Has anyone out there tried this backpack ?

I am looking at 3-4 day cycle trip on south downs Way out and back 200ish miles carrying camping gear weight ( ex water ) circa 40lbs.

Would Panniers be a better option ?

Thanks,

Rich.

It's got a really annoying roll up closure at the top, and the chest strap pulls off of its slider attachments with little or no persuasion.
The karrimor stuff now is pretty rubbish, especially the kit from Blacks, they're making it under liscense and the quality is even worse.
Try to get some of the older kit, it's much better, maybe off ebay or try the classifieds on Outdoorsmagic.
The old Hydro 30 is what I use for bike camping.
Lots of good sacks out there by other manufacturers, Macpac, Osprey etc, look at walking/climbing brands, bike brand sacks tend to be crap.

Karrimor has stopped making bike-specific packs btw. They used to be done under licence by Raw Experience who now do the Berghaus cycle-specific clothing.

I've run a Hydro 30 into the ground as a bike sac and the lightweight mesh on the inside of the hip fins and shoulder straps eventually wears through and exposes the foam padding within, it took a lot of doing though.

The Osprey Atmos packs are lovely, but sit a bit too high for biking - you tend to catch the top of the pack on the back of your helmet on steep downhills when you're looking up - a shame as otherwise they're spot-on.

Have a look at some of the Lowe Alpine fast-moving packs and the KIMM stuff as well. Nice a light and pretty well thought out.

Good point, I've been using a kimmlite Jirishanka (30/35l?) and it's great.

if your going to be carrying a bit of kit, i'd use panniers. a big bag on your back is going to be a pain - literately. it'll also get in the way and IME your bike handling may suffer.