Like most people out there, I've been using feed bags for years now, generally either sticking a water bottle in it on extended bikepacking trips, jamming them full of snacks or a combination thereof. Calad is a new manufacturer from my neck of the woods in Ottawa, Canada. When I was given the chance to test out a couple of his bags, I jumped on the opportunity. My past experiences with feed bags have always been that they are too flimsy, making it difficult to quickly put a bottle in it, or that they are fairly snug with a standard water bottle and difficult to use effectively. I also haven't had much luck with bags that advertise themselves are being designed for single-handed use.

Company Description

Calad Co. is a newcomer to the bikepacking world, founded and run by Brendan Calado. Brendan began making bike bags as a cost-effective solution when he first got into bikepacking. His talent gained recognition during the Show & Tell session at the 2nd Canadian Shield Bikepacking Summit, where he received plenty of positive feedback on his handmade bags. Encouraged by this, he started selling bags locally to offset the cost of sewing equipment and to refine his craft. Less than a year later, Calad Co. has launched a website, partnered with a few local bike shops, and is now working on different types of bags and styles.

It's not too often you have a bag maker come to your house to drop off your products, but such was the case on this occasion. Brendan had been wanting to come over for some time to check out the podcast studio, so decided to swing by and drop off the bags at the same time.

When the bags were dropped off, Brendan and I spent some time talking about MOLLE systems, as this was something he was looking to incorporate into his feed bags. He told me once he figures out how he will do it, he would modify my bags if I wanted. Ultimately, he modified my handlebar bag and made me two new feed bags, giving me a grand total of 4 feed bags to work with.

Upon first inspection, I loved the size of the bags, how many snacks I could stuff into the Snackie and the extra-long Velcro straps that were provided, allowing me to figure out my setup before cutting them to my desired length. At first, I struggled to get the Snackie to mount nicely and it looked kind of off canter. After chatting with Brendan and sending him a photo, he mentioned that because the bag is shorter, I could just use two Velcro straps on the handlebars and didn't really need one around the stem. This immediately fixed my issues.

I love the colours and the one-handed operation. These bags are really well thought-out and look great on the bike.

One of the great things about custom made bags, is getting to choose the colours. For this set, I chose teal with an orange lining, so as to match the colours of the Bikepack Adventures logo. Made from Ecopak 200 fabric, these bags are pretty hard wearing and will be able to take a lot of abuse before they wear out. For these bags I chose mesh side-pockets, as I generally prefer to be able to cram stuff into the side pockets when everything else is full. The bags are designed to be able to fit a Nalgene bottle, meaning it's easy to get water bottles into and out of the bag. They are also made to be used single-handed, have a drain hole in the bottom and come with two Velcro straps for attaching it to the bike.

Rather than just create a one-size-fits-all feed bag, Calad has created two bags that address different needs. The Thirsty and the Snackie. The Thirsty is the taller of the two bags, coming in at 7" tall by 3.75" wide, allowing you to fit bottles up to the size of a Nalgene, without fear that it will fall out on rough terrain. The Snackie is the little brother of the Thirsty, standing only 5.5" tall, designed not so much to hold your water, but more for its namesake, snacks....and maybe other stuff, such as your phone, keys, sunscreen or lip balm.

Another very cool feature that Calad was looking to implement into their feed bags was the option to include MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) straps, allowing the bags to be attached to the side of the handlebag bag or a front basket, freeing up valuable real estate on the handlebars. After releasing his MOLLE design, Brendan was kind enough to make me a couple new feed bags and to modify my Calad handlebar bag to include the new MOLLE setup.

On the Trail

I've now used these bags for about a thousand kilometers of adventure and have found the Calad Feed Bags to be really great. I find the Thirsty bag to be the perfect size to easily get a standard water bottle into and out of the bag, without having the need to finagle with it. I haven't yet tried it with a Nalgene, but considering it's designed to fit a Nalgene bottle, I imagine it will also fit without issue. My first adventure with the Thirsty and Snackie feed bags were on a 140km fatbike overnighter in the middle of winter. I found the bag quite easy to use, even when wearing gloves, and particularly liked that the one-handed operation actually functioned. My previous experience with single-handed feed bags was not nearly as good and I always had to rely on two hands to open it. The Calad bags loosen up with one or two tugs on the release. The Snackie was able to fit a ton of snacks, and because of the simple one-handed operation, I could keep an open bag of candy or mixed nuts right at the top of the bag and just open and close it on the fly while grabbing handfuls of food to stuff in my face.

During the Wendigo Fatbike Ultra, my setup consisted of the Calad Handlebar Bag with the M.O.L.L.E stem bags attached to the side, allowing me to carry an extra Bivo waterbottle in the Thirsty stem bag and my MSR Pocket Rocket 2 stove in the Snackie stem bag. On the handelbars I attached the original two stem bags and used them for my primary water source and a bunch of snacks. This setup allowed me to cut out the rear rack and minimize the amount of gear carried at the back of the bike. Snacks and drinks were easily accessible, while my triangle held a full-framebag.

I've also used the feed bags when out on smaller outings, allowing me to keep things accessible without needing to carry too many extra bags. I always like having things 'at hand' when on the bike and the Calad feedbags do a good job of that. From day trips to overnighters with my wife and daughter and multi-day adventures on the Canadian Shield Bikepacking Route, I've found the bags to do exactly what they are meant to do.

After using the Thirsty and Snackie feed bags for an entire year of bikepacking adventures, in all seasons and weather conditions, I'm really pleased with how well they function. Ample space to fit a Nalgene bottle, the ability to choose custom colour options and one-handed operation that is not just lip-service but actually works. While it is difficult to revolutionize something as simple as a feed bag, I really like the inclusion of M.O.L.L.E. straps, allowing riders to attach the Calad stem bags to not just their handlebar bag, but also to racks, such as the Old Man Mountain Basket, providing a multitude of ways to carry gear on your bike.