Starting my saddle bag hunt
Had this nightmare last month riding through unexpected downpour. Pulled over to check my stuff and whoops, my regular canvas saddlebags were basically sponges. Map turned to mush and spare clothes felt like wet dishrags. That’s when I went “alright, waterproof or bust”.
The trial-and-error phase
First I grabbed some cheap PVC roll-top bags off marketplace. Looked solid in parking lot test – sprayed ’em with garden hose for ten minutes. All good right? Wrong. Three hours into real rainstorm, seams started leaking like toddler’s sippy cup. Returned that garbage next day.
Went to local bike meet asking around. Got four different recommendations from long-distance riders:
- Hardcase dude swore by molded plastic boxes
- Adventure tourer showed me his heavy-duty laminated fabric ones
- Couple on Goldwing had hybrid hard/soft combo system
- Scruffy dude on KLR just used army surplus dry bags bungee-corded to seat
Testing the top contenders
Took me two weekends trying setups. Mounted each type on my bike, did 50-mile runs in actual rain. My findings:
Hardcases won for total dryness but dang, opening them felt like cracking a safe every coffee stop. Laminated fabric bags leaked at zippers until I bought seam sealant (extra cost). Dry bag method got me soaked trying to access spare gloves mid-rain. Hybrid system made my bike look like Frankenstein.
What actually works for trips
After all that headache, here’s what I’d pick now:
- Rigid polymer cases – for folks carrying cameras/electronics
- Roll-top fabric bags with welded seams – best weight/storage ratio
- Submersible dry bags – cheap emergency solution for weekend trips
- Hybrid panniers – if you need to lock stuff in cities
- Military surplus – only if your budget’s under $50
Ended up keeping the laminated fabric ones. Trick? I wax the zippers every month now. Still get minor leaks after 6hrs torrential rain but hey, better than swimming in my own saddlebags.
