the MEC bags look perfectly functionable, the thing that stands out for me is the quality of the mounting system. My wife has bought a diff Mec bag that has the same system and it just doesnt look like it would last that long with a lot of use.

that said, for someone starting out, less expensive panniers can be a great way to start, especially if the stuff doesnt get used that often. Because I commute regularly and use my bags, easy to use and well built are a big advantage in the long run of the life of stuff, I just happen to be a fan of the Ortlieb mounting system. A friend has some Arkel stuff, and it seems exceptionally well made, just like the Ortlieb bags. I too find the Arkel line of bags a bit too heavy for me.

OP: Back in the spring I pondered the pannier selection issue also...forever it seemed. In the end I narrowed it down to either the Lone Peak LP-10 set w/ optional rain covers or a set of the Orties. Price was almost the same either way. Looked at both in person and tested at dusk for degree of reflection against car headlights.

I liked the appearance and reflectivity of the Lone Peaks over the Orties. I also liked that the LP's had more compartments, etc., without having to buy extra ones.

So the decision point leaned toward the Lone Peaks and that was also pushed along by fact that the Lone Peaks were fully sourced and produced in the USA. In they end, I selected the Lone Peak LP-10 set in the yellow/black theme.

Having now owned at least one set of each of the major brands, I am sure I would be happy touring with any of them. They are all great panniers. If you find either on sale at the right time...snag them and ride into the sunset.

/K

Yeah, I'm going with the Dolphin 48 too...plus I like buying anything Canadian made!

I have no experience with Ortlieb but do with Arkel. We have both the GT54 (bought when not so expensive) and T42. I like the various pockets on the GT54 but agree there are quite heavy. I think the T42 is a perfect size for me for credit card touring.

I like having the inner liner, as well as the rain cover. Both are easily washable. I like to use the inner liner to separate clothes when wet. So if I wash my pants, which can be slow to dry, I will pack them outside of the liner and keep my clean and dry clothes insider the liner. Because the bags are breathable the wet clothes does not create mold or smell. But for me the biggest advantage of the Arkel is the various outside pockets. I like to keep things separate and easy to find are repack. I also like that the arkels can be fully opened / unzipped so you can access everything without removing everything - not on the road but in a hotel or campsite.

I also like that I can easily tie two bags together, tied at all four corners, to create one piece of luggage for flying.

This year I bought an Arkel small handlebar bag and am pleased with it. It holds everything I want - camera, wallet, glasses, phone... and is easy to open and close. The biggest selling point for me is the attachment bracket which is really solid, but most importantly can be removed and reinstalled, or just moved to help in removing the handlebars when flying, and do not rely on a cord that is not reusable.

I really don't mind carrying the rain covers and then just quickly putting them on if it rains. It keeps the bags clean as well as dry. And if I get in a bind and need extra space for some reason I can put them on and use the space for something else (very rare). My wife thinks the covers also help when travelling through some train stations which have a reputation for pick pockets etc - they would have to cut the cover and bag and would not be as easy to access as other people's luggage or backpacks.

Love my Ortliebs (Roller Classics).
I take camera gear with me when I tour and I trust them completely to keep the water out.
I havnt tried the Arkels.
I doubt I ever will.
Not cause theres anything wrong with them but because in the Ortliebs, I've found a product I can trust.

They are all too heavy and complicated. I really never take my panniers off when I am on the road, so I don't want that to be easy for thieves. If you have fifty pockets you need to remember for each what you put in them, there isn't any real logic to it. Most fancy pannier sets weigh as much as all the gear an ultralite backpacker carries, and you haven't mounted them to the bike yet.

I've got Ortlieb Roller Classics, front and rear, and have not regretted my choice. I didn't consider Arkels due to price, availability and weight. Here is why I got the Ortliebs:
- Excellent value for the money. I bought mine on line for about $220 for both sets.
- Come in a range of colors. I wanted bright panniers that stand out, for safety reasons, and got the yellow ones.
- Waterproof construction with no covers to fool with. Rain sometimes comes up quickly with little notice, and I don't want to be fumbling around trying to cover my bags.
- The single bag design doesn't concern me. I can organize contents with careful packing, stuff sacks and zip-loc bags.
- Extremely easy to mount and detach, particularly using Tubus racks that I have on my bike, and also very secure.
- Reputation for durability, and availability of spare parts.
- Lighter weight than many other panniers that are considered high quality.

When I need panniers, I use my Ortliebs (Back Roller Classics). I got them on sale at REI for about $120 for the pair. I backpacked before I bike toured, so I've never seen why not having internal organization is something to complain about - even if you do split things into a couple stuff sacks inside, all it takes is a bit of practice before you can find everything in there with your eyes closed.

Since lack of internal organization is a non-issue for me, it made sense to go with the cheaper and fully waterproof option. Of course, the only situation where I ran into a potential serious problem that waterproof panniers would have solve was back when I was still using some cheap Trek panniers (tried to power through a puddle on a dirt road, fell over, left pannier got completely soaked). But it's nice to have a place I know I can stash my electronics and down stuff and not worry.

Regardless of brand, there are a number of reasons that waterproof panniers are good to have.

Cleaning the mud off after a pretty messy day. They are still packed.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ff052a1d2a.jpg

OP, there is a set of Arkel GT-54s listed for sale on the Adventure Cycling forum, in the classifieds there. Please let us know which way you go, and why.

Hmmm, wonder which my friends would vote for?

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...tour048aaa.jpg

I got the Arkel Dolphin 48. They are awesome.....

I have an ortleib handlebar bag and the map attachment was amazing however the snaps for the bag broke after minimal use, it's since been replaced but it may be a continuing problem.

arkel handlebar bags vs ortliebs--my take:

arkel-- super well made, zippers which are easier to open than snaps while riding, great easily removable mounting system. Heavy suckers though.

ortlieb--super well made also, waterproof without thinking of putting on waterproof cover, snaps take getting used to to how to open easily (must pull them perpendicularly away from bottom part of snap) excellent waterproof map holder, Light weight (for me the deal breaker, plus the great map holder) . Pain in the A.. mounting system that while sturdy, is not easily removed and put onto a diff bike, as the cable invariably gets squershed (Ive moved mine once, didnt want to do it again, so bought another mount for another bike) As said by someone else, you just cant take it off quickly to remove the bars, for plane travel, I removed the stem from steerer as bolts for the front of the stem holding bars on are hidden now by mount.

so in the end, their system is not ideal, but I still decided on wanting a totally waterproof barbag I didnt have to think about, despite missing a bit having an easy to open zipper with one hand for grabbing a camera and a shot while still riding. Must stop now to remove camera.

the weight differences though between the two really are a lot imo, the ortlieb a lot less weight, a priority for me, but maybe not for everyone.

I have never used Arkel so can't comment but it does sound that both are pretty evenly matched reading everyone's comment with a few differences. I must admit I don't care that much for compartments but if I was reading this then Ortlieb would get my attention only because of them being purely waterproof without messing with covers. Someone on the forum made mention of this and I also use one of my bags as a washing machine plus a water carrying device when water is scarce on long hauls. So for me apart from being waterproof they offer other uses and another use I have used them for is to float my bike across rivers. Weigh up the pros and cons then choose what is best suited for your needs.....

I have MEC panniers and have been beating them to death for 6-7 years under all kinds of conditions and they are guaranteed forever.

Although they do not claim to be 100% waterproof my stuff has always remained dry and I am partial to putting things in various zip-locs to keep things sorted and add an extra layer of protection from the outside or what is inside.

The new dry bags look interesting... at $68.00 they would not be to burdensome to buy and if they failed the hose test you could return them for a complete refund.

Way more specialized service from him than I have ever received from a commercial entity. Well worth going to Wayne (BTW - I went with Lone Peak - but not waterproof for sure - love the attachment system though).

hi there 65er, hope you are well. As I had written earlier, I've been suspect of the mounting system on the mec stuff, about its sturdiness over time, but its good to read of you using them for these years without issues. Knowing how much you commute and that you tend not to write just any horse baloney, I figure this is as good a recommendation as any. My son sometimes uses my 20 yr old Ortliebs, but one day the rubber stretchy thingee that holds the attaching hook will break. Good to get a proper endorsement of these bags, as you say, their guarantee is always good, and their biking products fit in well with the old MEC aspect of good value for money. I still use my 20 yr old plus Serratus "velcro" small panniers, still finicky with the velcro, but they are still alive and working.
cheers

I still have the old series bags which were made of ballistic nylon... these are really tough bags. I picked up a new set of touring bags just before they changed the design and the new design isn't bad either and they are a little lighter and I have a mid sized set of these.

The mounting hardware is also replaceable and it is a fairly easy job to do, the clip size can also be changed if you have oversized rails although the newer bags just seem to use a larger clip and the design of these has not changed.

My wife and I are also really fond of Carradice bags and they are probably even tougher... we have some small panniers for the folders, a shopping pannier (tough beyond belief) and multiple seat bags. Carradice bags do come at a premium price but we tend to buy things for life so consider them a good investment.

They all have their plus / minus and think I lean toward the single sack like Ortlieb or my faithful MEC bags... too many pockets baffles me. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BohicaX (Post 16148181)

I have never used Arkel so can't comment but it does sound that both are pretty evenly matched reading everyone's comment with a few differences. I must admit I don't care that much for compartments but if I was reading this then Ortlieb would get my attention only because of them being purely waterproof without messing with covers. Someone on the forum made mention of this and I also use one of my bags as a washing machine plus a water carrying device when water is scarce on long hauls. So for me apart from being waterproof they offer other uses and another use I have

---

Wow! I would like to here more about your situation where floating a fully loaded touring bike across a river was necessary.

Nothing special just a decision I made it was either ride 180km to negate the obstacle or swim the 1.5km to reach the track on the other side. The water was about 3.5 feet deep so I decided to do it. I just clipped the Back-Roller pannier to each wheel and the Rack-Pack to the underside of the frame to support the rear and walked/swim the trike across. Went back and did the same with the trailer I have done this a number of times works well. One thing I did was to aid in bouncy was open the panniers and fill with air then roll careful closed to trap the air while leaving all my gear in the panniers.

thanks for the additional info re the clip size.
and re buying premium price stuff that lasts a long long time, comes back to the old saying "I'm too poor to buy cheap stuff". Really is true, plus I really dont like the idea of making half assed purchases of poorly made things that end up either having problems, or not really working that well due to design issues, then folks just buying something "new" a short time later. This touches on the who "disposable society" and first world ability to buy lots of stuff, not really what you brought up, but aside from the "good quality lasting longer" aspect, this does make me think of the other aspect of buying , buying , buying.
but I digress.

having had pocketed panniers in the past, I too find I prefer the single compartment, but thats just personal preference.

cheers

Hey, got your Email but I can't reply cause I don't have 50 Posts. Email me....upthechels@gmail.com

This thread Arkel v. Ortleib, presumes the old product lines. As mentioned, each company now offers what used to be only what the other company had. So the conversation is really about breathable v. water-proof.

I have had Arkel T-42's for the rear and also modified for the front for about 7 months of touring. They have held up very well. They are heavier than some but because of that they are robust enough so I have little fear of them failing mid tour. I'd use (breathable) Ortleibs if they can be had cheaply enough, but if all were equal, I'd stick with Arkel. IMHO, water-proof bags during a long trip would cause my gear to mildew and stink even worse than it already does. Rain cover still allow some air circulation...