The Litho pack from The North Face is designed specifically for mountain biking, and its 18-litre capacity is spot on for packing enough food and spare equipment for a long day out in the hills.
It’s made from nylon double rip-stop material, which makes it relatively light (822g) and durable. It comes with usable features such as a rain shield, a helmet-carrying sling and easy-to-reach pockets on the waist straps.
The main compartment makes up the majority of the 18-litre capacity, and although it has a separate sleeve for a hydration bladder, it doesn’t come with one.
Having a single large volume main compartment with no compression straps to keep contents locked down meant our equipment floated and rattled around in the pack when it wasn’t filled to capacity, which was off-putting when riding technical trails.
This was disappointing because the fit of the Litho pack is very secure and there’s decent airflow around the back panel. It’s fine for general riding, but we wouldn’t recommend it for rougher, more technical routes.
This article was originally published in Mountain Biking UK magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.