The saddle bag is much more convenient than strapping a stuff sack or dry bag on the rack. With the straps, you can open it up easily. It also had a couple straps on top I could strap a jacket on when needed. Weight is not much more since it is not much more than fabric, plus of course some cardboard from a pizza box. I did not have a stuff sack for my tent, it was stuffed into a front pannier with my air mattress. This was my first trip with that saddle bag, previous trips I used a drybag that was much more time consuming to unstrap from the rack and open and close and restrap it down.

I found that saddle bag to work perfectly. Often when we stopped at a grocery store, main compartment was nearly empty, only a couple small items in the side pockets. But leaving the grocery store, it was really full. The guy that I tour with is kind of like you, minimize weight to the extreme. We had discussed the importance of having room for food when we left for the trip but he did not get the hint very well, his bags were pretty full before we got to the grocery store so I usually had to carry almost all of the volume from the store while he carried a couple of the most dense items.

They do not use that stuff for political signs around where I live. I have seen it used in other states, but not around here.