Originally Posted by
Burton
My bike probably weighs more than yours too. On the other hand I'm far more interested in having fun touring than counting how many grams of light weight equipment I'm carrying.
That is ultimately the point, if you aren't having fun, why do it. However, I'm a gram counter for two reasons; first of all, the gram counting is kind of fun in and of itself, but more importantly carrying less stuff allows me to have more fun while riding. I can cover more ground, if the cycling is kind of dull, I can afford myself more rest stops to see things along the way, and while riding, my bike feels more like a bike than a tank.
In my mind, things that should be as heavy as they need to be to fulfill their purpose, but no heavier; there is no reason to bring along a 15 pound tent if a 5 pound tent can do the exact same thing.
Of course, you don't really need to compromise between minimal panniers and extra space, get panniers just large enough for your load and a bit of food, and pack an extra stuff sack and a few bungee cords, just in case.