Gear Review: Ergon BD2 Pack

ERGON BD2

Size: Mens small

Capacity: 15 liters

Max recommended weight: 6kg

Hydration compartment: Yes (bladder sold separate)

MSRP: $149 (2008)

When the idea came about to review hydration packs I was excited to say the least. For years I have been wondering when someone would design a pack that was held off of your back so that you did not have the soaked jersey and uncomfortable sweaty back while hammering on a bike.

Alas Ergon has done it. With their patented Flink® Link ball joint shoulder harness and frame, Ergon has managed to do a few things that I really do think will revolutionize pack design.

Basically Ergon has a standard bag that is nestled in a molded plastic frame. This frame design allows the weight to be redirected off of your shoulders and on to your hips. By eliminating the pressure on the shoulders this achieves a few key points. First it lowers the center of gravity, this feature keeps the bag from flying up your body when descending gnarly terrain or landing jumps. There is nothing worse than balancing on techy section of trail trying to hit a perfet line only to have your balance thrown off by your bag shifting its weight up and throwing you around!

The second key to the design is the brilliant central Flink® Link ball joint shoulder harness. While this system looks cumbersome and unwieldy, I kinda thought it would feel stiff and overbuilt, but in reality it is genius, plain and simple.

The shoulder harness comes together in the center of the frame into a ball and socket joint that allows unrestricted range of motion at the shoulders while the waist belt and lower frame of the pack stay firmly in place. You can even adjust not only the firmness of the socket but also the placement of it on your torso . It was actually a pretty cool experience to be able to fit the pack to the individual instead of being stuck with the factory settings.

Another great aspect of this pack it the full length front zipper so you can fully open your pack to get at what you need with out dumping the contents. There are also plenty of handy pockets to stash all of your gear. I have heard some gripes about the pockets size (some say they are too small) but I disagree. I have managed to find the perfect placement for all of my gear. I have found 10 pockets including the main pack pocket.

I ended up using the small outer zippered pocket to stash tire fix gear (CO2, patch, tire levers), the inner zippered pocket I carry a lighter and multi-tool. The inner pouches I store snacks and in the main compartment I keep a spare tube and what ever additional clothing I might bring. On the portion of the pack that meets your back there is also a mesh full width pocket that has an inner elastic pocket, I have yet to need it but I assume it is for on the go snack storage and the smaller pouch could be for an ID and cash. On the outside of the pack there is a helmet strap that also has two separate velcro pockets which is where I carry my ID and keys. On the bottom of the pack there is a small pouch that hold a pretty useful rain pack cover.

While this pack does not come with a hydration bladder there is ample room for one including a central portal to feed the tube through from the inside to the top of either shoulder straps. The shoulder straps are full of various Velcro straps and two mini bungee cords as well as a small whistle integrated into the buckle on the chest harness.

While this pack is designed for cycling I ended up using it for a backcountry ski trip and was really surprised that it did well carrying my teles with out a problem. I was concerned that the edges of the skis would cut the webbing fortunately they did not and the skis stayed in place the entire hike.

Look at how almost everything else in the cycling industry is specialized for certain uses, now your pack can be as well.

After using this pack for a few months now, I can truly say that my Camel Back is relegated to storage. This thing has definitely earned its place among ‘go to’ gear.

To read more info on this pack as well as an entire line of great products check out the Ergon site. Here is a great video that will help further explain the Flink® design.

If you are interested in a different style of pack, Ergon also produces packs designed with the Flink® design for hiking, climbing, bumming around town or just about anything else!