Backpack for tank or tail? Suggestions?
 

I like being able to grab my valuables when walking away from the bike. When I get to a destination I also like having a backpack for shopping, hiking or sightseeing.

I'm looking for a tank bag (preferably), slternatively a tail bag - that also converts into a GOOD backpack. It has to be a breeze to take on and off the bike, and to convert back and forth between backpack configuration and bike luggage configuration. It needs to be waterproof or have a rain cover. If a tank bag, it would be a great plus if it had a detachable waterproof map pocket. Then also a transparent window on the rain cover.

Does such a product exist?

I've been shopping for a tank bag with similar characteristics lately, except mine needed to be small (around 5L max) as its going on one of my smaller bikes and I just wanted something for paperwork, passports, etc - stuff I need to keep an eye on. The one think I learned is that there seems to be a million bags on the market and trying to choose between them made me realise quite how short life is.

In the end AliExpress got my money as their fake Givi offering ticked more of my boxes than anything else. It only converts into a shoulder bag rather than a rucksack and there's no see through on the rain cover, but for less than £20 I'll live with that. Some of the more serious 'western' offerings were so large I could probably have parked the bike in them when I stop in the evenings.

https://i.postimg.cc/52MtbvyP/tank-bag.jpg

On longer rides I keep my backpack inside of my soft luggage. It's a roll top soft luggage croissant bag by 21 brothers. Fairly fast to get it out if I need to.

On shorter rides I keep it on my back, also when exploring/walking around it's very handy to have a real backpack with you.

I have found that tank bags do not carry enough stuff, I still use one, but it's only for important papers & other small stuff that I might need on the bike. I leave it at the hotel/room wherever I am staying most of the time.

The big question I have is "how BIG" a backpack/tank bag/tail bag do you want? How much do you want to carry in it and for what purpose? Do you want a hydration pack built-in?

To me a tank bag is small, a tail bag is considerably bigger.
On trips I carry a pack I can hide in my fist it's so super small and light. Does a great job for carrying a day or two's groceries, or a little laundry.

I wear a 5 litre pack with a 3 litre hydration bag most of the time, unless Susan is on the back then we put the hydration bag in a pocket on top of the left saddlebag so we can share the water easily and gives her more room behind me.

For a small tank bag that converts to a WAIST bag I'm intrigued by this one:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/03...32253_800x.png

That's a Mosko Moto new product.


I already have their Pico tank bag on my dirt bag - it's ULTRA tiny - easily the smallest tank bag there is - holds my phone, wallet, Swiss army knife, a couple of granola bars, bike papers and uh well 'er that's about it. BUT it's perfect on my dirt bike - DRZ400E - as it's completely out of my way and holds the essentials:



https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/03...39613_800x.png
This might be what you're looking for:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/03...35613_800x.png

And there are lots more out there, varying prices from the previous posters £20 up to silly money.
For more suggestions, tell us more about what you want as I asked in the beginning :)

The Mosko Nomax, I came close to ordering it last year - but they were all sold out of the map pocket, so I decided to wait for it to get back in stock to save on the freight and customs clearance fees. I've never seen one IRL, and I'm having second thoughts. Although all the compartments helps keep things organized, my set up varies so much from ride to ride that I'm worried it that those compartments would make for too many constraints in terms of things I could do with it - like having a camera on the ready, or pulleing up to a street vendor to buy some fruit and a bottle of water and be able to just toss it inside and go. For this purpose having the Mosko Hoodie with one compartment seems like a much better option (can it be used as a backpack?).

When I need to leve my bike unsupervised for a short while, it would be nice if I could toss my tank bag on my back and take a stroll - without having to move my camera, papers, etc from another piece of luggage - with the rest of my lesser valuables "safely" locked in my alu panniers.

I don't need anything big. I also prefer having my most important valuables in front of me - in addition to the things I access often from the saddle.

I have contemplated getting one of those ultra compact backpacks that you can put in your pocket - which I guess could serve many other uses like you point out. I do sometimes carry s dry bag on the seat that can be used as a backpack - do maybe the Mosko would work just fine.

Water bladders is something I only use when I ride hard, straneous and fast - where stopping to drink from a bottle is not an option, but constant hydration is a must. For travel I find bladders more hassle than they are worth (just a personal thing). I prefer to stop every hour, get out of the saddle, take off my helmet, air out my jacket, adjust gear, take a photo.... and take a swig of a crisp bottle of water, and then quickly get back to riding again (making several consequitive 6-8-10 or even 12 hour days possible).

When carrying a water bladder I can't decide whether I prefer having it in the dedicated pocket in my jacket or on the bike. Having it on my bike is more comfortable, wheras having it on my body is more practical - i.e. when walking away from the bike. Anyhow, having a water pouch feature on my tank bag is not something I've ever missed - I've always found some way to rig it without too much trouble (but who knows, if I ever got to try such a bag?).

Maybe I ought to take another look at the various mosko options. I'm just wondering if there are some other great options out there. I do own one tail bag that converts into a decent backpack - but the whole process with the straps is just too enduring to make it even remotely convenient to switch between the two uses.