Thule’s Rail is the Swedish brand’s entry to the mountain bike hip pack market.
As mountain bike accessory designers became aware that traditional backpacks create heat soak zones, and negatively influence a rider’s centre of gravity, hip packs have become a popular alternative.
With Thule’s latest Rail hip packs you can have all the comfort of hydration, food and repair stowage, without any of the discomfort. Thule’s Rail range is three derivatives strong and has a host of design elements that blend Swedish design logic with the reality of mountain biking requirements.
The smallest of Thule’s new hip packs is the Rail 0, which features 500ml of capacity and a dedicated safe zone smartphone pocket. It secures with a simple elastic Velcro waistband.
With a Rail 2, you can gain flanking water bottle sleeves added to the Thule hip pack design and the same basic features as a Rail 0. Inside you’ll find three pouches and a general stowage area for larger items, whilst a sequence of elastic loops can keep multi-tools secured.
Headlining Thule’s new mountain bike hip pack range is the brand’s Rail 4. True to its naming convention, total capacity is a very ample 4-litres, divided between 1.5-litres of hydration and 2.5-litres of small-item storage.
The Rail 4 hip pack also gains a clever ReTrakts hose system for superior hydration management. Thule’s designers have added a generous magnetic sleeve to the Rail 4, to prevent its hydration hose from flailing around when not in use, during a technical descent.
Improving riding comfort, especially on warmer days, is a mesh back panel which mediates airflow between your lower back contact point and the larger capacity Rail hip packs.
Pricing for Thule’s new hip pack range starts at €44,95 for the 0, increasing to €59,95 for the 2. Riders who identify a use for the Rail 4 will pay €99,95.
