Comments on: Exactly how big is soft baggage?

By: Comparison: Adv Spec Magadan; Enduristan Monsoon, Kriega Overlander, GL Siskiyou - Page 3 - Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:50:59 +0000

[…] invalid when comparing with rigid boxes which do have a fixed l x h x w. Full story here: Exactly how big is soft baggage? | Adventure Motorcycling Handbook […]

By: Chris S

Chris S — Sat, 25 May 2013 22:27:28 +0000

Well I do say “… the maxed-out 40L capacity … is unlikely to be achieved in the real world of packing your panniers with normal travel stuff.” I never claim it to be useable volume, just a maximum potential.

By: Doug P

Doug P — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:47:03 +0000

A cube with sides of length 1 meter has a volume of 1 m³. If you could form that into a sphere of circumference 4 meters, you’d have a volume of 1.08 m³. So about a 10% increase. In your Magadan water test you’re seeing about a 65% increase (24 to 40). So yes, making the sides bulge increases the volume, less or more depending on the original shape. But I still think that it’s a cheesy way to advertise usable volume. It’d be rare for a sensible person to ride with the sides bulged out to the max. Perhaps a realistic metric might be to add 15-20% to the volume calculated from L*W*H. From a math geek (and the guy who questioned the GL volume claims on advrider).

By: Chris S

Chris S — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:42:32 +0000

In the table above I have only compared panniers I have actually owned and used (#1, 2, 4), owned by friends (3), or lent a set for review purposes (5). In other words I have owned and used most of them on motorcycle travels.
I have owned but never got to use Ortlieb QL2 and have never seen Wolfman RMs (tho may do this weekend). I have seen a set of Wolfman Expeditions – tough vinyl construction but way too small for the type of travel I write about.

By: Aleksander Bednarczyk

Aleksander Bednarczyk — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:08:51 +0000

I’m missing the Ortlieb panniers and Wolffmann too in your comparison.