Evoc’s Handlebar Pack Boa WP 2.5 is a small capacity waterproof double-ended handlebar bag that fits super securely to your bars without waggling when you climb. It’s made from a tough abrasion-resistant welded material that has a strong dirt and moisture-repellent coating and features an external bungee cord for additional storage. Its ideal for the ultra racer as long as it work with your cables.
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Evoc Handlebar Pack Boa WP 2.5 - Technical details
The Evoc Boa WP 2.5 is made from an unspecified but tough waterproof fabric which is both water and dirt-resistant with a reflective logo on the front. The material is welded to improve its waterproof specification and has an internal plastic skeleton forcing it open in a tube shape. The bag is attached to your handlebar via a unique Boa system with mirrors the normal hook and loop fastening system but with a central Boa dial to wind the cord tight at each strap and camp the bag onto the bar. The top of the bag has a large rubber moulded section with deep groves to prevent crushing your cables when clamping.
The bag has roll-up openings at each end to allow access to the contents. To help pack the bag and roll it down to its smallest size, trapped air is forced through vents within the mounting area allowing for tighter rolling and better use of handlebar space.
Evoc Handlebar Pack Boa WP 2.5 - Performance
The Boa WP 2.5 avoids crushing control cables on my Di2-equipped bike due to its deep routing channels in the rubber mount playing nicely with my cable routing. However it struggles with my analogue machine with its one extra gear cable which might be due to my cable routing choice, but it looks pretty normal to me and similar to all my bikes. I can get the pack on there but it's not as quick and easy.
However once fitted, it is rock solid and doesn’t require a bungee headtube strap to stay still. The rubber mount appears to hold it tight enough to negate this requirement and no wobble and sway is detectable in use out of the saddle.
At 2.5 litres the bag offers more storage than many burrito-style handlebar bags like the Restrap’s Canister bag at 1.5 litres and less capacity than many of its twin-ended bedfellows like Topeaks Tubular Barbag at 3.8l. It is not as easy to quickly access a double-ended bag due to the location of the openings clashing with the drops so it inevitably needs to be packed off the bike.
Bags of a similar size of 2.5 litres are normally used to stuff a windproof, some food, a mini-tool, your phone, money, and general small handy stuff, etc. Access to this stuff needs to be quick and easy as the rider often doesn't want to stop or stop for long for a food bar or picture. With a double-ended bag closure, speed can be achieved with familiarity but it’s always going to be slower than a zip or roll-over top.
Better to pack it off the bike and attach it afterward and of course remove it to access the contents but this whole process is much slower when you only want your mini tool. It is actually surprisingly easy to stuff once you get your hand into the small opening. The air release system - called ventilation orifices by EVOC, works well, forcing trapped air through the mounting holes which are not visible and don’t let water in - a clever design that.
With the Boa WP 2.5’s small volume, there is not a huge amount of kit that you can store in it. A super lightweight insulated jacket and/or waterproof with some food and mini-tool if you are lucky enough to get the small volume kit or you only wear size XS or S. If you are an ultra racer traveling mega light in warm weather, I can see more of an appeal for this small bag, it will happily take my arm and knee warmers, long sleeve top, cap and gilet for night time riding and a few essentials. I managed to get my waterproof trousers, insulation jacket, buff, and windproof in there with ease. All of that kit is medium sized and there was space for more.
Plus it has an external bungee cord for stashing a waterproof jacket and gloves or whatever you want super fast access to and/or don’t want to put wet stuff back inside the bag. I wish more handlebar bags had external bungees, it’s a definite plus for the Boa WP2.5
The Boa WP 2.5 pack doesn’t clash* with computer head units or lights when trying to access it which is another good point for a clean front cockpit as many zip-top or roll-top bag openings can be blocked by these mounts. However the Boa dial itself can be right up against some mounts and make initial attachment of the bag a little harder but not too difficult, and of course, if you leave the bag on this isn’t an issue.
Evoc Handlebar Pack Boa WP 2.5 - Value and verdict
Evoc is up against a wide range of handlebar bags on the market, from standard hook and loop burrito style bags from Topeak with their Tubular Barbag to similar style twin-ended bags like Lomo’s 3L Bikepacking Handlebar bag. More expensive options are available from Carradice with their Baja Bar Bag 3.5L, CamelChops Blimp 2.0 and Apidura’s RACING HANDLEBAR PACK 2L for £70. However the Boa WP 2.5 pack costs nearly double many of these if not 4 times as much as the Lomo. And that is a very difficult circle to square. Sure its construction looks superb and it durability is impressive but you could double bag one of the less expensive packs here and still have enough money for food and kit to put in it. There is no getting away from it that the Boa system patented by Evoc here is a very expensive option.
Durability-wise, it is a tough waterproof little bag that feels like it should last. The welded tubular design with its internal plastic skeleton and strong rubber mounts offers a super secure place to put ultralight sleeping or riding kit. The Boa cables are normally ultra-reliable seeing widespread use holding our shoes together across a wide range of sports genres so there is no reason to assume that they will fail. The ventilation orifices work really well to help you stuff it full of your kit. The Evoc Handlebar Pack WP Boa 2.5 is a good waterproof pack but you are most definitely paying a large premium for that attachment system design.
1 comments
Lack of access kills it. The whole point of a handlebar bag is not because you just can't squeeze in those last 2.5 litres any place else; it's to have to hand those bits and pieces you need readily accessible, or want to keep about your person at a café stop.