djb, et al,

Thank you for the great information. I'm sure our Ortlieb bags are high quality and will serve us for a long time. At this point I am not concerned about using the release handle for toting the bags short distances.

Soon we will be off on my wife's first overnight trip - a less than epic 4-mile roll from the ferry at Ocracoke Island to the National Park Service campground just out of town. With luck we'll both love the experience and move forward with plans for two or three multi-night trips next year.

I have introduced several people to bike camping with short trips that start at the inland side of the Ocracoke-Swan Quarter ferry. The terrain on Ocracoke Island is flat so the biking is easy, but the 2 1/2 hour ferry ride helps make it feel like you are out there on your own. The trip also illustrates the relative ease of taking the ferry when traveling by bicycle vs automobile.

For this trip we will split up the sets of bags -- each carrying two new Ortlieb front bags and two refurbished Cannondale front bags. When we get to camp I will not worry a bit about moving the Ortliebs wherever they need to go using the release handles. Thanks again!