User Review: The North Face Megamouth

The North Face Megamouth
Above: The current Megamouth, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed July 8, 2006 by Justin Driemeyer

Rating:
Design: backpack
Price Paid: $75 (on sale)

I'm rating this primarily on the hydration system, as a backpack it seems to work fine, but then $100 is way too much for a simple daypack.

Honestly I had high hopes for the hydration system as it's made by Nalgene, but I've been extremely dissapointed instead. The features are excelent (quick connect hose for ease in removing the pack to refill, and a magnetic attachment for the end of the hose so it doesn't flop around), which is why I bought it.

However, the durability is terrible. The bite valve has a silicone sheath which is bitten to release water flow which wore through after only about two weeks (5 or 6 outings) using the pack, and now leaks whenever the flow valve is not locked. In addition, now (after a month and a half) the main screw cap closure where the bladder is filled has begun to leak, which would obviously drench anything inside the pack.

Bottom line, I would not recommend this pack to anyone.