Wizard Works Snagla Hip-Pack and Bar Bag

The Wizard Works Snagla Hip-Pack and Bar Bag is handmade, versatile and one neat little beast. I’ve been massively impressed with the quick and easy conversion to a bar bag for gravel riding, and when worn it’s very comfortable, stable and looks cool. This is one I’ll be using all year long.

Wizard Works Snagla Hip-Pack & Bar Bag – Technical details

Wondering why it’s called Snagla? Taking inspiration from the world of Warhammer, a place of magic and monsters for gamers, the Snagla is named after a forest-dwelling goblin who likes to cause havoc deep in the woods. It follows the same wimsical naming of Wizard Works’ other products, such as the Hobgob and (my favourite) the Oglah.

Handmade in Wizard Works’ London workshop, The Snagla is its first waterproof two-in-one bag, and it can devour 3.5 litres of kit. The outer is a durable 500D Cordura nylon with a floating, waterproof seam-taped liner made from 210D nylon. Together with the roll-top closure, it provides expandable storage and complete waterproof protection.

Internally, things are kept simple with two mesh pockets for keeping small stuff in place.

It’s secured by an elasticated, adjustable Fidlock Rope Hook buckle, which also acts as a bungee cord for lashing things like jackets to the exterior. The belt comprises 9mm of thick mesh padding, with the main push buckle situated on the left wing. There are two tensioning straps on either side to fine-tune the fit.

The Quick Draw Water Bottle Pockets seen here are actually an optional extra at £25 each, and you can have two, one either side of the main pack. Fixed to webbing loops via two Blackhawk Speed Clips, they’re quick access but secure thanks to elasticated straps to stop your bottle popping out if things get rowdy.

To actually use this as a bar bag requires another purchase too – the £7 bar attachment kit. It consists of two velcro mounting straps and a bungee cord with a plastic toggle to snung the bag to the headtube. The side wings simply tuck in behind the padded back panel.

It weighs in at 310g and measures 150-122mm high and 260mm wide, with a depth of 75mm. It’s available in black, olive and tan or as a custom order at £140.

Wizard Works Snagla Hip-Pack & Bar Bag – Performance

I found out about this bag before it released, during a long-ago chance chat with Harry and Veronika at Wizard Works. As a massive fan of their Oglah hip-pack, which also utilises the Bottle pockets, I was as keen as a keen thing to test one, and it was only when the Insta-marketing dropped that I realised it was a two-in-one hip-and-bar bag – even better.

Now I’ve had time to get it all dirty out on the trails, I am more than happy to report it’s a winner. The construction is excellent; it’s a very well-finished product with such careful attention to detail.

The wide, thickly-padded waist strap tapers in, and the side placement of the buckle means it’s very unobstrusive to wear, and also easy to fit and release. The two-sided adjustment buckles are also easy to adjust one-handed.

Of course, I had to install one of the bottle pockets straight away, and it only took a few minutes to fit. It sits on the side of the pack and behind the adjustment strap, and keeps your bottle really welded to your side. Add both of these pockets you’re up to £180, but they work extremely well and, for me at least, the functionality even one bottle pocket adds is totally worth the extra.

I found I could carry a lot of gear. And went hard on it straight away, loading it up with tools, a spare tube, a mini electric pump, snacks and an extra bottle. I also strapped a jacket to the top for emergencies. I could have kept going, as the roll-top closure means you can keep stuffing it full. The Fidlock Rope Hook buckle is easy to release when you’re wearing the pack, but trying to do it back up again defeated me. I had to take the pack off to do it.

It’s very comfy to wear and stays very firmly in place, and no matter how heavily I loaded it nothing flapped around or annoyed me. I rode in some filty weather, too, and the contents stayed bone dry. I did need to scrub it down afterwards, though, as it looked in a right sorry state.

Converting it to a bar bar to use on my gravel bike took minutes. I removed the bottle pocket, folded the wings away behind the back panel – they took a bit of poking to get them to stay where I wanted – and attached the straps.

The line of tough webbing provides two different main mounting points, and a second, central line gives three positions for the head tube bungee cord.

Once again, it’s a very stable fixing, and the bag is ideally sized for making itself useful without adding so much bulk you upset the handling. It can sag quite low when heavily loaded, as obviously there’s no bracing, though that shouldn’t become a problem unless you have a fairly short headtube.

Wizard Works Snagla Hip-Pack & Bar Bag – Verdict

With the bar mounting kit and bottle pockets you see here, the Snagla rises from the not-inconsiderable £130 to £187. For that you’re getting a very well designed, handmade-in-the-UK bag with some customisable options and decent helping of style. If those things count for you, the premium seems reasonable and the Snagla will feel worth it.

You can get good options for less. The Restrap Utility Hip Pack is also very well made in the UK, also doubles as a bar bag and is also completely waterproof, plus it’s bigger at 6L if that’s important for you. It can’t offer quick-access bottle storage, however, and inevitably it’s a little bulkier, but it’s a fair bit cheaper at £105.99.

Alternatively, the Rapha Trail Hip Pack offers 3L of storage, two external bottle pockets and low-key looks for £70. This might be the first time Rapha has been the cheapest option for anything…

The Wizard Works Snagla is a lovely-looking pack, and the way it can convert in a matter of minutes to fit on your bars is awesome. It’s a little uncompetitive on price, especially if you want the excellent bottle pockets, but I’ve been well impressed with its design, build, waterproofing and ease of use – it’s a great option for all-year-round riding.