The North Face Megamouth Tested

The North Face Megamouth - Tested

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.

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.

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.

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...

If you'd like to add your own experiences of this product check out our user review system and post your opinions to the world. If you have questions you can mail us direct, ask Richard Gear or try a posting to our gear forum.