I am with the mob that doesn't place much importance on waterproofness of the panniers themselves... and with the mob that likes to have stuff segregated, but in my case in Sea-to-Summit drybags rather than pockets alone (and if you're sharp, you see a bit of an incongruity there).

I have done countless thousands of kilometres of touring with just four panniers -- all made by Torpeako, an Australian importer which, unfortunately, doesn't appear to be importing panniers any more. The rears are large with a rear pocket on each, and the fronts are smaller without a pocket and double as my shopping and overnighter panniers. They are all getting on to eight years old, and are looking a bit holey and tatty mainly through sun exposure and abrasion on several overseas trips. Hence my lack of concern for waterproofness.

I had a friend who was so proud of his new Ortleib panniers when they arrived. But he soon found the folding down and clipping of the top to be a bit of a chore. And he was endlessly searching around in the bottom of them for one of his many gadgets.

He also soon found that waterproof on the outside also means waterproof on the inside, and damp clothing in a hot, waterproof pannier soon became a musty, smelly mess that spread to everything else in there.

My S-to-S bags are colour coded, and have proved their worth in segregating my gear, and keeping vital stuff dry, such as my sleeping gear and clothing.

My smaller panniers had rain covers that stuffed inside a pouch in the top flap, but I eventually dispensed with them as I found them ineffective.

The smaller panniers have snap locks at the top for the rack, and an elastic belt with hook for the bottom. The larger panniers have metal hooks at the top and a belt-buckle-and-hook arrangement -- which finally let me down in Europe this year as the hooks on one pannier spread a little, and kept popping off, with the ultimate result being a pannier dragged into the rear wheel and bending a couple of spokes.

I've seen Axiom panniers in a bike shop here in Australia and know Machka is happy with hers... and hers look good plus have the pockets. I think my next set of panniers to replace the Torpeakos will be Axioms, primarily for their value and durability -- around half the price of Vaudes and a probably a third of the price of Ortleibs.

Just on the value side of things, my first set of panniers were converted cloth backpacks with tie-down hooks used on pick-up trucks to attach them to the racks. They had good volume and the zipper which opened sideways when the panniers were on the bike actually gave good access -- like I was reaching into a cupboard. They lasted quite well and served as my commuter panniers after I finished my Perth-Adelaide ride a decade ago. If I could find similar backpacks again, I would probably make up another set. And they didn't have a stiff backing in them!

I always look at the worst-case scenario -- and that is a loss of my panniers either throught theft or destruction. I just don't think I could come at the expense of panniers like the Arkels for just that reason.