Ultralite Vortex Waterproof Cycling Pannier

Excellent light weight panniers - exactly what we wanted for a cycle tour of Corsica. They are a bit of a fiddle to get on and off the bike - but with a bit of practice it becomes second nature. The velcro strap at the bottom of the pannier is a bit difficult to do up and could do with being a bit bigger to ensure it holds - but even on rough roads we rarely had to stop to refix them. The capacity was sufficient for our 2 week tour and stopped us taking things we didn't need - keeping the weight down to about 2.5kg per pannier. The panniers are soft which can lead to them rolling around the bottom of the rack - we fixed this with a simple cardboard insert adding about 50g but improving the rigidity to avoid contact with the spokes and helping the velcro straps hold. All in all a great light weight pannier saving 1.5kg compared to conventional panniers which made all the difference on the climbs !

Great panniers, roomy, easy enough to attach and detach and really lightweight.

It does what it says on the tin. They are ultralight. And are waterproof. But they are also smaller than I thought they’d be. The mounting system works in a 70s sort of way, but is only practical if you, say, have all the contents in a liner plastic bag which can be taken out of the pannier bag. Otherwise it’s 10 minutes of faff each time to take them off the bike. I will modify my ones by adding material to make them bigger and, although this adds a little weight, will probably add old Ortlieb mounts so they can be easily (dis)mounted.

Flaw 1: They can't be securely closed.
The roll-top will inevitably unroll and water will seep in quite easily. The middle strap is the only means of keeping the bag closed, but it only holds down the rolled part without keeping it in place. Also because of the way the bag is folded (which is enforced by seams), the ends of the roll aren't really protected (see pictures 1 and 4).

Flaw 2: The mounting system is built to fail.
It concentrates load on the lower end of the 45 degree seams(the left side can be seen in pic 2 where the strap dangles down from). It would have to be below the attachment point for the hook at the end of the straps and angled the other way to spread the load across the width of the seam.

I ordered these a while ago, unfortunately without realising these big flaws. The attachment system is obviously designed for light weight and fiddling with the straps would have been fine. But due to the described flaws I really can't recommend these.

Positive aspects: The material seems fine, lightweight but still durable. The welded seams and overall production quality seem fine. I had a nice communication about the flaws before returning them and the return handling was fast and unproblematic. I think with some design changes these could be really nice bags for a fair price

I use these daily to commute to work. They are fine for this but the velcro strap that attaches to the bike rack upright doesn't stay in place, so either flaps about or rattles against the spokes. The pannier also has a tendency to bounce around without this attachment working so I wouldn't want to use them for a big cycle with lots of kit. Would be perfect of they had a more secure attachment.

Light, simple, waterproof. It's only, what I'm searching for. I am riding the bags at the Front of my Big Bro

excellent product, light weight with good fastening, good waterproof fabric, well constructed - but should have been £10 cheaper

Light, versatile panniers very tough material for the weight. Used on a recent tour of Finland and Sweden. My only complaint is the rack fitting system, no clips just webbing straps that loop into a material slot is very fiddly and nail breaking. I suspected the seaming attaching the fitting straps might
break, but they held good. If I had left the panniers on every night it might have been easier, as it wasn't quick release!

Light, bigger than you’d expect. The attachment looks like it won’t hold on but it’s been great so far.