Packing For Adventure with Robin Box

This entry is part 38 of 24 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #3

Packing for adventure Luggage – Part 2

A well set up bike with properly distributed luggage will be much easier to handle in tough going than one that is poorly balanced.

Dry bags usually strap across the back of the bike or on the seat, and overlap over on to the panniers.

Top boxes can be big and bulky, but are handy for extra storage.

Last issue we had a look at preparation for an adventure ride, the advantages and disadvantages of hard and soft luggage, and a few key considerations in selecting panniers for specific uses. This issue we’ll look at few other types of luggage, and when and where they might be appropriate.

Top boxes

Top boxes are very convenient for bulky or light items. It’s very important that you don’t put a lot of weight in them, as any weight behind the back axle has a counter levering effect on the bike’s handling. On tar roads there’s little or no noticeable effect, but once on looser surfaces it can become a real safety concern.

Many tank bags have a clear map pocket on top, and extend to allow more gear to be carried.

All top boxes have very clear weight limits on them. Stick to the recommended weight. The manufacturer has specified this for a good reason.

Top boxes are very convenient for storage of helmets and other light items, and give valuable extra storage space on your trip.

Our advice would be that if you are doing extended adventure touring, use the aluminium, adventure-style top box, particularly where rough surfaces will be encountered.

Top boxes typically have a capacity of between 25 litres and 40 litres.

Tank bags

Tank bags have been prominent on road bikes for a long time, but have found their way more and more into the adventure market, and the dirt bike and enduro bike scene, in recent times.

What a tank bag offers is a convenient spot to carry the things you want to grab quickly – cameras, goggles, phone, wallet, and so forth, and all within easy reach.

Most of them now have a clear map pocket on the top, and this is really beneficial and is one of the key things I look for in a tank bag. The little side pockets for earplugs, sunglasses and those types of things are very useful as well.

The dual-size bags that can extend are quite useful on bigger bikes, even if you don’t use it very often. You can also use the bags as a convenient spot to put light clothing, such as a microfleece jacket or wet-weather liner.

They need to be the type that strap on to the bike. You’d think that having a tank bag would be a major inconvenience for refuelling, but they have quick, detachable methods, and after a while you don’t even notice them. They’re certainly not an issue when it comes to rider comfort.

It’s worth noting that very few are 100-per-cent waterproof. To a point, they’ll cope well in wet weather, but the only way to make them fully waterproof is to have the waterproof cover that goes over them – and this also has the clear top, so you can still read your map in the wet. You must put the waterproof cover on before it rains, otherwise they’ll steam up and you won’t be able to read your map.

Zip care is also very important. Zips are usually the first item that gives you trouble, so treat them carefully.

Tanks bags range in price from around $180 to $450, and can have a capacity of anything from around four litres to about 26 litres.

A rain cover is essential for your tank bag in wet weather.

Dry bags

Attached to the back of your bike, dry bags are for the lightest or bulkiest items you need to carry, such as a tent or clothing for extended travel or camping. They usually strap across the back of the bike or on the seat, and overlap over on to your pannier system.

A good quality dry bag is important and the thickness of the fabric needs to be around 400gsm to 500gsm, and it must be waterproof with a roll-down top. Most have nice convenient straps and strapping points to tie down securely during travel.

They can also double as a duffle bag or, at a pinch, as a backpack.

Dry bags come in various sizes, but those around 45 litres to 50 litres work well and are certainly the most popular. The monster ones – 80 litres to 90 litres – are bigger than most people need, even though you can compress them.

On small bikes where you’re doing more serious adventure riding, the small dry bags, in the 30- to 35-litre range, are ideal because they’re light and take up less space.

Dry bags are also good in an accident, because if you fall off it’s unlikely the bag will get damaged.It will probably be the last thing to hit the ground, but they need to be very well strapped on.

The strap systems we use are ROK Straps, which are an Australiandesigned product and they just work.

They’re a really solid, durable brand, and are also very cost effective.

Dry bags will run at prices between around $150 to $200, while ROK Staps, depending on size, cost around $5.00 to $25. Dry bags are generally available in capacities from 30 litres to 90 litres.

Backpacks

Typically in adventure riding, you’ll want to reduce the weight you’re carrying. Backpacks are convenient and some people like them for short trips, but it’s nice to not have something on your back all the time.

Being lightweight and easy to transport, they can be used for shopping bags on long trips, without having to unpack your whole bag.

A backpack containing a hydration system can be an essential item in hot weather, enabling you to sip some fluid on the run without having to stop.

The convenience of a backpack is handy, but use it for the convenience only, not as one of the key parts of your luggage transport.

We suggest if you’re going to use a backpack, you choose one with a capacity no greater than 35 litres.

In conclusion

In the end, only you can know which luggage options will work best for you, and for the riding you’ll do. It will all depend on the wants, needs and budget of each individual rider.

Choose wisely, and you’ll enjoy your next big adventure.

In the next issue of Adventure Rider Magazine we’ll move onto clothing, and discuss the riding gear and clothes that you’ll need for your trip. We actually said we’d do that this issue, but there was still some luggage to discuss, so we’ll hold that over for next time.

The Adventure Travel Film Festival

We know we’re running a little late with this, but we only just found out about it.

Belitung Island Sunrise.

The Adventure Travel Film Festival is a stack of films about travelling the world and experiencing new cultures, people and places. There’s a stack of adventure movies, but we got all excited when we saw there’s a few motorcycle adventure movies being featured.

Begun in the UK three years ago, the Adventure Travel Film Festival is now a weekend festival founded by Brit adventurers Austin Vince and Lois Pryce.

Among the many diverse and dynamic film highlights of the 2014 festival are: African Odyssey which has four teenagers from New Zealand riding from Cape Town to London with no motorcycle experience and a borrowed camera, and a true classic The Omidvar Brothers.

In 1954 Issa and Abdullah Omidvar were in their twenties and growing restless in the suburbs of Tehran. The brothers ordered a couple of 500cc Matchless bikes and set off to see the world and make films about it. They shot incredibly sensitive, stand-alone anthropological documentaries about Eskimos, Amazonian cannibals, Polynesian islanders and much more.

African Odyssey