Mag-Tank™ From Revelate Review

The Mag-Tank™ from Revelate has come up with an ingenious solution to stowing gear securely on your bike while still leaving that gear easily accessible. The solution in this case is magnets. The Mag-Tank’s main selling point is it’s easy open latch and we’ll explore in this review if magnets really can make a top tube feed bag both secure and convenient.

Top tube bags while not always familiar to trail riders have been around for a long time in the bike touring and bike packing scene. As more riders look to get equipment off their backs and onto their bikes the top tube is an obvious location to consider.

Attachment

The Mag-Tank™ attaches with two Velcro straps. One around the spacers in between the stem and the head tube and the other around the top tube itself. The Velcro straps make for a surprisingly secure fit and once attached, I didn’t run into any issues with the bag moving or sliding around. So far the Velcro has held up well, though I do worry that it may wear out over time. I think it would be nice to see a potentially longer wearing attachment method such as a ratcheting strap.

The Bag

The base and sides of the bag are heavily reinforced which aids in the bag staying securely in place and holding its shape well. The outer covering fabric comes in multiple colors and it water resistant but not waterproof. Because of the top cover attachment and latching method, full waterproofing is not possible. That being said I’ve never had an issue with water getting into the bag.

Inside the bag the fabric is bright yellow to provide more contrast when hunting for items. Behind that fabric is a bit of padding. It’s not ultra cushy, but I have hauled my camera in this bag without any ill effects.

Of course the key feature of this bag is the latch. The magnetic buckle uses a combination of magnets to alight the latch and then a mechanical engagement secures the connection and takes the load. In my testing I never had it open on accident and it is truly a one handed operation. I was quite amazed how well it works and I have zero complaints about how it latches and opens.

The only disadvantage really that I can find to this quick opening system is that the bag is not fully sealed when the bag is close. Since the flap is only latched at one location there is a slight bit of room very small objects to to ingress or egress out of the bag. If you goal though is to carry items larger than a peanut though I don’t think you’ll run into trouble.

How Much Does It Hold?

My reason for buying this bag was to carry my Panasonic GX85 camera and camera accessories for taking photos rapidly while riding. The bag works great in that role it fits the camera with a 12-32mm lens with room to spare for other bits and bobs.

In a more traditional scenario this bag combined with a few other on bike attachment points will allow you ditch the pack for more rides. I can easily fit:

• My Phone
• GoPro
• Tubeless Plug Kit
• Wallet
• Energy Bar
• A MultiTool

Conclusion

The Mag-Tank is not cheap. At $59.00 you are paying a premium for the closing method. However that closing method is pretty clutch. If you need on bike quick access to what’s in your top-tube bag the Mag-Tank is going to be hard to beat.