About a decade ago I was going to do a bike tour on a single track route. The bike I was going to use has a frame designed so I can use the solid fork that came with it or I can use a 100mm suspension fork. Planned to use the suspension fork, thus no front rack. Was looking for larger panniers. Bought Carradry panniers, they were rated at 58 liters for the pair compared to my Ortlieb Backrollers at 40 liters for the pair. When I received them, they obviously were not 58, I was guessing 50 or 52, thus still quite larger than the Ortliebs. Returning them would have been a hassle since I bought them from UK, shipped to USA, so kept them. (Now those Carradry bags are rated at 48 liter, not 58.) That trip that we planned was canceled for reasons not related to pannier size.

But since I owned them, several years later decided to try those panniers on a different tour. The larger pannier size meant that I could use a much smaller rack top bag. Thus had about the same volume on the rear rack with the Carradry panniers compared to my Ortliebs. The sewn on labels on the Carradry leaked water on rainy days, when I got home seam sealed that seam. But otherwise, the Carradry worked out well. Since my Carradry were gray and my Ortliebs are yellow, I chose to use some used panniers I picked up at a garage sale up front instead of the Ortliebs.

Racktop bag was mostly food, by end of trip that bag was almost empty. In the photo I have a mesh packing cube on top of the rear racktop bag, I had some damp clothing and did not want to store that in a water tight bag on a warm day.



Comparing the Ortliebs against the Carradry, since my Ortliebs are the Roller type bags, I can easily run them only partially full. But on the Carradry, the top cover does not fit as well when the pannier is not full. The Carradry have one large rear pocket that I rarely openned, I am so used to panniers not having pockets. The Carradry are about the same weight as the Ortlieb Backrollers, the Carradry have a slightly lighter fabric.


That is HUGE. What brand and model.