This is the best I can do right now. I will try to get some detailed shots tomorrow -- of the hooks in particular.

Bear in mind, I was a complete novice at touring at this stage (some may say I still am!! ). But it got me on the road and riding across the Nullarbor as my first great cycling adventure. Gotta love those tennis shoes!! Oh yeah, that's also the cheap tent I referenced in another thread.

My riding partner on randonnees had his partner make up a pair of rear panniers on the style of Ortleibs -- that is with the fold-down tops. She works for a sailmaker/canvas products company, so access to industrial-duty sewing machines wasn't a problem.

The panniers ended up being multicoloured as offcuts of a certain weight of vinyl fabric was used. Very effective! Waterproofing was one challenge. That led to a conversation about the use of a special kind of sealer used on diving drysuits. However, I don't think they went to that expense -- and using that sealer requires quite precise placement of the two edges together.

He also has a handlebar bag with an outer surface made of light vinyl, but using corflute or cored plastic sheeting (as in billboard signage) as the framework on the inside. It's quite a solid object, although light in weight. It's remarkably waterproof considering the top is a simple rigid flap with one-inch deep sides that work like the lid of a biscuit tin.

Why not use trash bags as a water proofing material?

He is somewhat averse to trash bags as they are not long-lasting enough to justify them going to waste afterwards. He also has an array of drybags from kayaking. He has variouos other pannier sets, including the type Paul Woloshanksy has/had from Army disposal.

I find dry bags much better, also. They are durable and you can squash stuff down and keep the air from re-entering and "reinflating" the bag to bulkier proportions. I believe that bulk, rather than weight, becomes a cyclist's prime consideration when packing.

I'm a pannier geek:

https://cybrmarc.tripod.com/twodollar/

My $2 panniers

I made a set of paniers for my mom, they were open top for easy acess, but I often thought I should make a set for myself. They were madeout of 4mm doorskins with light glass covering. You need to have some boatbuilding chops to make it worthwhile. The cool part is that they were pretty light, and are integrally the rack and the bag. They looked really sharp also, though I don't have any pictures of them as far as I know, she lives on the east coast and doesn't do digital. The way I made then was just to hot melt or five minute the various parts into position and then smooth out the joint and glass them. The scantling were stronger than what I used on my ocean going trimaran so there isn't any real posibility they will break, good fast system all around, however you have to like the idea of keeping the panier fully "inflated" Like hard bags on a motorcyle. Seems viable to me, And since the surface is smooth, it may even be lower air resistence, though I have no evidence.