The Best Women’s Fit Bike Pack

This blog is less about what goes in your pack and more about what pack is best when hitting the trails.

The Osprey Raven 10-12-14 packs are the most popular packs we see on our students!

For many of us, bikes are a huge part of our lives. Our two-wheel journeys find us climbing technical terrain in Kimberley or on an exhilaratingly fast and flowy downhill in Golden. When you love to ride, and ride a lot, you get to know the essential components of what is necessary to be efficient on your ride, what it means to be comfortable on the bike, and how you feel riding the trails.

Bike packs are usually a daypack-sized. The compartments should be big enough to stash your tools, helmet, and day trip essentials. Check out our blog for more tips on the essentials to pack.  

If you are anything like I was when I started riding, you might be surprised to know that a proper fitting pack can be a key component in your trail ride. It wasn’t until an ill fitting all-purpose pack caused me to lose balance on my bike that I found myself looking for something more suited to riding the trails.

So, I asked the Shred Sisters’ coaches what makes a great pack, and the response I got was overwhelming. Who knew a pack mattered so much?  

• Side pockets – Where pockets are situated and what size is important for ease of accessibility during the ride.
• Hydration – How your water reservoir is fitted in your pack and how easy is it to get to your hydration tube can be pretty important. Coach Becca has found “osprey’s hydration tube magnet super handy on the trails”
• Tool Kit – A must have on every ride every time so a removable tool kit that includes an extra flap to lay out parts is a great addition
• Zippers – more to the point the straps, large oversized straps on the zippers make it much easier to open with gloved hands
• Is it waterproof – how well your pack and the stuff in it survives. It’s important to consider those times you may end up riding in inclement weather. A pack with a built in rain cover or a waterproof material will at least make sure your lunch stays dry even if you don’t
• Straps – You need to be able to adjust the pack appropriately so it doesn’t shift or bounce when you ride uneven terrain.
• Where the straps sit – If the straps aren’t sitting where they should be on your torso you can end up with them digging into you while you ride.
• Where does the pack sit – Look for a pack that stays close to your body when you’re in the ride position.

A fun add-on that each Shred Sisters coach mentioned I had never considered was a bungee cord for your helmet. It made me think of each time I had desperately looked around for somewhere convenient to place my helmet when I took it off.

Everyone was in agreement. A pack that fits your torso provides a way more comfortable riding experience, less sweaty back, and freedom to move and also avoids the back slide off (you know when your body leans to the side and your pack goes with it). As a major partner and supporter of Shred Sisters Osprey has been providing our coaching team with some of the best packs for the last 71 years. These packs are well-constructed products that breathe well and have been given rave reviews by each Shred Sisters coach. Shout out to Coach Audrey’s favourite the Raven 14L  and the Sylva 12 that was noted as “the best pack I have ever owned” by Coach Julie.

Osprey does a great job of providing a women fit pack. The women fit packs are less likely to move around on those berms and turns.  Want to know more about what size pack you should be wearing? Check out the Osprey video.