Ergon BC2 Pack - First Look

Click here to go to the full review of the Ergon BC2

The Ergon BC2 is one of the most interesting packs, I have been ever worn, and it's got some highly innovative and functional features. The foremost is their unique frame system. It uses their flexible Profax PP frame, which transfers 80% of the pack's load onto the hips, and is combined with the Flink ball joint, which allows the shoulder harness to freely pivot.

The frame is a large piece of plastic, which follows the rear circumference of the pack, connects up to the Flink ball joint with a cross member, and has a bottom pan that cradles the pack, and finishes with two long tongues that slide into each side of the hip belt. The Flink ball joint is unique, as the shoulder harness not only freely rotates in any spherical direction, but it is also free floating, meaning it's only attached to the ball joint.

The pack comes in two sizes, regular (which I tested) and large, and the size is chosen by a height range. Regular is for heights between 5'3"-5'11", while large is for those between 5'9"-6'5". Each of the sizes has three settings for varying torso lengths, and are adjusted by moving the Flink ball joint into one of the accompanying slots in the frame of the shoulder harness. There is a nice instruction booklet, and a label inside the pack that gives detailed information into of the procedure. I set the connection to the lowest slot, since I was towards the maximum torso length for the regular frame size.

The first time you put the pack on, it's a bit odd, as the shoulder pads sit out extremely wide and high. I have started to get used to the feeling, but it is still a bit disconcerting. The next odd feeling is that the shoulder harness wiggles so freely around. It feels like the ball joint is on ice, and moving your shoulders around doesn't cause undue pack movement. When you cinch down the hip belt the pack disappears underneath you, and the weight along with it. Riding along with this pack on (especially when full) is pretty amazing, since you don't notice any weight, nor does the pack flop around, no matter how rough the terrain becomes, it floats along like it's not there. When doing hike a bike, I found that the frame system would keep bumping into and catching on my saddle, which I found annoying? When taking the pack off, the shoulder harness was a pain, especially when wearing body armor, since the wide and high setup would catch on things and require some wild body contortions to get out. Like most of the frame mounted systems, it keeps most of the pack off your back, so you don't get large perspiration spots, except for the hip belt area and oddly enough the outer pectorals.

The pack had a lot of useful pockets and compartments. The main compartment was vast, and had a numerous non zippered pouches on the back side, though I wish there were some zippered ones on the inner front. The main had a nice long zipper that opened almost 2/3 of the circumference of the pack, making it easy to extract and organize. The two compression straps worked quite well, and not only compressed the pack, but allowed any number of items to be easily attached as required, and a really nice item was that the straps stayed out of the way of the main's zipper. The hydration compartment was useful, but it was difficult to squeeze in a loaded reservoir, especially when the pack was already full. The front zippered pocket was long and flat, and although it could hold lots of smaller items, it was hard to organize anything. The side pocket was a handy, and was large enough for a cell phone and point and shoot camera, and could easily be opened by reaching to your hip. On the inside rear by the hip, were two zippered entrances to a mini compartment, which were great for carrying small tools, headgear, and other sundry items. The capacity of the pack is 16 liters (cubic inches), and can be expanded to another 4 liters (245 cubic inches).

Another oddity, is that it can be difficult to set the pack down in the field, since the hard form frame doesn't sit very well on surfaces that aren't flat.

Conclusion
The Ergon BC2 is a pretty amazing pack, the Profax PP frame and the Flink ball joint work in a fantastic synergistic manner, to make the packs weight disappear and keep the pack isolated so that it doesn't unduly move around, even on the roughest and ugliest terrain. It's durable (though the plastic scratches easily), is made with tough heavy duty nylon, has a plethora of pockets and useful compartments, and includes a rain fly. A hydration reservoir is an optional item (which is sort of silly), and they have partnered with Hydrapak to cover that item (it's what I used).


Click here to visit the Ergon Website

Specs:

Name	BC2 New
Size	Regular or Large
Material	600 D Nylon
Capacity	975 + 245 cu. inches (Expando function)
Max. load	recommended up to 13 lbs