On the last couple bikepacking trips I've done, I tried out a couple new products from Rogue Panda - the updated Picketpost seat bag and the Kaibab mini panniers.
First the Picketpost. I wanted one seat bag that would work for my three different bikes, and my previous seat bag would bottom out, esp. on my fat tire bike, so I started looking around for other solutions. I had a few accessory bags from RP that I was impressed with, so I decided to take the plunge on a seat bag as well. I was pretty curious about the design of this bag, both because of it's 'anti-sway' features and the fact that it is designed for higher clearance.
As with everything else I've used and seen from RP, the construction and attention to detail is excellent on the Picketpost. With the ability to expand from 6-13 liters of capacity, the bag has all the room I would ever need or want in a seat bag. As you can see in the pic, the shape of the bottom of the bag and the angle that it sits at when installed, offer plenty of rear tire clearance (no problem on my fattie either).
The first trip I took this seat bag on provided plenty of opportunity to assess how much the bag would sway when loaded. Long, steep descents on loose, rocky, rutted jeep trails will quickly let you know how well a seat bag is going to ride. The Picketpost combines a plastic stiffener sheet on the bottom of the bag with two straps that attach to the seatstays of the bike, along with a more vertical design that utilizes the length of the seatpost and the seat more effectively for structural rigidity than some other seat bags I've seen and used. This simple and straightforward solution works great, and if there was any sway happening, I certainly didn't notice it, no matter how rough things got, and the person riding behind me said that they couldn't see it moving at all. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the Picketpost and would recommend it to anyone.
On to the Kaibab panniers. For certain longer trips, where I'm really just touring on dirt roads and mild/moderate terrain, I wanted to try out a minimal rear rack/pannier option. To be honest, I've never been much of a fan of racks and panniers for dirt touring (for a number of reasons that are probably self-explanatory), but I was intrigued by the idea of the Kaibabs, since they are small (10L each), simple and designed to ride well on rougher terrain.
I put 100 miles on them over the course of three days last weekend, with 7600' of climbing. I was expecting the entire ride to just be a variety of roads, from a little pavement to a lot of gravel and two-track, which most of it was. But then we did some unplanned stretches on rougher singletrack, which allowed me to really put this system to the test in conditions beyond which I actually expecting to use them.
The extra capacity and ease of packing with the Kaibabs was really nice. Essentially two simple, heavy-duty dry bags that I could just stuff with gear, roll up the closure, and ride. However, it's the strap system that really makes these panniers shine in my opinion. With large and sturdy rear velcro attachments for securing to the rack, and additional compression straps that can be cranked down over the entire load (three straps per side, if needed), the Kaibabs truly are designed for handling rougher terrain better than any other option like this that I'm aware of.
At the end of the day, the Kaibabs are still a pannier, despite their great design and increased off-road capabilities. When I got on steep, rocky singletrack with some good drops, etc, I could feel them moving around a bit behind me, though this very well could have also been the rack (Blackburn 'Central') more so than the panniers. At those rare times, I was wishing I had the Picketpost instead, but in fairness, this was unplanned terrain that was beyond what I ever really intended the Kaibabs for anyway. And to be clear - for dirt roads and moderate singletrack, they were no issue at all. For the rest of the tour (98% of it), the Kaibabs worked really well, and my riding companions were a little envious of the added space and ease of packing. For longer tours where you want a little extra capacity, on terrain that doesn't get too crazy, I think the Kaibabs are a great option. I would also like to experiment with them mounted on a beefier rack and see if that changes things. And I can definitely see them being perfect on my fat bike for winter tours.
Between these two great options, I'm well covered for just about any terrain I'm going to tour on. Rogue Panda's designs are simple, rugged and exceptionally well made in Flagstaff, Arizona. I would recommend them to anyone.
