A Love Letter to Kriega Gear
I’ve a priority this may increasingly study like a paid industrial. Actuality is, though, I bought all my Kriega gear with my very personal money – save my US30 bag, which Kriega despatched to me after I despatched them an effusive e-mail about how quite a bit I like the company’s merchandise and promising to utilize the baggage on my avenue journey to Prague. What I didn’t inform Kriega, in reality, is that I may need bought that bag anyway. The stuff is that good.
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In full, I’ve six objects of Kriega baggage: the beforehand reviewed R 20 backpack, a useful Kriega harness pocket, and numerous sizes of the US assortment of drybag – a US10, two US20s, and the aforementioned US30.
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As most interesting I can inform (some baggage lack “made in” tags), the whole gear is made in Vietnam (No. 140 on the Democracy Index). That’s my solely bitch in regards to the product. Kriega is a British agency and the grumpy earlier man in me need to see its merchandise made nearer to accommodate, nevertheless, hey, we dwell in a world financial system and it’s doable capitalism will lastly accomplish what French and American troopers on no account may.
The gear ain’t low value – with the smallest measurement, a US5, setting you once more £55 and the US30 costing £119 – nevertheless I genuinely suppose it’s positively definitely worth the money. Furthermore, the gear is so sturdy that it’s fully acceptable to buy secondhand off eBay, as I did for a number of of my baggage.
What’s Good
My give attention to this text is on the simple and helpful US assortment of drybags. The company’s totally different most important baggage line (that isn’t backpacks) is the additional rugged, costlier, nevertheless a lot much less versatile OS assortment. The “light pannier” OS system choices baggage that preserve their kind and could possibly be linked to a motorcycle’s pannier rack via a backboard-like mount. It seems to be like a kick-ass system, and if I’ve been considering an actual round-the-world tour I’d most probably take into consideration the OS baggage, nevertheless I uncover the US assortment of bags to be further broadly useful for my capabilities.
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The US bag is definitely solely a roll-top dry bag. No inside pockets or compartments – merely liters of home by which to stuff points. You’ve most probably guessed that the amount throughout the title of a bag corresponds to the liters of home obtainable; eg, a US20 affords 20 liters of storage. Externally, there are pockets on all sides of the bag. Neither are waterproof, as a result of the bag’s waterproofing ingredient is equipped by a removable/washable liner.
In and of itself, the US bag couldn’t sound all that spectacular. I indicate, a US20 costs £99, whereas an equally waterproof 22-liter Ortlieb dry bag costs decrease than £15. Nevertheless the Ortlieb undoubtedly gained’t preserve up as correctly in a crash and it doesn’t embody the Kriega’s easy and reliable strap system.
The system contains two sorts of strap: 4 physique straps and 4 hook straps. The physique straps, as a result of the title implies, are secured to 1 factor protected – physique rails beneath the seat, an tools rail (as I did with the Harley-Davidson Avenue Bob), or, while you’ve acquired a Triumph Tiger Explorer/1200, on the designed-for-Kriega-straps anchor elements beneath the passenger hand rails. No devices are needed, till you’re meticulous – by which case you’ll desire a pair of scissors to trim and tidy further strappage. Considered one of many selling elements of the US baggage (along with most light baggage) is the actual fact you don’t have to mount ugly {{hardware}}, like pannier rails; though, it is most probably most interesting to think about the physique straps as a semi-permanent addition, merely for ease. On the end of each physique strap is a loop to which the hook strap… uhm… hooks.
On the alternative end of the hook strap is the “male” end of a side-release buckle (aka, parachute buckle, aka snap-fit buckle, aka trident buckle), which connects to the “female” ends on the exact bag. Considered one of many benefits of the Kriega system is that you’d be capable of sometimes forego the physique strap and simply use the hook straps in case your bike has passenger rails.
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That is among the many causes I’ve fallen in love with Kriega baggage, in fact. As anyone who’s lucky enough to test journey bikes I’m sometimes overlaying distances on a moto that isn’t my very personal – a moto that I don’t want to make eternal and even semi-permanent changes to. The Kriega life-style permits me to do journey with these bikes.
The hook straps – along with loops on the baggage themselves – moreover imply you may be part of the baggage to 1 one other. This suggests you could offer you as-much-as-you-need combination applications, like I did on my journey to Prague (US30+US20+US20+US10=80 liters of storage). The applications don’t require additional physique straps or the like – you merely protected one bag, then join all others to that anchor merchandise.
The straps are sturdy enough that I’ve ridden for prolonged distances in further of 100mph with out having to readjust the bags. To that end, the system is sturdy enough that I throw fastened-together baggage onto the airport scales to perform a single merchandise of bags.
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I’ve been using Kriega US baggage for lots of years now and have had them with me when utilizing by way of circumstances which were the undoing of any number of supposedly waterproof jackets, pants, boots, and gloves, nevertheless I’ve on no account had an issue with these baggage.
There are a number of advantages to light baggage. One among which is that it’s considerably lighter. That’s good every on and off the bike. Off the bike, even cleverly detachable cases with handles – like these obtainable for the Ducati Multistrada 950 – could possibly be awkward to carry into your typical European resort. They usually’re full ache throughout the ass to try to hump by way of the slender hallways of an in a single day ferry (Correct now there’s a reader in Topeka or the like pondering, “European lodging? In a single day ferries? What the hell?” nevertheless hey, man, that’s my actuality).
Using light baggage is further versatile – a modular system identical to the Kriega US assortment means you can solely carry the bags you need, considerably than using a 40-liter aluminum pannier to carry spherical a bottle of water and baseball cap. And they also’re cheaper. Kriega’s in regards to the prime of the highway by way of light baggage nonetheless it nonetheless costs a whole hell of somewhat quite a bit decrease than even basically essentially the most moderately priced laborious case set-up.
What’s Not So Good
You probably can guess among the many drawbacks to Kriega gear – drawbacks that present themselves in any light baggage state of affairs. Firstly, the stuff in your baggage isn’t as well-protected from theft. How quite a bit you concern the rest of the world will play a component in how doable you suppose such an element really is, though.
I don’t really concern. With the modular nature of Kriega stuff, I put my helpful points (eg, laptop computer laptop) in a single bag that I throw over my shoulder and take with me if I’m going to be away from the bike for any prolonged timeframe. If I’m stopped for lunch, say. I don’t concern in regards to the totally different baggage; all a thief would get in that state of affairs might be dirty laundry.
In case you’re a person who commutes and leaves his/her helmet/gear in laborious cases all through the day, though, Kriega baggage clearly aren’t for you. Similar goes for the one who’s carrying a passenger. Or, at least, that’s the case with the US assortment of bags, which usually take up the passenger seat.
The most important draw back to Kriega stuff is that should you’re notably meticulous particular person, like me, it could nicely take a while to get each little factor juuuuuuust correct sooner than setting off for the day. On the journey to Prague it sometimes took me half-hour to set each little factor exactly as I most well-liked it, tucking the excess straps of the baggage just so. I didn’t ideas since there’s no should readjust straps by way of the day. Moreover, I didn’t need to try this; most totally different vacationers may need had the baggage on in beneath 5 minutes (finally, it was solely a sequence of clicking collectively 16 buckles and pulling taut 16 straps). Nevertheless I am not most totally different vacationers. I would like points exactly as I want them or they’ll bug me all day.
So, in case you’ve acquired the an identical type of psychological sickness, you’ll should assemble throughout the additional time important to make points look good. Whereas laborious baggage would imply you may stuff points in and overlook them until you arrived at your trip spot.
Nonetheless…
I’ve every Kriega baggage and clunky aluminum panniers at my disposal as baggage decisions. I exploit the panniers after I journey to an airport and it’s helpful to depart my gear “in” the bike. The least bit totally different cases, nonetheless, I rely upon the Kriega US baggage.
They’re my go-to choice for all the reasons listed above along with the reality that – by the character of their being on the seat behind me instead of hanging out on the side of the bike identical to the panniers – they make filtering easier and result in larger gas mileage due to a lot much less wind resistance.
As I discussed above, the gear is costly nevertheless you could avoid among the many worth by trying to find out good second-hand examples. Even when it is necessary to pay full price it’s positively definitely worth the money. Reliable, helpful, and durable as hell, I sometimes actually really feel I’m doing the baggage a disservice by not pointing my bike in direction of the daybreak and launching proper right into a round-the-world journey.
