Welcome to the debate of Trailers vs. Panniers. As you can see by the posts here, so many people, so many opinions and experiences.

Merriwether, in a thread titled "Burley Nomad cargo trailer--a review" a few months ago provided an excellent review on trailers. I wish I had had an opportunity to inform myself with such a review when I began touring two years ago and was agonizing over the grand debate -- trailer vs. panniers. It would have made my ultimate decision much easier.

After much research and queries of other tourers, an important consideration for me to decide on a trailer was cost. A good set of panniers plus racks can easily run into $400-$500. Although you can purchase less expensive panniers, you're still faced with the purchase of racks. Then I had all those accessories to buy -- tent, cookware, stove, etc. Once I decided on a trailer, then began the debate of BOB vs. Burley. Again, after much research and many questions, I was leaning toward a Burley for most of the reasons Merriwether outlined in his review -- ease of connecting and disconnecting; less stress on the bike frame; greater load capacity; zero effect on handling characteristics of the bike, and so on. But a strong personal reason that pushed me over to the Burley side of the fence was the opinion of a very respected, even legendary, tourist here in the Portland area. Mike S. has had over 20 years' touring experience in both the U.S and in Europe (he's there now on a 2-month tour), all with panniers until two years ago. A friend lent him his Burley, and Mike said he would never go back to panniers. Decision made! Then I was fortunate enough to acquire a barely used Burley on Ebay for $100.

Merriwether's review needs no further comment, but I can't help point out one thing that he did not mention. Regarding stability on fast descents, many of the BOBers I have encountered have stated that above 30 mph the BOB tends to become unstable in the longitudinal axis. Living in Washington state, hills are the norm. As I typically carry 50-65 pounds of cargo in my Burley (still a novice tourer and have not yet mastered the science of minimalization ), it is not difficult to quickly build up speed even on a short downhill. But it seems that the faster I go, the more solid my rig becomes. I've been as fast as 45 mph on one long downhill, and I had no sensation that I was carrying any weight--it felt rock solid and as if I was being propelled. I think I'll try to avoid that kind of speed in the future, but 35 mph is quite common and comfortable with a good load in my Burley.

In my opinion, the two greatest shortcomings of the Burley are lack of weather resistance and unavailability of fenders. The former is mitigated by the necessity of a design that enables easy dismantling for storage or packing. Merriwether packs his stuff in bags. I generally line the compartment with a common garden debris bag--fits just right and it can be used to discard garbage at tour's end. I once rode 65 miles with rain all the way and everything stayed nice and dry. The latter is a different matter. With all the rain we get here in the Pacific Northwest, the top of my Burley gets covered with mud splatterings. I wish Burley or an after-market provider would see a market here and respond accordingly.