Originally Posted by
CliffordK
Interesting idea. Perhaps tracking down a bunch of small nylon stuff sacks (or making some custom ones).
If one had 5 bags on the bike, then one could also separate a bit by bag, if one could just remember where one put stuff. I suppose my last mini-tour, I was always opening both bags as I could never quite remember which one had the stuff I needed.
Pockets rule, but you must label your pockets! Go to Home Depot or some other hardware store and buy a dozen of those plastic key tags, the kind with the small silver chain. Slip out the little piece of paper, and write what's in your pannier pocket. I actually go a good deal further, by designing a new logo for every big trip I take—last one was the Michigan Meander— and incorporate my label (CLOTHES, SNACKS, MEDS, TOOLS, SLEEP, etc.) into it, cut it to the size of the key tag, slip it back in, and attach it to the zippers of the pannier pockets with a small zip tie. It saves me hours of searching for the chapstick or whatever each trip. It's all about branding!