First Impressions – Revelate Designs Hopper Frame Bag

The Revelate Designs Hopper is a wedge frame bag with an easy to use zipperless magnetic flap-top opening. The 4-liter capacity bag fits almost any bike, including full-suspension models with vertically and some horizontally mounted shocks. It features three top-mounting Velcro straps and two downtube straps to help it attach to various frame shapes. The size and shape were ideally suited for the bottom section of my Ibis Ripmo front triangle (medium), even though it doesn’t have any attachment straps on the back. It only comes in Black and retails for $79.

With all the straps installed the Hopper weighed in at 215 grams, and measured 7″ (back) x 11″ (top) x 12″ (bottom) x 2″ (front).

Sidenote => On the Ibis Ripmo frame, with its upper horizontal mounted shock,  and odd shape of the lower triangle, I was certain that a custom bag was the only alternative, but the Hopper turned out to be a blessing and offered off the shelf compatibility. Albeit, it would be best to sew on attachment mounts on the back of the bag.

Click here to buy the Hopper from REI 

The top, flap, and sides are constructed from their RevX-PAC Fabric (Dimension Polyant VX-21), which is tough, durable, and extremely abrasion-resistant. At the same time, the bottom and back use ballistic grade nylon. The closure side, top, bottom, and back feature a sandwiched foam layer for padding and stiffening, along with an internal ripstop nylon lining. The top offers considerable rigidity due to the two pieces of nylon webbing, the fabric, and the foam layer.

The bag has three wide Velcro straps on the top and two padded wide Velcro straps on the bottom. Also, the top has five daisy-chained placements while the bottom has four daisy-chained placements for the straps so that they can be moved around to fit more frame shapes. Unfortunately, the back doesn’t have any straps or mounts since the bag was designed to wedge up into the front of the main triangle (mid-frame location), not making it the most ideal for my Ripmo’s setup.

The Velcro straps are removable, which helped with my odd installation on my Ripmo upper mounted horizontal shock design, allowing me to swap out the rear top strap for a skinnier one and attaching it to the seattube.

The loop on the elastic cord was easy to pull down to release the magnetic clasp and open up the interior. To close it, just pull the loop down until the magnetic clap engages. The flap overlaps enough for weather resistance, and its quick access design made it ideal for food, gloves, and a rain jacket. It was easy to open and close, full or empty.

The Hopper single main compart has 4-liters of storage space, and I primarily have used it for my rain jacket, sweat rag, and more substantial snacks. I have yet to use it for any bikepacking purposes, so I’ll see what I might use it for during those adventures? It has a pretty useful triangular shape and bulges out nicely to fit oddly shaped and bulky items.

(Photo courtesy of Revelate Designs)

Here are the basic layout and sizing of the Hopper. The bag is pretty squishy and compressible, so it can fit into various spaces of a frame that are close to these dimensions.

Bottom Line

The Hopper wedge frame bag is designed to offer a universal fit for a slew of bikes, from hardtails to many full suspension setups. It’s well constructed with durable foam sandwiched fabrics and provides an innovative one-handed zipperless magnetic flap-top opening. The two top and two bottom Velcro straps I was using for my Ripmo kept the Hopper securely in place, even with the odd seattube attachment arrangement. I do wish the back has some straps and mounts? The 4-liters of internal storage offers plenty of usable space for a jacket, food, and tools.

Specs

• Revelate exclusive RevX-PAC panels that are two times as abrasion resistant as standard VX material.
• Single-handed access with effortless magnetic closure
• Single main compartment with adjustable magnetic closure
• The flap and opening are meticulously designed to work well whether the bag is empty or full to the max
• Internal structure sewn in top panel allows for versatile use in conjunction with cockpit bags
• Weight:  6 ounces
• Volume: 4L; 245 cubic inches
• Materials: RevX-Pac Fabric: Dimension Polyant VX-21 with proprietary abrasion-resistant finish; 420-denier diamond ripstop lining; closed-cell foam