It's nice to see Craven stuff actively back on the market. As mentioned they were the go-to luggage system back in the past and while I'm not sure they'd be my first choice for a tough overland trip these days - not if I was buying from scratch anyway - I do know at least two people with surviving sets who still use them.
I knew Ken Craven (slightly - I went on a number of trips he arranged) and he was nobody's fool. If he was around now he certainly wouldn't still be producing glass fibre panniers as his premium product. He'd have moved on to other construction methods in the same way he moved from the original hardboard and wood Silver Arrows in the 50's to glass fibre.
Lotus built their cars from glass fibre back in the 60's / 70's but times change and they've moved on to aluminium and glue. The glass fibre technology he used was cutting edge back then and the 'look' is right for bikes of that era. If you're travelling on a classic bike I think they're still as good as it gets. For more recent stuff though, take Grant's advice and buy ally or (imho) go soft.
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