ortleib or carradice?
 

this has probably been done to death, but i am wondering as to the water-tightness of the carradice bags. being made from cotton duck i was wondering if they were as waterproof as the ortleibs which look to be completely waterproof. i like the carradice, but are they truly waterproof?

thanks!

If waterproofness is a critical factor for you I wouldn't even consider anything other than the Ortliebs. I have some Carradice stuff (not panniers) and it is excellent, but nobody does waterproof panniers like Ortlieb.

carradice does make a waterproof pannier called the overlander-it appears to be comparable to ortliebs,the problem is they're only marketed in europe.

I've had both. The carradice panniers, that is the ones made of traditional cotton duck material, are waterproof and will last for years. That said I prefer Ortliebs as the waterproof material they use cleans with a wet cloth and I prefer the construction of the fixing mechanism.