Originally Posted by
Bekologist
since the OP has never heard of cordura i wonder if the OP is up for the challenge of manufacturing bags. A robust sewing machine and understanding of the world of sewing and outdoor gear construction seems a prerequisite.
Don't let the laptop go into the spokes!
but, soldier on thru, macteacher. good luck.
You imply a couple of things that are well worth delving into. I've read many good internet articles on building your own panniers and while I would never attempt to dissuade anyone from a good DIY project, I'd mention a few design considerations. A great durable design for a pannier is to have as few zippers as possible... I've built up several pairs of panniers from backpacks and they all eventually fail because the zippers fail. I have a pair of Axiom panniers with a draw string... which to my mind is a great design feature... easy to repair and less prone to breakage.
The shape of the pannier is also very important. Many panniers built from Army surplus bags tend to be a little wide... so you get a lovely bag, but eventually wear out one end of it from scraping it off your heel. Tall and narrow beats out short and wide to my mind. For the laptop, think about storing it with the narrowest side pointing up.
Finally, all that sewing really scared me. I opted to build up simple panniers from daypacks. I found I have to really look around for a good candidate (many have too many side pockets or other appendages that don't work well.) . But there are a lot of old daypacks sitting around second hand shops just waiting to be re-purposed. Cheap too!