Platypus Chuckanut Hip Pack Review

The Platypus Chuckanut is a small low-profile hip pack that is comfortable, conformable, and stable and the 3-liter capacity is ideal for short outings and minimalistic riders. It includes their taste-free and flexible .5-liter SoftBottle for hydration and features smart internal organizational storage, a fleece-lined pocket for a smartphone, and an expandable outer front flap pocket for bulky items. It has an excellent carrying handle, and the mesh foam backpanel is nicely padded, and the wrap-around hip belt offers security and stability without any excessive pack bouncing. It comes in two colors, Black and Green Ranger and retails for $49.95.

Key features:

• Flexible SoftBottle: Provides .5L of taste-free hydration on the go.
• Fleece-lined device pocket: Protect phones and other media with easy access outer pocket.
• Comfortable back panel: Mesh-covered, channeled foam back panel offers light padding and airflow for comfort.
• Internal Organization: Interior zippered mesh pocket with key clip and stretch loop straps for stowing bike tools, repair kits, CO2 canisters, etc.
• Waist belt storage: Designed with two stash pockets, the waist belt offers easy, on-the-bike access to energy bars, gels, and other essentials.
• External pocket: Shove-it pocket secures extra layers or knee pads for quick retrieval.
• Light loop: Attachment point for a rear bike light.
• Stable, stay-put design: Keeps your pack in place on the lower back eliminating bounce or sag.
• Carry handle: Handle doubles as a hanging loop for easy drying.

Backpanel

The pack utilized a highly-conformable mesh-covered and channeled foam backpanel that offers plenty of comfort and padding, and the raised horizontal channels provide a decent amount of airflow for ventilation purposes. The hip wings feature a light mesh material over a thin open-weaved perforated foam that provides plenty of ventilating with just enough padding for comfort and enough stiffness and wrap around characteristics for stability.

Storage

Even with its small size and minimalist design, it has a few useful pockets and compartments, including the main compartment with its elastic tool/pump sleeves and a meshed zippered pocket, side hip sleeves, and a fleece-lined zippered back pocket. The front has an expandable flap with a Blinkie light attachment at the bottom front.

The main compartment is where the .5L SoftBottle resides and other larger items, including gloves, head scarves, etc. The back of the main has several elastic sleeves that are perfect for tools, pumps, CO2 canisters, tire repair stuff, etc., while the meshed zippered pocket at the front of the main is useful for smaller items and those that need to be securely bound. The side hip sleeves are on the small side, but gels and food snacks fit nicely in them. The softly padded and fleece-lined zippered back pocket at the rear of the pack is a fairly decent size and even my large iPhone 7 Plus with a case fit into it without any issues. The expandable front sleeve is advantageous as overflow for armor, jackets, and apparel, and other bulky items, which is especially useful since internal space are at a premium.

SoftBottle

The pack includes one of their highly functional .5-liter SoftBottle, which has just enough capacity for short rides or to supplement additional water bottles carried on the bike. The SoftBottle is simple, compact, lightweight and flexible, and when empty it flattens down or can be rolled up for space savings. The easy open cap is large enough to sip out of without any problems and like all of their hydration materials it’s taste-free, BPA-free, BPS-free, and phthalate-free.

Impressions

Even though the small pack only has a 3-liter capacity, their smart organization system for storage makes things seem more substantial and more functional. The rear zippered fleece-lined pocket is decently large and my monster iPhone 7 Plus with a waterproof case slips in without any interference, which is a rare feat even in standard packs. The primary compartment capacity initially gets taken up by the bulky .5-liter SoftBottle, but you can squeeze plenty of items all around it, including gloves, headscarves, caps, first aid kit, etc. On the back of the main are six elastic sleeves, which can hold a tire pump, tools, tire wrenches, CO2 canisters, and other like items. At the front of the main is a zippered mesh pocket, which is useful for smaller items, food, and items that you want to hold more securely.

The very front of the pack features an expandable flap that is perfect for larger bulky items, such as armor, jackets, and apparel and is especially useful since you can quickly grab something without having to open the pack. The flap utilizes two compressions straps which utlize a hook clasp for easy opening.

The nicely padded foam backpanel made for a uber comfortable pack, and along with the hip wings they offered up an excellent wrap-around system, that was highly conformable, stable and secure. This synergy made the small pack act like Velcro on your back, keeping it securely in place and it never bounced around or sagged, on even the most rugged terrain.

The backpanel’s channeled foam and the perforated hip wings offered plenty of ventilation, and even on warm days, I didn’t overly sweat under the pack. The well-made pack utilized robust 160D and 210D Water-Resistant Nylon materials and good stitching and it didn’t feel flimsy and has so far not shown any overt signs of wear and tear.

The SoftBottle was simple to use, and the screw cap never leaked and was easy to take on and off, and the spout’s opening was wide enough for smooth drinking. Although the .5-liter capacity was decent for short outings, you did need to be judicious on a ride, else carry along another water supply. Once the bottle was empty, it flattened down to almost nothing, or it could be rolled up if desired and squeezed into the corner of the pack. As with all of the water bottles and reservoirs their Taste-free, BPA-free, BPS-free, and phthalate-free, and don’t stain with hydration mixes.

 

 

Instead of taking the pack off, I found it easier just to rotate it around and then open the compartments and pockets that I might need to use, or grab a drink of water. I sure did like the comfortable and easy to cradle carrying handle, something far too many packs seem to omit.

Bottomline

The Platypus Chuckanut is a tremendous minimalistic hip pack meant for short rides with just enough water from the .5-liter SoftBottle and 3-liters of storage to get you out and about on most adventures. The small size, superb backpanel, hip wings, and design offers a pack that doesn’t bounce around, and you barely feel like there is anything on your back. The pack is light and straightforward, and the excellent and highly functional smart organization system offers plenty of efficient space, with highlights to the expandable outer flap.