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spotter
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So, Restrap. lol, it's hilarious how fickle this forum is sometimes! @Ptown you should probably bear this in mind. But I do feel the need to defend Restrap a bit here...
Scoble I don't know where to start with this comment, you silly sausage :P
Panniers need racks, so that's not bike packing. Rack touring thread >>>>>>>>
Seven years ago (when you started this thread!) you said this about the Carradice bags:
I recently took delivery of a whole Restrap setup. Bar bag with food pouch, saddle bag - don't worry @edscoble it's an 8 litre, as personally I think these massive saddle bags defy the laws of physics - and a custom frame bag (pic attached).
I've only used it for one proper trip so far but I love it - everything is really well made, the finish is great, it works really well and looks nice too. I'd previously used some borrowed older Restrap kit and it feels like the products have evolved nicely over the years. The magnetic catches which attach the food pouch are neat and it all feels very thought through.
Note: They do not wobble and bounce!
Total cost of this (handmade in Yorkshire, with the maker's names on the tags) setup was £237 after forum discount. I'm off on another trip tomorrow and I reckon I'll get loads of use out of these bags, so I'd say that's pretty good value.
I looked at quite a lot of other brands, but couldn't find anything as nice or that worked how I wanted it to work (e.g. I ruled out Apidura and quite a lot of other bags quite quickly as you have to take the whole bag off the bike, which is slower and a faff IMO) and a lot were just fugly.
The only negative I've found so far is self-inflicted: I forgot to tell Restrap that my touring bike has a massive down tube, so the velcro straps only just reach. It's not totally ideal - you can see in the picture there's a gap at the top of the frame bag and that's why - and it could be modified if needs be, but I'll see how I get on.
I would genuinely be interested to know Ed what you think is better for the money. I think Restrap was right for me but of course it's all very subjective and it would be useful for others I'm sure...