Seven years isn't bad for a BF thread; I've seen older zombie threads revived. Plus this thread showed no love for what are, IMHO, the best panniers in the world (OK maybe that's a stretch, which are Jandd bags. They're reasonably priced and very, very bomb proof. I've used all sorts of jandd gear over the years. It's a great company to do business with that stands behind its products (and even keeps the small parts you may need from time to time on hand). Most of their bags aren't water proofed but, IMHO, that's overrated. I like plastic bags to keep my stuff segregated into useful groups.