The North Face Megamouth -
Tested
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Price:
£65
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Weight: 850 grammes
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Features: 18-litre
hydration pack complete with 3-litre Nalgene bladder
featuring quick connect hose and magnetic bite valve, new
X-Vent mesh trampolene back system, E-VAP and air mesh
shoulder harness, front pod pocket with zippered stretch
mesh stash pocket, external stretch woven pockets, internal
organiser, helmet stash sleeve, side compression straps,
reflective light loop, fabric is Cordura rip-stop
Nylon.
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What's It For?
The Megamouth is the largest pack in The North Face's hydration
pack range and with 18-litres of capacity caters for lightweight
walkers, runners and mountain bikers. New for 2008 is the X-Vent mesh
trampolene back system, which replaces the previous Megamouth's EVA
closed-cell foam back.
With the suspended back system, we reckon it should work well as a
hot conditions, lightweight day pack.
The Techy Bits
New for spring 2008, the X-Vent back system is another variant on
the flexible frame / suspended mesh idea first seen on the Osprey
Atmos. Here the frame is a simple crossed pole affair that flexes
under load and sits close enough to the back to minimise any load
leverage.
Other neat touches include a sliding lower waist belt attachment,
though we didn't actually feel the need to adjust it, and Nalgene's
cunning hydration bladder. This uses a quick releast drink hose
making it easier to fit and remove the bladder for top-ups. The bite
vave has a handy magnetic feature which you can use to anchor it to
your shoulder strap when not drinking.
How It Performs
The North Face's range is vast these days, but we've always liked
their hydration packs. Previous versions used a closed cell EVA foam
back panel that was warm againt the back, but didn't soak up sweat,
but this year, the two largest packs in the range get the new X-Vent
back.
The good news is that the new back system works really well. It's
instantly comfortable against the back and seems to transfer loads
really well, but just as importantly over ten days hard use in hot
Spanish hills, it never soaked up sweat like a sponge, even when our
baselayer was soaked. The shoulder straps were similarly effective
and dried quickly to leave a fetching salty crust...
There's more than enough room for a selection of lighweight
clothing and food and ample room for the three-litre bladder. and we
could even access the stretch side pockets without too much
contortion. Internal pockets make it easy to keep small items
organised and twin compression straps keep the load stable and
compressed.
We did notice that compression tended to flatten the back cavity,
but it never caused discomfort though it's worth watching out for.
The Nalgene bladder works reasonably well - though we don't think the
bite valve is in the same class as a Camelbak one - and we
appreciated the quick release hose when it came to village spring top
up sessions.
The magnetic bit valve works well to keep the tube under control,
but mind your compass when navigating.
We opted to test the Megamouth because it's large enough for
full days out on foot or on the bike and because it shares its new
back system with the new Bosque and Escalada day packs.
The good news is that the X-Vent back is very good indeed. It
carries well and doesn't soak up moisture. We had no issues with the
rest of the pack either, it's big enough and has enough pockets to
cope with most day use, but still compresses well enough to stay
stable in use, though for running we'd prefer a smaller pack with a
more supportive waist belt.
Finally, while the Nalgene bladder wouldn't necessarily be our
number one choice, it does the job, has an anti-microbial treatment
and is also compatible with many water filter outlets.
Good kit and available in camo as well...
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Good back system, decent capacity, compression and
pockets.
Bite valve on bladder not quite as free-flowing as
some.
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Performance
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Value
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Know more or want to?
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product check out our user review system and post your opinions to
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Richard Gear or try a posting to our
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