Since I started my teaching job last August, I’ve had a commute across town that goes from riding on a trail to popping my bike on a bus to get over a heavily congested and therefore unsafe area to a final 3 mile road ride to get to school. It’s actually a pleasant way to jumpstart my morning, but I have a good bit of gear that makes everything run smoothly.

One of those things is this bag. It has held up so well despite heavy use that I decided I just have to review it, because while I have other panniers, this bag helps me look more work appropriate and less ‘just got back from my cross country tour’.

 

Pros:

• Even in nasty weather, this bag keeps my things dry (I stick my phone in a plastic bag when it’s raining just to be on the safe side) and is easy to wipe clean if it gets sprayed with road gunk.
• It has enough pockets to keep me organized, but not so many as to be frustrating
• The pannier hooks are easily concealed, and best of all incredibly tough. I shove this bag on and off every day and have not had one worry about the bag falling off of my rear rack. The hooks have enough tension to stay on over bumpy terrain (as in, crumbling South Carolina roads, comparable to cyclocross in a hurricane) while also being easy to lift off with one tug.
• I get lots of compliments on it, and it goes with pretty much everything.

Cons:

• The top handle is just starting to show signs of cracking a little bit, which doesn’t surprise me given that I yank it on and off my bike several times a day.
• If I want to fit a binder or file folder in it, it’s hard to zip closed. That has more to do with how much crap I have and less to do with the design, because I really like the shape and wouldn’t really want it to be bigger.

 

Overall, I would definitely recommend this bag, especially for commuters. At $140, it’s my most expensive bike bag to date, but thanks to its durability and useful features it has been a worthwhile investment.