Apidura food pouch Vs Alpkit Stem Cell

[ZeroDarkBivi]

It's difficult to find an Apidura review that isn't written by one of their brand ambassadors; I have no idea how they make a profit when they are giving away kit to so many people in such a niche area. But it has given them strong market presence and few critical reviews. Having used Alpkit stem cells for a few years, including some of the newer versions bought recently, I was fed up with their ridiculous two-handed closure system and wanted to find something that was better designed. I was also unhappy with the reduction in features (why ditch the external mesh that was such useful 'wrapper bin'?) and inconsistent production (the attachment band on my recent double-purchase are at different heights!). The food pouch looked like the answer so I bought a couple with my own money.

On first glance they look really nice, and I expect they sell a lot on this factor alone, even when priced more than 50% higher than the Stem Cell. However, the slim shape is just not great for cramming things in (like real bulky food that isn't an energy bar). They claim to be 60g, but the scales say 72g; that's a difference of 20%, and 10g heavier than the stem cells. I hate marketing lies. The bar attachments are good and in use they are stable, although that was never a problem with the stem cells, even without a bottom strap. The key feature, the single-handed closure is OK when they have nothing above the fill-line, although they do form a funnel that channels rain into the body. When over-filled, even slightly they will not stay closed and whilst I have yet to do proper steep HAB (with the bike horizontal on my shoulder), I wouldn't trust them not to empty their contents in my wake. That's a big problem, so much I will probably go back to the Stem cells until I can find something better. Unfortunately the bedrock and other interesting US bags are not only hideously pricey with the lame exchange rate, but hard to get hold of in the UK.

In summary, another case of form over function, in my opinion; not useless, just falling well short of all the hype.

[ScotRoutes]

It's difficult to find an Apidura review that isn't written by one of their brand ambassadors; I have no idea how they make a profit when they are giving away kit to so many people in such a niche area.

Have they actually made any profit yet? I thought they were still at the marketing stage.....

[ianfitz]

I'm not a brand ambassador for them and actually have never owned or used any of their kit. But I know people who are and have. So I've seen it.

Strikes me that if you've got a short top tube and like to stand up a lot then there's a benefit in that oval shape in not smashing you knees into your feed bags.

If not then alpkit cheap ones or revelate more-expensive-but-have-great-side-pockets are a better bet. And the large alpkit ones are MASSIVE!

I use one of each.

[ianfitz]

Oh. And I have no idea what any of them weigh.

[voodoo_simon]

Only used the alpkit ones, mine had the bottom strap (or at least an attachment point), not used it but can see it's usefulness. Too lazy to buy a strap.

Never saw the point of the mesh strap, once a nalgene bottom is placed in the standard version, it becomes a bit pointless.

Would like a single hand closure system though, in my head it should only be a draw cord change but maybe I'm missing something? Doesn't really matter though, just means I stop if I need anything or I take my chances leaving it 'just so'.

[BigdummySteve]

Have you looked at the revelate ones? They are superb, very well made and one handed operation

[ZeroDarkBivi]

Should have made clear, the comparison was between standard size Stem Cell and long Food Pouch. I also have a large Stem Cell which does interfere with my knees when out of the saddle, and will be going on the classifieds!

[whitestone]

I've both the standard sized Alpkit Stem Cell and the smaller sized Apidura Feed Pouch, they both have plus and minus points, I don't think one is out and out better than the other. I've used the Stem Cells for about eighteen months but have only had the Feed Pouches for a couple of months. I used the latter on this weekend's JennRide. I was originally looking at the Revelate version but the new models weren't available in the UK at the time (out of stock).

The Stem Cell looks like it's sized to accommodate the Mytimug 650, it's a tight fit but it does sit in there, which sort of makes sense - why produce a bag that doesn't fit one of your own products? The mesh pockets on the outside are fine so long as you don't have much in the main compartment, with the mug in there there's no way you'd get anything in or out of them. Probably best for used wrappers rather than anything you might want to have access to on the trail. On my pair of Stem Cells, the meshs are completely different, it's almost like they just use whatever scraps of material are around to make them. Opening the top can be done one handed but closing it is definitely a two handed operation.

The Feed Pouch is smaller in volume, I wouldn't even attempt to fit the 650 mug in there, it's also more rectangular in shape. The tapered profile does help avoid knee strike - I do get out of the saddle quite a bit especially on technical climbs and not knocking your knees every revolution of the pedals is appreciated. The profile also means that the base of the pouch isn't flat so you need to pack longer items towards the front of the bike. They are definitely aimed at smaller foodstuffs like energy bars, chocolate bars and the like. I noticed the self-opening when over-filled problem this weekend, actually I'd a bag of Jelly Babies in the bottom of the pouch and a chocolate bar or something similarly fairly rigid was sat lengthways on top of this, I thought I hadn't cinched the cord down properly at first but when it did it again I had to keep an eye on it until I was ready to eat the bar. I'm not sure what the problem is, it's possible that with the pouch over-filled then the contents push against the cover with the same or similar action to your fingers when you are actually trying to open it.

At the moment I'd go with the Apidura as I don't need the extra volume that the Stem Cell provides. I need to have a play with an overfilled Pouch to get to the bottom of the self-opening.

[Dave Barter]

It's difficult to find an Apidura review that isn't written by one of their brand ambassadors;

http://www.cyclinguk.org/sites/default/ ... 511022.pdf

CTC commissioned me to write this I never heard a word from Apidura and am not a brand ambassador. I like their kit a lot and having reviewed this bag and the Alpkit/Wildcat/Revelate/Blackburn range for the CTC I chose to go entirely Apidura across all my bags. Each company treated me exactly the same.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I still think the Apidura food pouch is the best one I've tried - but I haven't tried everything available.

As Ian says, the tapered shape makes a real difference for anyone running a short cockpit that stands to climb but it's this I struggle to get -

The key feature, the single-handed closure is OK when they have nothing above the fill-line, although they do form a funnel that channels rain into the body. When over-filled, even slightly they will not stay closed and whilst I have yet to do proper steep HAB (with the bike horizontal on my shoulder), I wouldn't trust them not to empty their contents in my wake.

Given the above, they're obviously not for you then, you need something bigger. It's a bit like saying, "I bought a 5l dry bag to put my sleeping bag in and it works okay with my summer bag but when I try and fit my minus 20 in, I can't get the buckle to close". They work very well when used within their design parameters, if you use them outside of that, surely, you can't expect them to work as well?

[whitestone]

OK, sad git experiment time.

I had a look round the house for something that was would extend past the fill line but still be short enough that the cover would, well, cover it. An aerosol can of Gillette shaving foam was just right.

Test 1: can into Feed Pouch, pull cover over and cinch down the cord making sure that both strands were pulled down into the bottom of the slots (these are narrower than the top and hold the cord). Lots of shaking up and down later and the cover is still in place.

Test 2: can into Feed Pouch, pull cover over and cinch down the cord but leave them in the top of the slots. A little bit of shaking up and down and the cover starts to come undone.

The shot with the water bottle on this page https://www.apidura.com/product/food-pouch-regular/ shows the cord snugged down into the slots. I think you have to do this to ensure that the cover stays in place. With a bit of practice it's not hard to do: get the cover reasonably closed then pull backwards and down on the cords and they'll get pulled into the narrow part of the slots.

Edit (done after next comment): I weighed my standard sized Feed Pouch and it was 60g +/- 1g.

[ZeroDarkBivi]

OK, hands-up and come clean - I hadn't even noticed those little slots for the drawcord. That should make a big difference...

Thanks for doing the science and pointing that out!

[whitestone]

An update post HT550.

I had some bad but mostly good experiences with the Food Pouches. I bought some small plastic tubs of nuts in Tyndrum. These "overfilled" one of the pouches and on the descent to Loch Rannoch they bounced out. Now I think I cinched the cord down but I might also have been catching my knee on it during the climb out of Glen Lyon, I can't be sure. Note that the pouch didn't come undone on the track around Loch Lyon so it's possible it was my knee.

After that they were fine for the rest of the ride but I made sure that the cord was well cinched down after each snack.

[mechanicaldope]

Anyone used the Alpamayo version? Looks reasonably priced but am wondering if it's a little small?

Or maybe one of the new alpkit lodo bags? Guess no-one has seen one of those in the flesh yet?

[Steezysix]

I've got the Alpamayo ones, really happy with them. They are the perfect size for a standard bike bottle and attach nice and solidly using Velcro and a strap around the fork crown.

They now make a larger version which is big enough to take a Jetboil, I tried this size first but it was a squeeze with my short stem. If you run 70mm or bigger it would be OK I think. Don't think they have them on the website yet but if you email Paul he is super helpful!

[ZeroDarkBivi]

Also used the Apidura (long) food pouch x 2 on the HT550, and quite impressed by how they performed. I still think the cord cleat could be better designed, as it is difficult to lock without a bit of fiddling. Other than that, it was rock solid stable and no knee bashing when out of the saddle, even with my shorter stem.

I would still like to try something like the bedrock, with a waterproof folding closure (my sandwiches got soggy when it rained! - electronics also vulnerable), but buying from the USA is just too expensive now, especially once the Post Office have added their unreasonable handling charge on top of the customs fee... Need to get a sewing machine.

The Alpamayo looks like a slicker version of the Alpkit, and good vfm.