External pockets are not needed, thus I did not mention them. Looking at the bags I can see the fabric is good quality, and realize it is the mounting system that has caught me off-guard. The use of plastic hooks didn't bother me when looking at them online, however in my hands they don't present themselves as durable, even though there are few reported issues. The panniers I currently use have no external pockets, have metal hooks and have survived 20 years of continuous use, plenty of crashes without even a tear in the fabric let alone broken hardware. I'm guessing the plastic hardware of the Ortleibs get brittle over time and break when stressed, and this is likely what is going on with reported failures.

Add to that when fitting to the rack the bottom hook can only be fit all the way forward, and even then it only just catches the forward rack strut. The other struts have a fender support near them and the hook won't clear the hooks. This fit issue is not an issue with the bags, it is an issue of working with the set up on the bike. No fault of the bags.