Need more storage than the clever pocket system of the new PNW Lander jacket? Now the company is releasing another new accessory that isn’t cockpit-related. Along with clothing, PNW is now offering their own hip pack, called the Rover.
Every day it seems like more hip packs are launched, but PNW has gone about it in their own way. Construction-wise, the Rover is very well built with tri-layer sailcloth laminate fabric and polyurethane-coated YKK zippers. The main compartment has some structure to it, but the whole bag is still fairly light at 372g.
Inside, there are a number of pockets with the largest main pocket, a zippered front pocket, and two zippered pockets on the ‘wings’. Every one of those pockets has additional organizers inside including a padded neoprene pocket for your phone, and the left wing pocket has an internal key clip.
Built with a padded air mesh back panel, the Rover has a very comfortable fit with easily operated adjusters that seem to stay tight, and additional compression straps.
There’s also a removable water bottle sleeve that attaches with a system of loops and snaps for the strap on the sleeve. This system allows you to mount the sleeve on either side of the pack for left or right handed access.
Admittedly, with a bottle in the sleeve, it’s quite floppy—at least how the pack was configured on arrival. I’m not sure it was intended this way, but I discovered that mounting the sleeve inside the compression strap and then cinching down the strap made for a much less floppy fit, which still allows easy removal and installation of the bottle.
Personally, I’m not a fan of carrying water in a hip pack anyway, so for me, I’d just remove the sleeve and run it without. In that case, the Rover is an excellent hip pack that has room for the essentials without weighing you down.
It’s also fairly affordable at $69 and available in Dark Matter (Black) or Star Dust (light brown). As a bonus, the sailcloth fabric used is made from 100% recycled polyester, and the pack ships in biodegradable and compostable packaging like their clothing. It’s also covered by their Lifetime Warranty against manufacturing defects. For more info on the PNW Rover, check out our review of the best mountain bike hip packs.
