Ridgeline Medium Hydro Day Pack Review

| July 18, 2010 | 2 Comments

hunting 20100110 DSC 0009 Ridgeline Medium Hydro Day Pack Review
Today I am reviewing the Ridgeline Medium Hydro Day Pack in Buffalo Camo which has capacity of 30L.

I bought this bag as I was in desperate need for a dedicated hunting bag that can hold all the things I need whilst I’m out in the field.

I needed something that could hold a dSLR camera, a video camera, range finder, electronic game caller, ammunition and anything else I would need to go and film a hunt which this pack does with ease. In fact I could fit my camera bag in it and that holds my dslr, my video camera and an additional lens.

The pack is very comfortable and it is of sturdy construction. The zippers are of a good quality which is of importance to me as I absolutely loathe a bag with cheap dodgy zippers.

It has a waist and chest belts which keep the bag from bouncing as you walk. I think this will help reduce fatigue.

The bag has a compartment to put a camel back style water bladder in it but the bladder is not included. I feel that they could have added a few extra dollars onto the price to include

hunting 20100110 DSC 0012 Ridgeline Medium Hydro Day Pack Review

Here you can see the elastised compartment to hold the water bladder

the bladder with the back pack. It would have added a lot more value to it with something that would have just cost a few more dollars. Its not a big deal but just one of those fine detail things. Turns out you can get hydration bladders for around $10-$20 off eBay so it might be a worthwhile purchase.

Whilst on the subject of minor criticisms and I do mean minor criticisms as there isn’t really anything bad I can say about this pack, another consideration for improvement is that the clip for the missing hydration pack straw is on your right shoulder. This is annoying for a right handed shooter who slings his rifle on his right shoulder as the sling doesn’t sit 100% right. Of course a problem with this is that if you sling it on your left shoulder the bolt digs into your hip. That said you could shoot the sling into the clip and this will make it better but its not ideal.

The bag also has a hi-vis rain sheath that will be handy when you get caught in the rain or when you are hunting around a lot of other hunters. It tucks away neatly in a small zippered pocket on the bottom of the pack.

hunting 20100110 DSC 0017 150x150 Ridgeline Medium Hydro Day Pack Review

The pack features padded shoulder straps and a padded back that is made of a material that is meant to be conducive to air flow to keep your back from sweating too much. The padding is comfortable and is a big part of what makes this bag so good.

The small pocket on top of the front of the bag is useful for holding things like rangefinders and folding knives it also has smaller netted pockets inside as well as a zip-up pocket in there too. It is really quite surprising how much you can actually fit into that pocket. I had a Wolf Eyes 260 sniper, a range finder, spare batteries, my keys and wallet in there and it was just full. It also has straps with plastic clips at the front for securing larger things like a dear trophy or in my case a tripod. I am also sure that it could easily be adapted to hold a sporterweight rifle.

Overall the pack is a good buy at around the $90-$100 mark. I can safely recommend it to anyone with little worry that they will not like such a versatile day pack. hunting 20100110 DSC 0014 150x150 Ridgeline Medium Hydro Day Pack Review

The Ridgeline Medium Hydro Day Pack is distributed in Australia by www.highlandsports.com.au.

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Category: Hunting Clothing, Reviews

Comments (2)

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  1. Max Farrelly says:

    The only problem i had with the ridgeline gear I found is I cant get them around my waste maybe I am just to fat.
    But allot of my mates are the same theirs not enough waist addjustment.

  2. Craig says:

    I have had my Ridgeline pack for about 6 months now – great pack and sturdy.

    Max for shorter day trips or when I don’t have a heavier load I don’t use the kidney strap and it is fine. A bit of a pain, but you could attach an extra piece of webbing to the strap to make it longer.

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