Thomas, one of the best product reviews I've ever read! Thanks for putting the time into doing that!
On Sun, Apr 5, 2009 at 9:32 AM, Thomas Lynn Skean < thomaslynnsk...@comcast.net> wrote: > > Hi. > > Context: > > I've been using my SaddleSack Large as a commuting bag for the past > two weeks. For me it has worked out very very well. I have a 3-5 mile > bike ride followed by a 45 minute train ride, followed by a 5 minute > walk. I often change to office clothes on the train. > > The SaddleSack Large holds a *lot* of stuff. While riding, I use it to > carry my office clothes, breakfast (I eat it on the train), coffee > thermos (see VO), water bottle, lunch (which often makes it all the > way to work before I eat it), extra clothes (for temperature drops), > and "stuff-to-do" on the train. Sometimes the "stuff" is a book, > sometimes some small project of some kind. Importantly, the bag is big > enough to hold the clothes I wear to ride my bike (during which time > *I* wear the office clothes). This enables me to change on the train. > Riding clothes take up over twice the space of office clothes during > the winter. Note that I ride in my office shoes, covered with > something if indicated. (Pedal Free Or Die!:) Grip Kings Or Bust!:) > The bag doesn't have to carry any shoes. It does sometimes carry my > jacket if the temperature rises. All of this goes in the main > compartment. The side pockets have bike-y things (straps, a few tools, > etc.) and thus are not really involved in the typical day. The front > pockets carry gloves (in one pocket) and a balaclava (in the other). > The snap-on outer pockets carries wallet, keys, a multi-tool, change, > etc. > > It's important to note that I am large (6' 1", 250lbs+, only the Jumbo > wool from RBW comes close to fitting me) so the fact that the > SaddleSack Large holds all of this stuff is significant. Big people > use big clothes. And take more food. So when I say it carries my > clothes and food, I mean it carries a substantial amount of clothes > and food. More than you may be envisioning. > > I'd say loaded the loaded bag weighs about 15 lbs on a typical day. > (Previously I used an Arkel Tail Rider with an Ostrich pannier to > carry mostly the same stuff; but it was hard to do the change-on-train > thing that way.) > > I use the Nitto Saddlebag Grip on and off the bike with my SaddleSack. > I've low-overlap wrapped it in cork tape for some cushion. It works > well for me, though it is not as nice a handle as a purpose-built > handle would be. > > > Summary: I love it > > > Pros: (a short list of short descriptions of overwhelmingly positive > aspects) > > It's pretty (I was actually, seriously, stopped by a woman to point > out that she liked what she tentatively called my "briefcase".) > > It is extremely easy to load and unload for 99% of stuff (see > "Cons:"). > > Though it rained moderately on some of my rides with it, none of my > stuff in it gotten wet. (It's much more meaningful to say this than to > get into a discussion of "waterproof" vs. "water-resistant"). > > For me, the organization of it is perfect (daily things in main > compartment, regular things in outer pockets, the separate pouch). > > > Cons: (a short list of longer descriptions of negative but > substantially less important-to-me aspects) > > It is not a great thing to carry while walking. It isn't balanced and > is too wide. That's okay for me; I'm not taking on any hikes, urban or > otherwise. If I were planning on walking with it for very long at all, > I'd contemplate the Medium or something else entirely (the Arkel Tail > Rider worked surprisingly well for this, as does an Ostrich pannier). > > It does not have a good place to attach a shoulder strap. If I had a > 10 minute walk in stead of 5, I would have already modified it to have > reasonable shoulder strap mounting. As it is, I am planning to do that > soon. I tried using the lowest set of D rings (below the buckle for > main compartment flap) to hold the shoulder strap. This actually > popped a rivet of the leather holding that strap. So don't do that. > When I thought about it (probably should have done that *before* I > tried to use it this way), it's obvious that those D rings were *not* > intended to be pulled *away* from the bag (as I was) but *along* the > bag (as one would do to strap something to the outside of the bag). > So, while one might suggest that means the bag is not as robust as a > bag of its cost should be, I would disagree. (I intend to replace the > rivet myself, as a "small project" done on the train.) I'll create > another thread with the story of my shoulder strap work when (if?) > I've done it. Even with a shoulder strap attached optimally, it will > still not be a great thing to carry while walking. > > It does not have a ready way to attach it to a rack for daily on/off > use. (Zip-ties I'm sure are near perfect if you intend to leave it on > all the time or not use it very often.) I devised one that works for > me without sacrificing too much in the way of aesthetics or > practicality or money (and will explain in another thread, with > pictures even!). But it is still not as easy as the Arkel Tail Rider > or as something like the Trek "Interchange" click-it-in system. > > It bulges out in the middle if you stuff it (pretty minor; shocked! I > am to discover that if you stuff it, it bulges!). But it does seem to > bulge somewhat precariously in the middle, like perhaps something will > pop out (either contents or another rivet) unless you re-arrange > things. I actually have become confident that it only *seems* that way > in my moderate-to-heavy usage. The "tongue" flap works very well to > keep things from actually popping out. > > It can be tricky to get at small things stuffed way in the back. The > dowel/rod/whatever support in the top seems to impinge on one ability > to dig around back there without a little contortion. I have on two > occasions reached in and around inside a couple of times before > finally locking onto whatever it was I was looking for when it was > small and shoved way into the back and riding high on a pile of other > stuff. This is amongst scores of occasions of getting something out. > It is a result of some portion of the back being "closed" from the top > (i.e. the main compartment's opening doesn't extend all the way to the > back of the bag). > > So.... > > I intend to use this bag as I do now whenever I need the capacity > (which is probably 8 months out of the year plus a few days during the > other 4). I intend to use it as "weekend visit" luggage so that I can > always have a way to carry something on my bike when I am on such > visits (I always take my bike). I really really like my SaddleSack > Large. > > I hope they make a SaddleSack Small. If they don't, or if it's too > different, I *may* end up getting a SaddleSack Medium for most days in > those other 4 months. The Medium looks like it would be easier to > carry with or without a shoulder strap. > > Yours, > Thomas Lynn Skean > > > > -- Cheers, David Redlands, CA --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
