USWE Airborne 9 Hydration Pack w/3L Bladder: Rider Review

Hydration packs. One of the most polarizing conversations in mountain biking. You either love them or you hate them. They can be so useful to carry all of the necessary tools, snacks, and water but can also be a pain on the trail. In this rider review, our friend Jason Ekman discusses his new USWE Airborne 9 Hydration Pack. Check it out below!

Overview

I had been meaning to write this review much sooner, and I will be honest…I kept forgetting… that’s how great this pack is! After getting it adjusted (which took very little time) the pack just disappears on your back! And I do fill the sucker up too:

• Water bladder
• 29er tube
• Mini pimp
• Crank bros tool kit
• Mini first aid kit
• Two Cliff bars
• Three Cliff Gels
• Tire lever
• Patch kit
• Zip ties
• Tire boot
• GoPro mount
• Small knife
• Packable rain jacket
• Car keys
• Phone

And that’s all inside the pack. My goggles and elbow pads go in the open section outside for the ride to the top and the jaw section of my full-face goes right in the top loop. All that stuff and no bouncing or shifting and once I got it adjusted it does not impede my breathing in any way. The harness also works perfect, sitting just above my GoPro chest mount. I also decided to plow a trail with my face and body the other day and the pack held up and on with no problems!

Performance

In my attempts to rid myself of the dreaded "dancing monkey" I've tried more than a few options. In the past, I tried the Camelbak Mule which I found the straps to be not as comfortable as they could be and you absolutely had to use the waist straps. I just upgraded from the Shimano U4E which had its ups and downs. The straps, while super comfy, were tricky to set up. Once I had the fit dialed, the pack became super comfortable but again once things started getting rowdy it would bounce and we were back to waist straps. I even resorted to going the "bumbag" route for short rides or well-supported enduro races. The USWE Airborne pack eliminated all the problems of the cursed "dancing monkey" while still being super comfortable!

Final Thoughts

My only complaint is that when it’s chilly outside the buckle squeaks a little. I can hear it on my GoPro footage but it's super minor. It's well worth not having to deal with bouncing or stinking waist belts! One of our female team riders took a look it and proclaimed “Not for the ladies ” though. If you hate waist belts and bouncing packs do yourself a favor and pick one of these up!