Bikepacking is a subsegment of cycling that has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years. Its like backpacking where you strap minimalist equipment and supplies to your body and head off into the wilderness, but instead you strap the gear to a bike and head out even further into the wilderness. And fatbikes . . . well they are the perfect mode of two wheeled transportation for this

activity.

ARKEL

SEATPACKER 9

As mentioned previously the Seatpacker 9 is a relatively new item to the extensive Arkel product catalog and it shares the bikepacking shelf with its bigger brother the Seatpacker 15 . The only real difference between the two is capacity with the Seatpacker 15 having 6L more of storage than the Seatpacker 9.

Some interesting features of the Seatpacker include:

- quick release seat rail hanging rack

- super fast bag install and removal

- no tail wag or thigh rub and zero side to side movement

- tapered nose and reinforced front panels

- waterproof (non submersion)

- drop seat compatible

- zippered cell phone pocket

- several tie-down loops

- sprinkling of reflective fabric

- fits seat rails <2.25" and >2.25" (with supplied adapter)

The Seatpacker is made entirely in North America. All of the fabric (even the fiber) is sourced in the USA. The main body of the bag is made of 1000 denier Codura nylon that has been reinforced with a nylon grid. The inside liner (gray) is made of a fully waterproof 210 denier TPU laminated nylon with sewn and taped seams. This makes for a fully waterproof main compartment.

Sewing and construction of the bag is 100% completed at Arkel's factory in Sherbooke, Quebec. The aluminum frame for the seat rail hanging rack is made from 6061-T6 aluminum. It is also made in Sherbrooke by a fairly small and dedicated neighborhood machine shop where coincidentally, the owner and some welders are dedicated mountain bikers. And the plastic components are also made in Quebec in cooperation with a tech college which manufactures the parts while demonstrating the molding technique to their students.

Dropping the Seatpacker 9 on the scale the rack weighs in at 280g and the bag at 353g for a total of 633g (1.4 lbs). This is slightly less than the claimed 640g.

As the name suggests the Seatpacker 9 has 9L (550 ci) of storage and that is measured with one fold of the bag end. Two folds and storage is reduced to about 8.5L.

Arkel recommends a minimum of 7" clearance from the the seat rail to the top of the tire to clear the Seatpacker 9. Any less than that and the bag will be scrubbing the tire.

INSTALLATION

Installing the Seatpacker is dead simple. So much so that Arkel condensed it into a four step infographic located on the bag tag. If the rails on your favorite seat are spaced <2.25" then you use the small aluminum bar to attach the rack to the seat. If >2.25" you must use the large bar and an enclosed plastic adapter. The seat shown below was exactly 2.25".

The small bar was a little short and the large bar would not fit . . . so the small bar was used and the toggle clamp was cinched down a little tighter. Once the logistics of the seat rail & aluminum bar were figured out, installation and removal of the rack takes less than one minute and is super sturdy.

The reinforced rubberized plastic seatpost clamp snaps securely over the post with a velcro strip to ensure it stays in place. If used on a dropper post the clamp would secure to the upper part of the stanchion and allow the post to slide. Neat idea. The only limitation would be the available space between the bag and the tire.

The bag itself installs in a flash by sliding the aluminum rack into a sleeve on the top of the bag. A velcro strap secures the bag to seatpost and you are done. Removal of the bag is just as easy and can be done in mere seconds.

With the seat adjusted to my preferred height the rails measured 8.5" from the closest point on the tire. With the bag installed there was 3.25" of clearance between the bag and the tire. Perfect.

IN USE

Shortly after receiving the Seatpacker 9 an opportunity arose to field test the bag on an overnight trip. It was mid-October and temperatures were forecast to be above freezing with no rain and little wind.

Quickly pulling together gear for the trip I stuffed the Seatpacker 9 like Uncle Jerry stuffing himself during Thanksgiving. So much so that I was unable to fold the end of the bag and connect the side straps. I jammed 3.98 kg (8.75 lbs) of gear in the bag. I then discovered that the straps at the end of the bag could be connected effectively "supersizing" the 9L and making a decent carry handle. However, the waterproof capabilities of the bag was compromised as the end of the bag was indeed open to the elements.





A 3.5 hour drive to the trail head and a 4 hour ride got me to my overnight destination of Point Rosie . The 25 km trail consisted mostly of dirt packed single track, matchbox sized beach rocks, sand and a good sprinkling of water and mud.





When I got to my final destination the bag removed in mere seconds and even doubled as a not so comfortable pillow as the temperatures dipped below freezing overnight. Thanks Environment Canada!