Kriega US20 & 30 Dry Bags

Make: Kriega (www.kriega.com)

Model: US Dry Bag series (20 & 30ltr)

Price: £75 & £95 respectively

Verdict: 5 out of 5

Heading off on a journey that would take me over 70,000 miles around the world, over an almost 14 month period, I needed luggage that would last and do the job. I initially tried the Oxford kit as I didn’t want hard panniers, and I’d had an Oxford tank bag previously. However after using their new ‘roll top’ kit for about 4 weeks constantly through the winter, in and out of London on the daily commute, the seams were fraying, the rain would get in, and the zips came off. Nope, this stuff just wouldn’t do.

A chance phone call with Kriega immediately had them offering to supply their top of the range ‘US-Dry Bag’ series for the trip. Within days it arrived and I was blown away by the quality right out the packaging. I’ve got to admit, I always thought Kriega was a German company, but it’s actually British, made right here in Blighty.

After testing it on the bike for a few months in the lead up to my initial departure, way back in October 2012, I was satisfied that this kit was up to the task. It looks great, feels quality, and just fits together effortlessly. All the bags in the US-Dry series are interchangeable and come in 5-30ltr capacities. I took 4x20ltr and 1x30ltr bags used in the following sequence.

Tailpack:

Kriega tailpack setup – 2x20ltr + 1x30ltrs

I initially left with 3x20ltr and 1x30ltr packs making up my tailpack. But halfway across Russia, after snapping the rear subframe on the bike for the 3rd time, I really went to town minimising my kit, which resulted in one of the 20ltr bags being redundant.

Kriega tailpack setup – 70ltr combined capacity in this setup. Enough to travel the world!

Each bag has it’s own removable waterproof lining, meaning you can take them out and wash, either by hand or in a machine, keeping them nice and fresh. The bags each follow the same ‘roll-top’ closing feature, held in-situ by high quality, heavy duty plastic fasteners. Despite me crashing numerous times on my trip around the world, some at speed, others just tumbling down rocky paths down mountain sides, the clips held fast.

Fitting is easy

The heavy duty stitching used throughout each bag means the holding straps are as secure as you will ever need. When I first left, the combined weight of the 3x20ltr and 1x30ltr bags was over 60kg! I had these strapped together to form one big bag, carried by the shoulder strap provided with the larger 30ltr bag. The weight of this eventually caused a small tear in the outer black canvass of the 30ltr bag, but due to the inner white lining, the waterproof attribute was never effected.

Fitting is simple, using the supplied grey straps you simply secure these around the tail portion of your bikes actual frame. Using the supplied black straps with each bag, you simply hook the high quality metal ‘C-hooks’ into the loop at the end of each grey strap, clip the other end into the buckle on the bag, tighten and your bag is now secured to the bike. You can then use a similar method to secure each additional US-Dry bag to this main bag, thus securing the whole system to the bike. You needn’t worry about it coming off either, as I tested this setup to speeds of over 160mph and it stuck fast.

Tankbag:

Tankbag system

The actual bag is just a US-Dry bag of whatever size you wish, in my case a US-20. It’s secured to the bike via the ‘Tank Strap’ system that is essentially a soft backed strap which is secured around the bike’s headstock at the front, and self-adhesive Velcro straps to the rear. The bag is then secured to this strap on top of your tank by the black straps supplied with each bag, which hook into loops incorporated into the top of the tankstrap. Ingenious!

Again I’ve tested this to speeds exceeding 160mph without issue, the only gripe being there is no transparent pocket in which to locate a map for reading whilst on the bike. Something the Oxford tankbags offer.

Overall:

In my opinion, there’s no soft luggage system out there that compares to Kriega kit in terms of quality and durability. It’s expensive, certainly, but each piece comes with a 10yr guarantee, so confident are Kriega in their own product and quality. It’s incredibly easy to fit, use and live with, it looks great on the bike, and has brilliant capacity for all the kit you’d ever need for your trip.

Check out www.kriega.com for the full range.

Looks: 5 out of 5

Practicality: 5 out of 5

Cost: 4 out of 5

Value for money: 5 out of 5