looking at buying one of these wingnut 2.5 packs are they worth the £70 price tag or would a normal pack do?? I know some of you use them!! cheers

Absolutely.

great.....now got one on order!!

I love mine. I also have the 3L one but mainly use the 2.5. The biggest thing to watch in the smaller one is the type of bladder you use...I use a 3L Source one but fold the top over, the Camelbak ones don't fit very well at all.
The main advantages of these bags over any others I have used are that they're waterproof and so lightweight.

These are almost a perfect fit.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Camelbak-Antido ... 603&sr=8-3

Love mine. Fit a huge amount of stuff into one (search on the forum for pics) and I use the same bladder as above which fits very well. You'll wonder what the fuss is about when you first wear it, but when you work how to wear it properly it'll become your bag of choice.

but when you work how to wear it properly it'll become your bag of choice.

This ^ is very important. Try and wear it like a 'normal' pack and you won't see the benefits but wear it as it was designed and it's great*.

*Think big bum bag, with your hips taking the load not the shoulder straps. I'm always amazed by how many people you see carrying packs with the hip belt flapping in the wind and the shoulder straps pulled up tight :? :?

I'm also very interested in the wingnut packs after seeing various bits of chatter. I note someone's got the Enduro up in the classifieds. What's peoples opinions on the various different varieties.

2.5
3.0
Enduro
Adventure

Cheers for the info.

For my normal rides I use the 2.5 and it is usually big enough for anything I 'd want to take with me.
I only really used to use my 3L one when I was on holiday anywhere and was having to carry more food or a few extra layers, etc...I now use it more as I can fit my camera tripod into it due to it being slightly longer, it hasn't much more space than the 2.5 but it does seem easier to pack. I then use mini-carabiners to clip a camera chest pack to the straps.

I have no experience of the other ones but they must be quite large, probably too big for everyday riding? I don't know why you can't get the little XY pouches over here either. They're excellent and come in handy for keeping a small toolkit in or a P&S camera (I bought mine from the old distributors). I asked Rough Ride Guides if they would be stocking them and they said they'd find out...that was a year or two ago now.

I forgot to add to my last post that the best thing about the Wingnut packs (over what I've already put) is that you can access the side pockets without taking the pack off. The mesh outer pockets come in very handy too.

I don't know why you can't get the little XY pouches over here either.

I use these belt poches with mine.

http://roughrideguide.co.uk/Belt-Pouch.html

£70 for a 10 liter pack without a hydration bladder - Crikey

I've also got a Wingnut Hyper 3 recently, along with a Camelbak Antidote 3L reservoir. Both work together well.

Lovely lightweight and well made pack. I've only done a couple of small rides with it so far but so far so good.

Can't disagree that 70 kings and queens and no reservoir ain't cheap - but hey it does have a built in whistle