Originally Posted by
veganbikes
There are two touring panniers to consider Ortlieb or Arkel, they are both super durable, reliable and have a good solid mounting system. I probably wouldn't throw money at the cheaper stuff. My Arkels are 10-11 years old and could probably pass for new if I cleaned them up a touch and we have seen a lot of pictures of Ortliebs such as
Doug64 's? picture after he had to hose his bike down at a checkpoint in some other country and those panniers are still going. I wouldn't hesitate to buy Arkels again (if I ever needed to) or to buy Ortliebs but I wouldn't waste the money on other stuff unless I really knew these were low usage short usage items. If I really wanted QR stuff I would look at MIK or Racktime as it is a good quality reliable system but for long distance touring Arkel or Ortlieb every time.
I just don't see the need to get panniers that will last me 10 years at my age! At 67 this is my first tour and while I hope it isn't my last I'm not expecting to do it very often. I can afford the better bags, it would be one fewer bottles of wine a week for a month or two. I just don't see the need.
I saw a video review of the Ibera vs the Arkel and while she thought the Arkel was far better, she didn't think the Ibera bags were bad.
And as for quality, I'm always a little skeptical. A few years back I bought an Osprey convertible backpack each for myself, wife and 2 kids, and went on a trip through Denmark and Norway. One of them is now almost unusuable and the one I bought for myself is not comfortable. Osprey was supposed to be the good brand.