Leatt Hydration Core 2.0 on review – a wobbly lightweight

With a capacity of 5 liters, the Leatt Hydration Core 2.0 is one of the largest in test and also the lightest in its size category. But where there is light, there is also shadow…

**Price:** € 89,90 (incl. 2-liter bladder) | **Weight:** 289 g (+134 g bladder) | **Volume:** 5 litres

Visually, the Leatt Hydration Core 2.0 makes a very good impression. The discreet look of the slightly shiny ripstop nylon material with the silver lettering, the classic shape and the low weight make you forget that you’re holding a 5 litre monster in your hands. And it really has tons of capacity.

Simple, elegant and light – the Leatt Hydration Core 2.0 makes a first great impression.

The main compartment has no partitioning and swallows its 2-litre bladder with ease. Right in front of this, across the full width and height of the pack, sits a fold-out tool compartment with a pretty unique interior. While two mesh pockets take care of the loose bits, three rows of elastic rubber bands on the rear will hold all sorts of tools. This is a brilliant concept, especially if you carry both a tire and shock pump. Unfortunately, the straps are quite stiff and tight and thus fiddly to use.

There’s plenty of room in the main compartment.

The tool compartment can be opened completely and works especially well for pumps.

There’s one additional pocket on each side.

The hip belt is simple but functional. Unfortunately, the Velcro fasteners of the straps are cheap and sharp-edged.

The outer material is incredibly thin. While the tool compartment has multiple layers front and rear at least, all side walls and the bottom of the pack feature a single layer of thin material – which doesn’t contribute to the stability of the pack in any way. Many of the materials also have a cheap feel, like the mesh on the tool compartment, the hidden zipper in the rear compartment and the sharp-edged Velcro strips on the hip belt. In this regard, brands like High Above for example, provide the same solutions at a much higher standard of quality. Even the drinking bladder, which is included in the price, left us scratching our heads a little. The closure system is plain awkward and the filling hole is so small that you struggle to clean the bladder from the inside. While the hose-clip allows you to attach the drinking hose pretty much anywhere, it’s more difficult to use it on the fly than a conventional magnet system –especially since the clip is constantly slipping up and down the hose.

The outer edge of the Leatt Hydration Core 2.0 is completely lined with a rubber edge and sits very comfortably.

The people at Leatt rely on a thin yet sturdy material to keep down the weight of their fanny pack.

The large volume of the pack, the thin material and the insufficient compression make it unstable even with just a few items in it.

In terms of pure carrying comfort, there’s nothing we can complain about. The back wall is soft and features one bump each side of the spine – very pleasant. The hip fins also fit snugly. The entire outer edge of the back is lined with an elastic band, which increases the comfort noticeably. Unfortunately, this also means that the Hydration Core 2.0 cannot be pulled tightly to the hip and the weight of the load always pulls the bag away from the back in the upper area. In addition, the two compression straps cannot tame the super thin and very soft material, which means that the main body of the pack swings up and down independently of the waist belt. If the lower ends of the rear bumps weren’t provided with anti-slip rubber, the pack would slip around too. In a nutshell, the Hydration Core 2.0 is very comfortable to carry, but extremely unstable – even when half empty. If you take advantage of the full capacity of the bag, the center of gravity also shifts far back and the Leatt can only be used for leisurely pedalling.

Comfort

uncomfortable
unobtrusive

Stability

low
high

Compartment Layout

poor
excellent

Climate

unpleasant
pleasant

Ease of Use

fiddly
straight forward

Price/Performance

poor
very good

Conclusions

With the Hydration Core 2.0, Leatt have succeeded in creating a comfortable and very spacious lightweight bum bag. Unfortunately, that’s the only positive aspect about it. The big size, the super-thin material, the elastic band around the rear and the lack of compression make it extremely unstable. On top of this, the choice of materials is questionable and the filling hole of the drinking bladder is way too small. We wouldn’t recommend it.

Tops

Comfortable fit
Lots of storage space
Light

Flops

Very unstable even with little load
Cheap materials in places
Hydration bladder is unpractical

For more information head to leatt.com

The test field

Click here for an overview of the best MTB hip pack in test

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Words: Photos: Andreas Maschke, Christoph Bayer