Originally Posted by
KonAaron Snake
I spent years cheaping out and buying alternatives to Ortliebs. I finally laid out the money for them - I'd have spent far less not cheaping out.
My advice - save money, time and aggravation - buy the Ortliebs.
I spent the summer in Kyrgyzstan; a former Soviet-bloc country. They're overall quite a poor country; average income is about $80/month across the country. $200/month in the capital. They have an old Russian saying there though (that I'm sure exists in many other places in one form or another)... roughly translates as: "I am not such a rich man as to be able to afford to buy cheap things."
Same applies here. Buy the Ortliebs.