CURVE’S ROCKET POOCH AND ROCKET CAGES WILL HAVE YOU BIKE PACKING LIKE A SIR/MADAM

Words and Images James Raison

Straight from the skunkworks of Aussie adventure aficionados Curve Cycling comes a cage and bag combo for adventurers to lust over. We’ve put the Rocket Cage and Pooch to the test (admittedly less testing than we’d like because 2020 has been awfully 2020) and are ready to give it the ‘ole Roman Emperor-style thumb treatment.

Let’s see if it’s a chipper thumbs up, salty thumbs down, or a weird 180-degree ambiguous-thumb disaster.

MEET THE ROCKETS

The Rocket Cage and Pooches are another output of something I’ve called the “Curve Loop” wherein a company of bikepackers design, develop, manufacture and then sell to bikepackers. It means you can buy with confidence that the beta testing is done and all products are certified quality. Products born from the brains of Curve riders and intended to improve their own expeditions are worth paying attention to, like the Curve Walmer bars I reviewed.

The Rocket Cage is fairly simple but will cause mild drooling among Titanium connoisseurs. It’s 83g of titanium that mounts onto pretty much any standard bottle cage or fork mount you’ll find on a bike.

The Rocket Pooch is a pocket-rich roll-top bag designed to firmly grasp the Rocket Cages in 4 places. There’s a simple slot on the Pooch at the top where the upper titanium cage rail drops into and then 3 spots for the double velcro to fasten. Each fastening point has two Velcro interfaces which means it’ll hold with confidence. There’s a large, 100% waterproof Cordura main pocket with a roll-top and clip to fasten. Underneath is a zippered non-waterproof pocket with internal webbing for added segmentation, and the bag’s outside has added spots to stuff small items.

The cage and bag combo will set you back around 300 grams and $229. Each can be purchased along with the bag costing $129 and cage $109 but given their lack of external compatibility I don’t think that’s going to be a common purchasing choice.

IN USE

2020 hasn’t been the easiest year to go adventuring but Aussie Spring gave me some opportunities to head into the modest wilds of rural South Australia for some long overdue bikepacking on the Murray to Clare Cycling Trail.

The first thing I noticed was how rock solid they are. Having a triple-bolt fixing to the fork leg makes for a tight hold. Those velcro enclosures attach the Pooch firmly and in three places to the cage. It makes for a shake and wobble-free ride. Previous bikepacking trips had involved some seriously wobble from the Blackburn cages and strapped-in dry bags. None of that malarkey from Curve’s offering. The constant vibrations of gravel riding have a magical way of finding every loosely fixed item but the Pooches stood firm.

The fastening system is easy and holds firm

Investing in quality bikepacking gear is about more than maximising the utility-to-size ratio. It’s about buying convenience and time. Gear that’s easier to add/remove does plenty to justify added expense. The Rocket Pooches can be whipped off the bike in seconds once you’re setting up camp at day’s end. Packing and unpacking bags detached from the bike is the dream because you can be so deliberate and forceful when you’re shoving everything back in without worrying about tipping the bike over. You are certainly paying top-dollar to invest in the system but when you’re packing your bike with cold or tired hands you’ll be thankful for good equipment.

I was able to jam a decent quantity into the Pooches. My bivvy and sleeping mat each went into their own Pooch with plenty of space to pack other small items around like clothes to fill the gap. The roll top then let me squish everything downward and clip it all into place. Their carrying capacity is 4 litres though so don’t expect packing miracles. I tried to stuff my Sea to Summit Spark SP3 Long version sleeping bag and couldn’t quite get it in. I do suspect that a summer-weight bag like the Sea to Summit Spark SP0 or SP1 will fit though.

THE GRIPES

Versatility is really my only small gripe with this setup. It’s an “ecosystem” product and you’re largely locked off from cleanly mixing and matching other bags and cages. Sure, anything is possible with enough Voile straps, but I’d advise all buyers to expect no more than what’s promised.

The Rocket Cage could have been more useful if the lowest rung jutted further out and created a platform that something like a bottle could be strapped into but that wouldn’t have worked with the Pooch’s compartment design. Similarly, the Rocket Pooch could have some generic strap loops stitched to them, but you’re still left with the base designed to dangle in the air rather than rest onto a cage platform. Ultimately I’m trying to show that the nice-to-have versatility would have compromised the effectiveness of the design.

WRAPPING UP

The Curve Rocket Pooch and Rocket Cage combo’s intelligent design will likely make bikepacker’s lives easier. For a price. They’re aimed at the buyer with a “buy nice or buy twice” mindset. There’s cheaper ways to carry your bikepacking gear but I think your investment in the Curve Rocket bling is more than justifiable for regular adventurers.

Occasional or budget-conscious bikepacking can, and should, opt for the Blackburn Cargo Cages and whack a dry bag into them. They’re ripping good value and come with healthy versatility to boot.

Head on over to the Curve website if you’d like to purchase some Rocket swag.

Disclosure statement: This gear was sent by Curve for review. It’s a fully independent review as always.