to the conclusion that neither fit nor looks are highly compatible with the cross-lacing system in that combination, at least for her proportions, but this will obviously vary depending on body type.





I found the tube clip, which is located on the main buckle, to be situated relatively far down on the body, forcing me to bend my head uncomfortably low to take a sip if I didn't want to unclip the drinking hose. The benefit of this position is that the tube doesn't bounce around uncontrollably when riding, but I ended up unclipping the tube for the most part on longer ascents (it's still held in place by two straps below the shoulder), which is something that I usually don't do.

Routing the hose on the right shoulder strap and locking the tube from below going upwards is another option, but it's still hard to reach that way, and you'd have to disconnect the hose every time you wanted to get in or out of the backpack.

Strangely enough, when taking the pack off and putting it on the ground it's nearly impossible for the bite valve with twist shut-off option not to touch the dirt, unless you put the pack on its front side and carefully place the valve on top, which isn't really helpful with accessing the pockets, though.





A volume of 15 liters offers enough storage for a rain jacket and a thin shirt or something comparable for your regular rides. However, if you're carrying a small first aid kit and some accessories, like I do, extra space becomes scarce quickly. This is something that becomes a bit of a problem in the winter season, during changing weather conditions, or simply when you're planning on tackling an extended ride in the back-country, where packing some extra gear becomes necessary.

Over-packing the main compartment or even using the XC-helmet carrying compartment as extra storage room for clothes results in the ventilated back panel with foam ridges to develop a bulge (on the Airborne 15 or when the back protector isn't in place on the Patriot 15) and it feels as if the sides and bottom of the backpack lift off your back somewhat. Consequently, the system becomes more prone to shifting from side to side in extreme situations. It never falls off to the sides far, as I have experienced in the past with some regular backpack models, but at that point, being used to the USWE usually reamaining firmly in place, makes the difference noticeable. This effect is intensified by the more weight that you are load into the bag. Over-packed like that and with water in the bladder filled up to the brim, in an off-balance situation on a steep landing, the backpack did bounce upwards, hitting my helmet – something that I wasn't able to replicate with the USWE Airborne or Patriot 15 being loaded evenly.

There are plenty of pockets on the inside but I was sorely missing some quick-access pockets on both sides of the pack for storing things like energy bars or a multi-tool. Even after weeks of riding with the Patriot, it's the only thing I can't or don't really want to get used to. Having to take off the backpack (even if it's a breeze to do with the single buckle centralized on your chest) and rummage through the compartments to get hold of either one just seems annoying when it is something that I am used to being able to get hold of even while riding. Old habits die hard.





The back protector inside the Patriot 15 is a nice option to have. The SAS-TEC material is pretty light (only 173 grams for the protective piece) and hardly noticeable while resting on your back. Plus, since it's easily accessible from the inside of the main compartment, it can be removed in a heartbeat – something that I did on a couple occasions when I knew that the ride was going to be long and the trails were going to be mellow.

Since I'm only using small knee guards that are pushed down over my shins when not in use, I never needed the extra straps for larger knee/shin guards on the bottom of the Patriot, other than testing purposes. Thanks to the rather short straps they can be fully strapped down to the pack when not in use without any chance of dangling into the wheels of your bike. However, that also means that when packing large-sized knee guards with voluminous plastic covers you might run into problems with fixing the straps over the top of both guards, so you'll have to run the straps through the insides to make them fit. Not a big problem.

Knowing fully well that adding any extra weight to the USWE packs works against the system, it would still be nice to have a protective rain cover, or at least a waterproof inside pocket (water-resistant is only going to protect for a while when it's raining cats and dogs) to keep your cell phone absolutely safe from the elements.

Along those lines, I would be happy to see an even larger version of the Patriot with about 25 to 30 liters of volume for extended rides. Luckily, USWE is already working on a bigger model with some new trick features.



Pinkbike's Take:

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