hi all, can anyone recommend soft panniers which are a good size ,waterproof at the right price.thanks

look at enduristan monsoon excellent kit - I did a review on them here last week. Zen Overland are the uk dealers

Wolfman pannier are waterproof and really well made. Had a look at a pair at my mates and was impressed. Off course after a couple of good crashes I wouldn't expect it to be waterproof any more. Dunno why people are so concerned with that either. Not everything has to be waterproof. They need racks as well which I find annoying.

They also have that new Giant Loop rip off system which is waterproof. But it doesn't yield as much space for the size. Again, wouldn't expect it to be WP forever either depending on your riding.

Big fan of GL Coyote myself. Sturdy, light, convenient and doesn't need a rack. Put stuff that needs to stay dry in WP roll closure bags and you keep your pack organised and easy to use.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

Andy Strapz have been excellent to me

Ben,

I would highly recommend the Andystrapz aswell and have written up a lot on another post including a bespoke pannier rack which was made by Zenoverland to fit the soft panniers.

Check it out- http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...apz-soft-58152

Chris & Chloe
WordPress.com

There appear to be quite a few negative reports on Andy Strapz regarding the stitching. Some info here

ADVrider - View Single Post - Soft Panniers recommendations ?

Steel Pony bags are pretty sturdy and a similar design.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

Another big thumps up for the Steel Pony panniers. Have done some 6000km in all conditions with them and even dropped the bike onto them a few times. No issues with them Steel Ponies at all. They are also bigger than the AndyStrapz.
Just be aware that both, Steel Pony and AndyStrapz are made of canvas which makes them not perfectly waterproof in big downpours. However, only things which touch the sidewalls of the panniers will soak up some of the moisture. I just put everything in a big plactic bag inside the panniers and that solves the problem.

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no risk - no fun

Dropped my DRZ on my wolfman (front and rear) panniers a couple of times so far (in 15000 miles from UK to mongolia). Still completely waterproof and no sign of any damage after the drops (low speed, off road).

The Giant Loop coyote is a great bit of kit (my travel buddy edteamslr is using that set up on his WR250R for this trip) but not completely waterproof.

I like waterproof myself as it makes life easier not having to bugger about with waterproof bags inside...

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True, the original coyote is NOT WATERPROOF. Giantloop know this and hence the new coyote has a stormzip. I hoped the one I ordered would be the new one but sadly I was sent an old one. Don't be fobbed-off - the stormzip is all you need to get the bags to resit water ingress in a mega-downpour. Or just put up with some wet kit and/or using waterproof bags inside. No big deal.

If you want a no-rack, no-compromise, tight-as-a-drum luggage solution for those who are sure that light-weight-is-the-way-forward then the Giantloop is the only way.

Everything else is metal racks or dangly-bags. And that's just not cool. Stick a 'Loop on it.

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Find out details of my 2011 trip to Siberia on a lightweight dirtbike:
www.brighton2expeditions.co.uk

Write this down. " Note to self. Need to try harder.'

Pretty jealous. Would love to roam through Mongolia on my 400.

That's not entirely true. The seams aren't sealed. It comes with seam sealer though, but I know I couldn't be bothered cause I'd use internal roll closure bags anyway. Other than that, completely agree.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

That's another thing I didn't get sent when I bought it from AdventureSpec! Interestingly, it wasn't until the mega-downpour in Barnaul the other day that I was even aware that the whole bag wasn't waterproof. I'd had no noticeable ingress at all in the other rain storms. When I took the contents out in Barnaul a couple of hours after the storm each side contained 1/2ltr of water happily sitting in the bottom and going nowhere. I still suspect the zip is the prime suspect.

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Find out details of my 2011 trip to Siberia on a lightweight dirtbike:
www.brighton2expeditions.co.uk

This is one of my prime irritations with all soft motorcycling gear I've used--including panniers, clothing and some random other stuff. If water can get in, you ought to design a way for water to get back out again, right? If I pay US$600 for a top-of-the-line riding jacket, I don't expect the pockets to fill up with water until they overflow out the top zippers when I ride in the rain; same with expensive roll-top panniers.

Other outdoor gear manufacturers know about this stuff. If I buy a bathing suit at Wal-mart or a pair of tacky zip-off convertible trekking pants at REI, each pocket will have a little grommet hole in the bottom to let water out. So why can't my $600 motorcycling jacket manufacturer do this? It's not like they're trying to maintain the waterproof integrity of their pockets: remember, these fill up with rainwater until they overflow out the top closures. And I've had soft panniers from a highly-respected manufacturer which fill with water 6 inches deep; a wee metal grommet would limit that to a fraction of an inch. Likewise my MX boots, which seem to start filling with water even before it starts raining.

Any explanations out there? Are we motorcyclists just so accustomed to acting like doormats that manufacturers know they can get away with it?

Ok, I feel better now. [/rant]

Mark

In my humble opinion, compared to say 30-40 years ago when motorbike stuff was universally functional (although limited by materials available at the time), today, buyers of motorbike stuff have become dedicated followers of fashion. Whether a doormat can be considered thus I don't know - maybe.

When new materials started to become available to manufacturers they had a choice to make stuff better suited to its purposes, or to bring in cosmetic designers to use the new materials to make products 'attractive' instead. It didn't take much research to decide which was the most lucrative path to follow.
And the incessant lifestyle and fashion marketing since, aimed at bikers, put the boot in.

I'm stunned now at the stuff that gets sold, and the prices, and have over the years stopped buying motorbike stuff and looked to other industries instead. Boots - military. Jacket/trousers - sailing/industrial. Farkles - Meccano (or similar). Luggage hardware including the old chestnut of protection from silencers - plumbing. None has failed me so far, particularly London-Cape Town.

All we need now is for governments to make certain items of clothing compulsory (already generally the case of course for helmets) and the end of 'ordinary' riding won't be far away.

The example I think is compulsory bicycle helmets in Australia, resulting in the collapse (so I've read) of cycling as a pastime. Maybe the fashion industry over there isn't quite so well marketed.
Perversely, I also use cycling stuff now as well (bracketry, pump, luggage), much more functional, which considering how fashion-conscious that industry is maybe destroys a big chunk of my argument.......

Talking of helmets, do they have drain holes in them now? In Paris once, years ago, I parked on a convenient pavement near Les Halles to use the swimming pools there. Like all other riders I left my crash helmet hanging by the strap on the handlebars. It was sunny at the time.
Returning over an hour later there had been a downpour. My helmet was full right up to the face opening. I wished at that moment I had a drill to make a hole in the top, so it wouldn't happen again.....

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TTR250 - London to Cape Town

I have used for 20000 miles the ortlieb and they were perfect , I used the wolfman but for way less miles and they are superb too , the wolfman do hold close to the bike and stay in better position than the ortlieb .

good luck

hendi

I have Ortlieb panniers. They've done the job for more than ten years......