Best Choice for Big Days with Gear You Want to Keep Dry

You might think of Dakine as a surf company, but Dakine was actually founded at the foot of Mount Hood, and they continue to make fine products for those who spend as much of their lives in the mountains as on the beach. Backpacks have long been a staple for Dakine, with packs tailored specifically to different sports, and the Dakine Seeker is Dakine’s top of the line hydration pack for mountain biking. 

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See Our Best Hydration Pack for Mountain Biking: MTB Hydration Pack Review!

Storage

What a manufacturer claims as the volume of a bag can sometimes be misleading, and that is certainly the case with the Dakine Seeker. At 15l, it is smaller than the Evoc Stage 18, and in line with the more average sized hydration pack on our list. However, the Dakine Seeker 15 feels like a big bag, and its bulky dimensions and hefty weight back this feeling up.

The main compartment is accessed via a roll top opening, which works in tandem with its water-resistant coated fabric to make for a bag that is extremely water resistant. Personally, I don’t have much use for roll top bags, but I also don’t ride with anything in my hydration pack that I would worry about getting wet. If you do, then the Dakine Seeker is about as water resistant as any hydration pack on the market.

The Dakine Seeker 15l hydration pack has a plethora of pockets in addition to the main pocket. There is a large, flip down, zipper pocket on the front of the pack, with ample organization compartments and enough room to store just about all of the smaller items that you would carry, and some of the larger ones too. There is a quick access, fleece lined pocket on the top of the bag for sunglasses and/or a cell phone. And there are two very large zippered hip pockets, which actually extend out to the sides of the pack, using their own volume so they are still useful if the main compartment is stuffed to the brim.

Outside the pack, there is a compression strap controlled compartment for half shell or full face helmets, as well as straps on the bottom of the pack to hold protective gear like knee pads, or really anything that you could roll up and strap in.

Overall, the 15l designation of the Dakine Seeker is a bit misleading. This is a hydration pack that will easily satisfy all but the heaviest packers among us. This makes it a top pick for guides, and doubly so for photographers who carry a lot of gear that they want to keep dry.

Comfort

The Dakine Seeker features an Air Suspension back panel, which uses the tried and true technique of a tightly stretched mesh panel to keep enough room between the pack and your back to promote a bit of airflow. Meanwhile, breathable and minimal shoulder straps also promote a great deal of ventilation. However, for a pack that carries as much as the Dakine Seeker, we would not have minded slightly more padding on the shoulder straps. The hip straps are wide and equally as well vented, although it would have been nice if the wide section had extended just a bit further, before switching to the webbing, which the buckles are attached to.

The Dakine Seeker is also compatible with Dakine’s back protection pad, although you can be sure that you will lose a bit of the great ventilation provided by the Air Suspension back panel if you add one of these.

One negative for the Dakine Seeker is that it is a fairly long pack that also sits fairly high on your shoulders. This can result in your helmet bumping against the pack on steep descents, particularly if you are wearing a full face helmet.

Water Reservoir and Ease of Drinking

The Dakine Seeker uses a 3l water reservoir that is accessed via a zip system, which makes it easy to fill and get into for cleaning. The bag itself has Dakine’s “Shape-Loc” center baffle to give a bit of shape to the reservoir. This solution works fairly well, though not quite as well as the backplate used on the Osprey Hydraulics reservoir. It is also outfitted with a quick connect hose, and a high flow bite valve with a shut off for the times when you need the water to remain in the reservoir.

Finally, a magnetic clip holds the hose in place and makes it easy to drink from and then resecure on the fly.

Weight

Weighing in at over 1300g without the back protection insert, the Dakine Seeker 15l is not a light mountain bike hydration pack by any standard. However, it doesn’t feel like it is trying to cater to that audience anyway. With plenty of room to stash all of the gear in the world, this feels like a pack designed for those who spend big days in big mountains and need plenty of gear to sustain themselves or enduro racers who want to carry ample protective gear on climbs.

What Did We Really Think?

The Dakine Enduro is an intriguing hydration pack for mountain bikers. It is not for everyone, and that is not a bad thing. The Seeker feels like it picks its niche and doubles down on it, rather than trying to do everything well but nothing great. Sure, its weight and bulk will be off-putting for some, but riders who want a tough backpack that can comfortably haul a ton of gear and keep it dry to boot cannot go wrong with the Dakine Seeker.

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