Checking In On San Util's Whirlpool Hip Pack & The Process Behind Development

San Util is a homegrown hip pack company based in Winter Park, Colorado. The company started as a Covid project for founder Adam Nicholson, who was doing big days in the mountains and started learning how to make the bags he wanted to use. Then, the side interest grew into San Util Design LLC.

The last time I wrote about Adam and San Util was in 2022, when I talked with Adam about what it takes to make things then reviewed a pack.

More recently, a new San Util pack appeared at my door, this one bigger, noticeably more robust, and clearly built for long days. I've been back in touch with Adam lately and had the chance to ask him a few questions about testing and redesigning the products he's released.

It's exciting for me to see the new versions of these packs, since I've now seen several since the early days. I first tried one out in late 2021, when San Util was in its infancy. That pack, while comfortable and functional, was very minimalist and had some minor imperfections like some slightly uneven stitching. Nothing I found to be a true lack, but enough that the more refined next iterations looked sleek in comparison. (And man, the new stuff is sleek. Don't even get me started on the ski packs he's added recently. Those things look stunning.)




Before we jump too far ahead to what Adam's been working on lately, those early models fed into the Covert, now in its third generation, designed for days that take a compact but useful and somewhat expandable storage spot: days like enduro races and bike park sessions.

How has your approach changed over time?

Adam Nicholson: San Util started about 3 years back as a creative fun project that would get me thinking about how to do things better and scratch the itch to create. Largely that hasn’t changed. It is now my (and my small staff's) livelihood, but our design philosophy and reason for being is still the same. We work to design simple beautiful bags that have function front of mind and aesthetics closely behind. I am a rider and a ski mountaineer, and I enjoy letting the designs influence each other.

Have the things you want in a pack changed over time? What do you value in a pack now? What did you value in a pack when you first started making them?

AN:Things haven’t changed much. I love going out for rides with as little as possible on my body. If I can have all my emergency gear and water on my bike, that is a win. On the longer rides, I will grab my hip pack but don’t want to think about it while I am riding. Riding is a meditative space for me and the fewer things I can bring the easier it feels to focus on my breathing, movements and weight balance. That being said, as I have gotten better at sewing and design, I have tried to work more performance into my designs (but never at the expense of simplicity).



San Util isn't strictly a company that makes custom things or a company that makes stocked things, but it balances both. A collection of products are made and kept in stock - presumably the most popular ones with classic styling and generally-acceptable colors. Versions of essentially all the stocked products are also available custom-made, with the color and fabric options that come along with that. The trade-offs are, of course, slightly longer lead times and slightly higher prices for the custom versions. I like the shapeshiftery nature of that business model, the ability to meet the demand that arises while being cognizant enough to offer multiple pricing options.

What are your goals with being a small business in the bike industry? How’s it going getting established as an independent maker in a mountain town?

AN: Every year my short term goals are changing. Year over year we are taking small steps and trying not to over extend while also getting to a sustainable place with the business. Living and working in the mountains sometimes feels like a fairytale or dream, something that you will eventually wake up from and go back to “normal” life. For many people, that is what happens. Live up here for a while and then realize that the lure of living up here is exhausting. Constantly working three jobs and just trying to figure out how to make it happen so we can get one more powder day with the pass closed. It is an incredibly privileged life to live in the mountains getting to ski and bike daily out our doors, but year over year it becomes less and less enticing.

My current goal with San Util is to scale it to a size where it can take care of its people and provide a living that allows them to hold the dream of living up here as well as the dreams of building a family, buying a home, or going on a vacation without being scared they won't be able to make rent if they do. Living in the mountains can balance nicely with the rest of life (or at least that is what I am trying to prove to myself).

So far, building the business up here has been one of the most exciting and difficult things I have ever done. The wins give the highest of highs followed by the reality of the 12th hour of work on the day.




As delightful as minimalism can be, there are times and places that call for more. Adam decided he wanted to make something a little more expandable, a pack that would work well for rides of any length. "The Whirlpool is all about carrying all the gear needed for big or short days," he explained. "I wanted it to feel slim when wearing it but be able to expand for bigger days (think The Whole Enchilada, Monarch Crest, The Plunge). You can carry a coat externally, knee pads, 2 water bottles, and a bladder inside with plenty of room for snacks. "

I used to think of big rides as having two categories: hip pack rides and backpack rides. I imagine you designing the Whirlpool pack because you didn’t want there to be such thing as a ride that’s too big to put the things you need in a hip pack (maybe with the exception of bikepacking-style epics). Is that true? What’s the story of how the Whirlpool happened?

AN:That is pretty dead on. There is definitely still a place for backpacks but I would personally way rather ride with a hip pack. There is a limit to the amount of weight a hip pack can comfortably carry, and for me it is somewhere around 3L of water. We tried to design the pack as slim as we could to hold the weight as close to the body as possible, but eventually the hip belt will get pulled on more than wanted.



Adam had long been a fan of Osprey packs, and one of the most comfortable hip packs he'd ever used came from Osprey. He liked Osprey's system for the way the hip wings attached to the back panel, keeping the pack moving closely with the wearer's back. Adam wanted similar performance with as simple a design as possible. He ultimately attached the wings to each pack body in two spots, allowing a degree of independent movement that helps keep the pack in place.

What are your favorite features of the Whirlpool design? What differentiates it from the rest of what you make? What’s its role and how does that fit in with the roles of the other packs in the San Util lineup?

AN: I think my favorite thing about the Whirlpool is the overall aesthetic of it. I am really proud of the way it mixes all the features together in a way that looks really good. Like you mentioned earlier, the Whirlpool sits on the big side of our lineup. We have four hip packs total ranging from a kids' pack then to 1L, 2L, and 3L internal volume. All the packs have the ability to attach bottle holsters to them so the internal space can be used for other gear.

Why did you skip the drawstring on this one and opt for the roll top instead? I like it for the neatness, but I’m curious about your reasons.

AN: The biggest reason was to allow it to expand more. Some of the most popular packs out there (The Evoc Pro 5L and the Dakine Hot Lap) I see overstuffed and bursting at the seams all the time. Zippers are often the first thing on a pack to blow out. The Covert's drawstring and lid could expand a bit, but only to about one more liter of space. The Whirlpool can go from 3L to about 6L and looks great throughout that whole range.



I'm still in the early days of its use, but Adam's claims about the pack - that it stays in place very securely, the large size and its stuffability - seem to hold water (incredibly lame pun only sort of intended). San Util seems to have had success creating something that distributes weight vertically - adding weight seems to weight the pack downward without making it want to pull away from my back. I have yet to see anything that would make me think the pack is prone to wear or any type of damage. Actually, quite the opposite: most of the time, this pack'll never experience the type of use that would take a toll. I'm 99% sure it would be just fine after being run over by a truck, and that remaining 1% is only because there's a chance the Fidlock closure or waist buckle could be crushed if the truck hit them just right.

Hypotheticals aside, like all things, the Whirlpool comes with its trade-offs. Does it weigh more than many hip packs on the market? Sure does. The claimed base weight is 335g, roughly 1.5x the claimed Covert weight, and additions like bottle holsters and a water bladder obviously add more. That's less than a pound, but that's enough to make some weight weenies uncomfortable. That weight puts the Whirlpool essentially on par with several of the other, more zipper-pocket-etc.-heavy hip packs out there. Considering how expandable the roll top makes the pack, I'd say the weight:space ratio is great.


The biggest change to this pack, compared to the San Util ones I've used before, is the way the wings attach to the pack body. Back when I tried the Covert 2.0, the edition before the wings update, I thought it stayed in place very nicely. Keeping the load close to the wearer's back was already clearly a priority. (So if you're asking me, the update didn't really need to happen, but thankfully people go ahead and improve their products instead of asking me.) With the much larger storage capacity of the Whirlpool and its aim to hold a lot of water, the risk of water throwing off the weight balance seems much more real. Little details about the Whirlpool seem aimed at keeping the pack weight stable. The water bladder naturally sits toward the wearer's back with the internal pockets opposite it. There's a thin bungee cord inside the pack with a tiny carabiner on the end, plus a little hanger-type-thing it can be clipped to, so that can help secure a bladder to prevent sloshing. All those features work together to help the pack stay in place really, really well.

My favorite update is the addition of those interior pockets. They add organization without much weight or complexity. I really like the security of having somewhere to put my phone, a snack, and whatever other small things I'm riding with. These pockets are still simple and streamlined, without zippers or anything, but they do the trick. For me, having that extra little bit of organization completely changes the feel of the pack, giving me that bit of security I'm looking for, whatever comes from knowing - to within an inch - where I'll find my things.


I've spent so much time praising this pack just now that I'm trying to think of downsides to include. It definitely weighs more than a flyweight tiny pack, but also, if you need that little, why carry a pack at all? The roll top might be polarizing, with it only living up to its full potential if you'll ever actually stuff the pack. The rest of the time, while tidy, it does add fabric and weight. There are also no closures on the wing pockets, so use them with that in mind, though the slightly stretchy outer fabric does have a generally snug feel. I can respect the lack of zippers, though some might want them. Pricing is a very real sticking point: the Whirlpool Custom costs $165 and Whirlpool Stocked costs $135, and the Covert V3 costs $135 and $125 for its two respective versions. Supporting an independent mountain town business? Yes. More money than packs from some bigger brands? Also yes. I spoke with Adam a bit about that and he mentioned a smaller profit margin than he thinks people might expect. Labor-intensive manufacturing and expensive materials add up. Throw in the context of being a small business trying to fight the big dogs by succeeding in a mountain town? That's bound to cost real money.

Still, most of my non-pricing gripes are mountains from molehills. This is a high-quality pack, and it's a solid option for those looking for a secure heavy-loader, especially one that'll last for the very long term - its longevity, the fact that buying this will prevent having to buy another for a very long time, also helps justify the price. In both its stocked and custom versions, it's worth a serious look.

What’s next for you and for San Util?

AN: We are finally to a spot where we have a super capable team of seamsters and seamstresses. We are hoping to work with some other companies in the industry on some custom collabs. I am also learning CAD right now and have a long list of ideas I want to integrate into my designs.

Long term I am thinking about what it will look like to get things produced at a different facility. Have our “stocked” and wholesale programs produced in partnership with another factory. We would keep customs sewn here. I am hoping this will allow us to get wayyyyy more competitive with pricing while still offering the custom made bags in Winter Park for the people who want it.

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