I think you can never protect against someone who is determined to be an arsehole, and I am sorry to hear lowlifes have done that to your bike. Would it have been that much more difficult though for such lowlifes merely out for a bit of vandalism, and wearing steel capped boots, to dent the crap out of metal boxes with a few well placed kicks, thus at the very least, taking away the waterproof seal?

Don't get me wrong, I think of all the arguments for hard luggage, security is the only one that (theoretically) holds any water. However, as mentioned above, I have (empirically) never had a problem, nor have the other people I know that ride with soft bags had a problem, and that's quite a lot of people. Of course that doesn't mean it never happens, (of course it happens, everything CAN happen) but it does mean (barring an enormous statistical anomaly) that at best (or should that be worst), it must be a very rare and unlikely occurrence.

That's also not to say I dont take precautions. I think when overnighting in "dodgy" or even risky areas, you have to minimise the risks. Sometimes involving spending 5 minutes longer to find a secure place to park the bike, or following an inn-keepers recommendations as to where to park the bike. Or in the case of no secure parking, spending an extra 3 minutes to take the side bags off the bike and bring them inside to be safer overnight. Twice in urban areas in Russia, I parked the bike in guarded parking lots, even if they were half a mile from the hotel we were staying in. This was a precaution deemed appropriate not only by myself, but by the guy with the hard boxes with whom I was travelling. He also didn't park his bike on the street, so the hard boxes didn't actually deliver any more convenience and "utility" in those situations either.

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