The Altura Chinook is the brand’s best mountain bike backpack. It can also double up for adventure riding and long days in the hills. Its cavernous storage capabilities and decent protection from the elements are excellent, but it’s let down by poorly designed retention straps and a bit of a top-heavy fit.
Altura Chinook Backpack – Technical details
The Chinook is a redesign of its classic bag from 1997 and, while the brand has retained much of the retro aesthetic, the materials are all bang up to date. As is expected from Altura, construction appears to be top-notch and very robust. The pack is constructed from durable 100% polyester with partially recycled content and has been treated with a water-resistant finish to keep the worst of the elements at bay. The pack dimensions are 45cm tall by 24cm wide and it is roughly 14cm deep and weighs a fairly respectable 685 grams on my digital scales. The Altura pack is available in two understated colourways – a nice muted Black/Grey and the earthy Olive Green hue I’m testing here.
Storage is plentiful – 12-litres of it in total. The generous main compartment is accessed via a good quality and wide-opening zipper and is equipped with four separate pockets for securely organising tools, pumps and tubes. Secondly, there’s an expansive helmet-carry pouch on the front that swallows any half-shell lid with ease but can’t quite stretch to a full face – In fairness though, the DH crew isn’t really this pack’s target demographic. Saying that, this pouch is the perfect place for stowing a removable chin guard and pads on hike-a-bike missions, as well as extra layers or a jacket if the weather’s looking changeable.
> Buy the Altura Chinook from Cyclestore for £48.74
Additionally, there’s a large and easily accessible zipped compartment for a hydration bladder should you want to run one (unfortunately, one isn’t supplied with the pack). This features a hook and loop tab to keep it in situ, a discrete opening for the hose to exit, and hose loops on both shoulder straps for ambidextrous routing.
Also present are a pair of stretchy side pockets designed to securely hold water bottles if you choose not to purchase a bladder, but work equally well for storing general bits and bobs.
The large, water-resistant flap that covers the main zip also sports a weatherproof pocket perfectly sized to stash a mobile phone or wallet out of harm’s way. It also includes a little hook to prevent keys from going amiss during trailside rummages. Furthermore, at the bottom of the pack, there is a little loop for attaching a light which could be useful for night rides or evening commutes.
The shoulder straps are well padded, comfortable enough and lined with a honeycomb textured air-mesh foam. This same foam extends into a raised back panel forming a shallow cooling channel that aims to thwart the dreaded ‘pack back’ by maximising airflow to reduce sweat.
By contrast, the chest and waist straps are rather disappointing. The thin webbing straps are a bit miserly, not particularly comfortable and possess minimal adjustment thanks to their overly short length. I have a 34 to 36-inch waist and there is little left to accommodate a larger midriff. The waist strap in particular can dig in if cinched up tight enough to keep the pack stable – a properly padded belt would really transform this bag.
Altura Chinook Backpack – Performance
I must admit, I rarely wear a full riding pack nowadays, having succumbed to the now socially acceptable charms of the ‘fanny pack’ for the lower centre of gravity and sweat free back. My Evoc Hip Pack Pro easily swallows enough gubbins to get me through most rides of a few hours or more, especially as I have bottle mounts on my bike freeing up the extra bladder space for extra tools and snacks!
However, for longer rides, especially if the weather is iffy and I may need to layer up, a decent roomy pack is a godsend. The Chinook is a little different from conventional hydration packs with a larger profile and a slightly more bulbous silhouette. It feels and looks more like a traditional backpack that can also hold a bladder and can be used on a bike rather than a bike-specific riding pack.
It isn’t especially ergonomic with a slightly odd fit for me personally, sitting much further up my back than I’m used to. This in turn creates an issue where the very short waist strap would sit around my lower rib cage rather than my waist, which I found a tad uncomfortable and it restricted my breathing under heavy exertion. I tended to loosen off the buckle or undo the strap altogether when climbing for any length of time which was a bit of a pain, especially on the occasions when I forgot to snick it up again before the next descent. I’m a smidge over 6 feet tall, so perhaps this wouldn’t be an issue for shorter riders where the pack would sit lower on the torso.
Fit issues aside, I found it fairly cool for a bag of its size, getting a reasonable airflow to my back thanks to that subtle cooling channel and moisture-wicking shoulder straps – don’t get me wrong, the cooling system on offer is fairly rudimentary compared to say EVOC’s superior Air Flow Contact System, but it was breezier than anticipated.
What was also surprising was how stable the pack was even when stuffed to the gills. So long as the straps were all cinched up snugly I had minimal issues with the pack riding up or bouncing around even on some fairly rowdy descents. Speaking of fully loaded, the Chinook pack is a proper tardis, easily accommodating all the gear required for a big day in the hills.
As alluded to earlier, I tended to use the helmet pouch for additional storage. It is capacious and secure thanks to the compression straps, and is the perfect place to pop an extra layer or waterproof jacket – especially a wet one as it prevents the contents of the main compartment from getting soggy. The same goes for the hydration sleeve – because I run a bottle cage on my bike, I often utilised this for carrying extra gear if required. It runs the entire length of the pack and is well padded, and could actually house a Chrome Book or similarly compact laptop and do double duty as a commuter bag. As an aside, I regularly used the Chinook as a general backpack and it worked brilliantly as a small day bag for hikes or trips to the beach. Its versatility in this regard is an added bonus.
Most of my niggles with this bag, and there are only a few, are mainly down to its strange fit on me. It sits very high on my back which makes for a slightly top-heavy feel on the bike that can be a little disconcerting on steep and twisty trails. Again, I think this may be less of a problem for smaller riders, and it’s certainly far more stable than I first anticipated.
On more sedate trails or when climbing, the waist strap can be run looser or even left undone entirely, making it much more comfortable to wear. I do think a much longer, wider, and more padded belt would be hugely beneficial and could also incorporate some easy-to-reach belt pockets for snacks or a multi-tool as is commonplace on many rival packs – it’s disappointing that Altura has chosen to skimp here. It’s a similar story with the chest strap, where the fiddly height adjustment system consists of unhooking the strap at each end and then manually reattaching to a different point on the shoulder strap rather than utilising a significantly more intuitive sliding arrangement as found on Camelbak bags for instance.
Additionally, although it looks smart and is in keeping with its retro style, the stainless hook fastener for the storm flap is a bit cumbersome to operate especially when wearing gloves. I can’t help thinking in terms of easy access, a preferable, albeit less jazzy option would be a classic snap buckle. It’s the same story with the compression straps for the helmet pouch, although they won’t see such regular use, so it’s less of an annoyance.
Finally, whilst I liked the old skool styling, and muted colour schemes, they might not be to everyone’s taste.
Altura Chinook Backpack – Verdict
Considering it doesn’t come supplied with a bladder, I’d say the Chinook is fairly average value-wise, at £75, though I think it’s a little overpriced for what is essentially just a nice mid-sized backpack. A bladder can be purchased separately but this bumps up the overall cost.
Alternatives include the brilliant Camelbak Skyline LR 10 which offers 10 litres of storage, more pockets, superior fit, a low centre of gravity, a quality bladder and a lifetime warranty for a good chunk more at £115. Another more wallet-friendly alternative is the Merida Fifteen 11 backpack for £50, its 15-litre capacity trumps the Altura in terms of load-lugging, but it also comes without a reservoir and Liam found it got a little sweaty in use.
To sum up, if you’re a fan of the look, the Altura Chinook Backpack is a versatile top quality riding bag that offers decent weatherproofing and performs admirably in its key task of transporting a whole bunch of kit whilst remaining relatively stable whilst riding. Durability has proven to be very good too, with no real wear to speak of.
However, this is a crowded sector and there are better-performing options from rival brands that have equally impressive storage capabilities but enhanced ergonomics and superior performance on the bike. I also feel the Chinook is perhaps better suited to smaller riders where the short straps and higher fitment would be less of an issue meaning it would become a much more comfortable and inviting proposition.
Product purpose:
Build extra:
Product construction
Product construction extra:
Product performance
Product performance extra:
Product durability
Product durability extra:
Product weight
Product weight extra:
Product comfort
Product comfort extra:
product value
All the deals displayed on our review pages are pulled from a constantly updating database feed of the best affiliate deals available. The criteria for deciding on what are the best deals is who is offering the lowest, delivered price. In most cases we will be showing the very best deal available online, but sometimes you may be able to find an item cheaper. If you can please feel free to post a link in the comments box below. To find out more about affiliate links on road.cc click here.
Product value extra:
Overall performance:
Product likes:
Storage capacity.
The helmet pouch provides useful additional storage
Quite cool to wear and surprisingly stable for its size.
Nice retro styling.
Product dislikes:
Very basic waist and chest straps aren’t very comfortable.
No hydration bladder included.
