Hi I wanted Hard panniers but opted for soft in the end, for a number of reasons. If you have hard you can only fit so much in & don't really have any 'give' with straps etc.
Also on my bike if I wanted hard panniers I would have to move the indicators & do some re wiring, (pain in the a**e), These do me I had them given to me I managed to fit enough gear for a long weekend & tent sleeping bags for me and the other half, she was not impressed when I told her no kitchen sink!
I think if I did get another set Probably go for the otleib as I have the otleib bag.
I prefier not to have a top box as then I can lay the bag across from pannier to pannier, when 2 up or the length of the bike behind me when on my own.

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We are the Pilgrims, Master, we shall go Always a little further: it may be beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow, Across that angry or that glimmering sea.

I have both Wolfman and Kriega adventure soft luggage. I prefer the Kriega as the Wolfman has too many straps however I will be running a combination of both on my SA trip. I don't see much difference in the quality of construction though as they both look well built for the different material they utilize.

I ended up designing my own cause I couldnt find what I wanted in the market ... Waterproof, secure, lockable, slashproof. And with the 2 great advantages of soft luggage, flexible and light.

I have been using soft luggage on adventure rides for 20 years, and always accepted the tradeoff of security vs hard luggage, as the other aspects of the weight and flexibility of soft luggage was vastly superior to hard luggage. Finally I got off my butt and designed my own soft bags to make sure there was no more tradeoff when it came to trans-continental or RTW luggage. To make soft bags that were superior to hard boxes in every way - as well as to existing soft bags on the market - which lacked security, or size, or waterproofness, or abrasion resistance, or carried the weight too high .. and usually some combination of the above. I wanted soft bags that would be fully suitable for transcontinental motorcycle adventure travel, on or off road, in the most rugged conditions.

Extremely tough, waterproof, practical, and now secure as well. No other soft bags offered a simple security capability. These bags are Twaron / Kevlar lined making them slashproof, and they have Twaron / Kevlar loops through wich you can pass a lockable steel Wrapsafe cable. That not only allows you to lock the bags shut, but allows the bags to be locked to the bike.



Wrapsafe cables (below) are available from the likes of Amazon:


There's a more detailed write up on the bags and the thought processes behind the features of them here:

Adventure-Spec Magadan Panniers

Pics of Magadan Bags in action across Kazakhstan, Siberia and Mongolia - en route to Magadan:






















And ... these bags give you 50 miles / 80 km more range ! ... the back pockets of each bag is specifically designed to fit one of these 2 litre fuel bottles ... giving you capacity for 4 extra litres of fuel for those occasional long legs between fuel stations or as a safety margin in remote areas. Thats an extra gallon of fuel capacity for the price of two plastic fuel bottles (30 quid) - the easiest way to add 4 litres of fuel capacity to your bike.http://www.adventurebikeshop.co.uk/fuel_canister


Front pockets are sized for 1 - 1.5 litre bottles per side, for 2-3 litres of water.

As used by the world famous Terry Brown from Cambridge England.

Deemed the worlds finest soft bags by Adventure Bike Rider magazine (issue 16) in a comparison of all the main soft bags.

(The OP did ask what the best soft bags are)

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To be fair, they arent bigger, the Monsoons are 25-30 litres a side. vs 30-35 litres a side on the Magadans.

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I have Ortliebs as well. Simple, rugged, and have survived crashes well.
Been used on anything from a Yamaha YBR125G to a Husky TE610.

I also have Kriega US-20 and 30 bags, used on a Chinese-built dual-sport.
So fear so good, but I have found a few negatives: if loaded with loose, hard objects, then the bag tends to move around until cinched down again; secondly, I am not sure about the aluminum hook straps, lose one around here and almost impossible to replace, and finally, the metal / loop accessory to attach to dirt bike bodywork can come unscrewed.
Probably needs locktite, but I've had issues with locktite and plastics before.
Again, difficult to replace around here.
Other than that, the stuff works as advertised.

+1 for the Enduristan Monsoon Soft bags - using them for our trip in September - light and totally waterproof what more can you want

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www.mudandknobblies.co.uk

I've just got a pair, not yet used for anything more than supermarket shopping, but seemingly good quantity and I love the lack of eye-gouging bungee cords. If there was
one small thing I could change then I'd make the inner waterproof liner removable so that the bags could stay strapped to the bike. But thats a small issue with an otherwise great bag.

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Hi Walter! Bummer about Husaberg! Will you be riding orange on your next dirt bike adventure? You need to come ride with us in Oregon again sometime. Your bags look like a nice bit of kit - one of the things I like best about Adventure Spec is that you all are riders! I'm curious: How many times has your gear been stolen off your bike and/or your bags have been slashed during your extensive travels? Thanks for riding Giant Loop, Harold

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Giant Loop Moto

Can't see any actually ref but I think this table (recently updated) is being referred to.
Actually I found Mags (reviewed here) are smaller than Monsoons when l x w x h is measured, but as I proved during my recent travels (and posted about here), this is not a foolproof method of measuring, less still comparing maximum potential soft bag volume, even though it clearly is for rigid boxes.

Monsoons have a more cuboid shape with little increase in volume under deformation, but for example my less wide Magadans took 40 litres of water rolled and clipped up when in the same state, they 'only' measure up at around 24L + pockets (see images in link above).

Knowing this matters when choosing your soft bags and especially when comparing them to rigid box capacities. Having used Zegaflex and Monsoon and Andyz and Oxford in recent years (as well as close inspection of other products and several others in the preceding decades), I've just come off a 3000-mile trip using AS Mags with my own mounting system (similar to Kriega plates). For my sort of riding and prefs they are the best thing out there; like much improved Steel Ponys. Walter really did think it through without any unnecessary flourishes. 'Security' is the main reason overland riders give for being put off soft bags, and only Mags attempt to address this, even if actual theft is rare the Pacsafe cables can help secure any soft bag.

£350 may be a lot for a 'Cordura throwover', but your baggage is a key component of a long overland journey.

Ch

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Hi Chris - Did we miss each other at Overland Expo? I'm curious to know how many times you have had gear stolen off your bike, or you have had someone cut it or attempt to steal it? Security does seem to be a major concern for moto travelers, which is why we incorporated a cable lock pass-through in our Great Basin Saddlebag, but in five years, we've heard only one account of a bag being taken off a bike. I'd like to quantify the security reality vs. perception. Cheers, Harold

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Giant Loop Moto

Build your own panniers made easy

There are two aspects to this ...

Firstly, as Chris mentioned, there is a perception amongst those who havent yet ridden with soft luggage (and lets be clear, as purveyors of soft luggage we are rowing in the same direction) that soft luggage lacks security. Introducing security can overcome that and introduce a new wider pool to the wisdom (not to mention sporty athleticism) that soft luggage conveys upon its owner.

Secondly, while I have not had anything stolen off the bike, despite riding across about 70 countries in the last 20 years with assorted other forms of soft luggage, a large part of that is because of the precautions I needed to take every evening if I stayed in a populated area. I had to remove the luggage off the bike each night, schlep it up to a hotel room (often making a muddy mess in the process) and refit it every morning. With the Magadan bags, I leave them locked on the bike each night, just taking off my small rear Ortlieb rack bag containing a few clothes, toiletries and laptop - leaving all the camping gear, spare parts, tools, medical kit and other clothes locked soundly on the bike in the Magadan bags. On this last trip, I would literally stop the bike in front of a hotel (on the nights we stayed at a hotel), and my luggage was done in 15 seconds - just two rok straps to clip off and my back bag was over my shoulder and walking up the stairs to reception. The only other task upon stopping for the day (also about 15 seconds) was to chain up the bike to a post or to Terry's bike.

So what that increase in luggage security (knowing they are both locked shut and locked to the bike) has allowed me to do, is save time, effort and daily aggravation, and significantly increase convenience. That also consequently increases available riding time and range each day as less time is wasted in daily packing and unpacking. In doing that, it increases the efficiency of the entire process. More time riding, less time schlepping bags around and fitting, refitting, unfitting luggage daily. Not to mention less time worrying about your gear.

Certainly, you can keep the probability of having stuff stolen low while you check into a roadside Ukrainian hotel for the night with normal soft luggage, if you take all the necessary precautions of taking all your luggage off the bike and into the hotel. But on a 3-6 month trip thru the 3rd world, thats a lot of every day faffing about that could be saved (sometimes in the cold, sometimes in the rain, sometimes in freezing rain)- your tent, sleeping bag, cooker, spare parts, tools etc dont need to go with you into the hotel every night, and thus lockable soft bags equals the "security convenience" of hard boxes (being able to leave much of your stuff locked on the bike) - but with the far superior "riding convenience" of the soft luggage format.

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That's the beauty of GL gear. 3 straps and its ready to chuck on your shoulder. Currently it's just either just to small or ginormous. I would also prefer quick release buckles with straps to leave on the bike like some Wolfman gear.

Some hotels you can either feel safe to just grab some clothes and toiletries and leave the rest on the bikes if you park it cleverly like in the lobby. Others you can be confident that those muddy bags are the cleanest thing in the room or hotel it self.

Before all this talk about supposed 'security' makes people run back to boxes or cables or meshes, I would invite people to have a look in the shaft of their favorite pad lock to look at that tiny little brass locking wedge that slides into the u-bolt. Then grab any rock to knock the lock off.

A hotel room or good and trusty set of eyes (hotel with valet, inside a hotel lobby, outside a guarded police station, or embassy, or anywhere that would expose people that look with their hands not their eyes) are the best 'security' you can have. And even that isn't full proof. So why worry about it.

That can be said for either the curved hasp tabs or padlocks on many hard boxes too (see p89 in the book). It's more about discouraging opportunists - far more common than outright ransacking.

As you and Walter explain, baggage security is mostly about acting appropriately, but that preventative behaviour and associate aggro gets a bit of a drag on a long trip which is why addressing it is worthwhile.

While I am pretty blasé too and agree the fear of theft and all the other commonly assumed risks of overlanding in the AMZ are overstated (especially once you gain some street wisdom), it's still extremely inconvenient to have your stuff pinched - and the consequent days of stewing are bad for morale. On a bike it's not like you have much to spare.
Last year I had what added up to a galling £800 worth of gear lifted off my bike by the crew on a ferry to Morocco. I've never lugged my gear upstairs on any ferry in all my years, but will do so on that route from now on.

I actually think the 'end of the day' scenario described by you and Walter is an easy one to deal with. Especially in an urban setting get it out of sight and/or bring it in.

Leaving the bike in daytime in populated places is a more fitting example of moto security nags - especially when alone. Wandering off to admire a scenic waterfall or going shopping in a vibrant market.
I am sure lots of us have experienced: 'well I'd like to leave the bike and check out the temple over the hill but those two geezers look a bit dodgy'.
Like you say, hiring a minder can work, but in any case I'd feel better with a pacsafe wrapped around my twaron-lined Mags and obviously carry my valuables with me.


Getting back to the OP, there is a comparative review of soft bags in the current issue 16 of ABR.
Doesn't look like they actually used them as they did with hard boxes a couple of years back, but the selection is pretty comprehensive. Magadans quite rightly (IMO) scored top.

On that subject, before I left the US a mate was assessing Ortlieb's Speedbag and Moto Saddlebags. I recall we all got a bit excited about Speedbags here on HUBB when they came out a while back - until their capacity became evident. I still think a Speedbag shape with 50% more volume would make an inexpensive overlanding bag, though the fabric is pretty thin.

This could be a red herring but I noticed the (US sourced) Saddlebags (but not the Speedbags) he had had two small holes in the sides. They didn't look accidental and their only function I presume was to allow air to escape while rolling up, though it's not mentioned in the Ortlieb blurb and I can't say that's ever been difficult to do. But if I was buying a pair of these I'd prefer a set without holes, though they'd be easy enough to glue up.

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

I think those holes are supposed to be used to mount the internal stiffeners.

I scrapped mine, and years later read the instructions for the first time with a 'duh' as they said to screw the stiffeners in...