Review

SOURCE Hipster 1.5L on review – comfort is king

27.03.2020
by

Same as the Race Face Rip Strip, the SOURCE Hipster 1.5L has been on the market for a while. Unlike the race pack of the Canadians, the Israeli waist pack can still convince in many ways.

Price: € 89 (incl.1.5 litre bladder) | Weight: 237 g (+195 g bladder, +98 g strap) | Volume: n/a

Apart from the loud, questionable neon colour on the details and the additional carrying harness of our test model, the SOURCE Hipster is a discreet, very flat hip bag. In the back area, there’s one compartment that runs across the entire width of the pack, with a divider that separates the pocket from the drinking bladder. On the outside, you find five more pockets. There’s one larger compartment in the middle, two smaller ones with velcro strap right next to it and a mesh pocket on each hip fin. Since the first launch of the Hipster 1.5L , SOURCE has made a small update, which has gone largely unnoticed. What were once zip-shut compartments made of stiff mesh are now open compartments made of stretchy material. While this means that they no longer work for small, heavy objects like a mini tool, they’re now ideal for objects like gloves, snacks, used bar wrappers and other small bits.

“Understated” means something else – even in black, the SOURCE Hipster is not exactly discreet with all the loud neon accents and reflective strips.
Inside there’s room either for the very good hydration bladder or other objects. It’s either or though, because volume is limited and both things won’t really fit together.
The edges of the Velcro straps are sharp and not very appealing.
If you use the drinking bladder, you can latch a windbreaker on the outside of the pack. using the two rubber bands.
The additional harness is totally unnecessary. The SOURCE Hipster sits snug and has stable fit even without it.

Unfortunately, the manufacturing quality doesn’t seem to have improved with the update. The Velcro fasteners of the two small tool pockets are still pretty sharp and shoddy and some of the seams aren’t quite straight. The vertical compartment is still there. The overlapping opening allows you to store anything from gloves to a hose and even a mobile phone. If you don’t use Source’s very good hydration bladder, there’s room for another soft, bulky object like a jacket or spare jersey. However, you should avoid putting harder objects directly against the back wall because it is very flexible. If you want to carry water with you, there’s no space left inside. However, you can still latch a jacket to the outside of the pack using the two rubber straps. All in all, the space is rather small and the tools are spread over the belt. In return, this means you can access them very quickly.

The soft back plate fits snug but is quite warm.
Excess strap disappears neatly into the mesh pockets of the hip fins.

A big plus of the SOURCE Hipster is the excellent wearing comfort paired with great stability – even without the removable harness. While this helps stabilise the bum bag at full load, we think that it’s totally superfluous. The bag stays firmly in place without the harness, even with a full water bladder. Having said that, the superb comfort and stability of the SOURCE Hipster 1.5L also come at the expense of a warmer climate.

Comfort

  1. uncomfortable
  11. unobtrusive

Stability

  1. low
  11. high

Compartment Layout

  1. poor
  11. excellent

Climate

  1. unpleasant
  11. pleasant

Ease of Use

  1. fiddly
  11. straight forward

Price/Performance

  1. poor
  11. very good

Conclusions

The SOURCE Hipster 1.5L is a very good product, apart from some minor flaws in the choice of materials and workmanship. You’ll also have to make some compromises in terms of climate. In return you’ll get a flat hip pack with an excellent, stable fit and very high comfort – even slightly more than its successor. And while it’s still one of the best options to carry water, if you should hurry to get one before stocks run out – the Hipster 1.5L was discontinued in favour of its successor.

Tops

  • Super comfortable
  • Very stable
  • Water volume fully usable

Flops

  • Warm climate
  • Absorbs sweat
  • Little room with full hydration bladder
  • Bad workmanship and cheap materials
  • Discontinued

For more information head to sourceoutdoor.com

The test field

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

All hip packs in review: Bedrock Bags Greysill Hip Pack (Click for review) | Bontrager Rapid Pack (Click for review) | CamelBak Podium Flow (Click for review) | CamelBak Repack LR 4 (Click for review) | Dakine Hot Laps 5L (Click for review) | Dakine Hot Laps 2L (Click for review) | Dakine Hot Laps Stealth (Click for review) | Deuter Pulse 3 (Click for review) | Deuter Pulse 2 (Click for review) | EVOC HIP PACK PRO 3l (Click for review) | EVOC HIP PACK RACE 3l (Click for review) | EVOC HIP POUCH 1l (Click for review) | EVOC RACE BELT (Click for review) | High Above Cascadia (Click for review) | High Above Lookout (Click for review) | High Above Das Radpack (Click for review) | ION Hipbag Traze 3 (Click for review) | Leatt Hydration Core 2.0 (Click for review) | Mavic XA 3L Belt (Click for review) | Mavic Crossride Belt (Click for review) | Mavic Deemax Belt (Click for review) | Race Face Rip Strip (Click for review) | SOURCE Hipster 1.5L | SOURCE Hipster Ultra 5L (Click for review)

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Words: Photos: Andreas Maschke, Christoph Bayer

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