Originally Posted by
campylover
Well I am going to get my Surly LHT soon and want to get some opinions on these panniers. I had Arkel a few years ago and liked them very much. (I sold them) but from doing a lot of backpacking I am also looking at the Ortliebs. Are the mounting system just as beefy as the Arkels?
If you search the internet, you will find that a few people that are on world travels that live out of their Ortlieb panniers have complained that the lower hook can brake in a crash. Also there are some inserts that are used to size the Ortlieb pannier hooks to the rack. On panniers that have had several months of continuous use, those inserts can fall out.
I knew the above before I bought my Ortliebs. It is unlikely that I will ever use them so much that I will have those problems.
I have never used Arkels. Since both Arkels and Ortliebs have proven mounts, instead of focusing on the mounts, I think you should focus on what do you want, the giant waterproof bag versus the bag with lots of little pockets. I often strap damp stuff on top of my frontrollers. If I was going to be on a really long trip (months) with the Ortliebs, I would also carry a mesh duffle that I could put on top of the back rack for dry days.