My .02 (two cents) on this topic is that each on his own, but the soft bags and hard bags have their own advantages and disadvantages and what suits you this trip, maybe the next one will not.
I will not come with arguments like "even Ted Simon ditched the hard bags for soft bags". Well, it may be true but he had hard bags too. There are some fanatics out there who swear by one or the other and try to convince the rest of the world that they are right.
Let's look again at them but unlike all the forums I have seen just giving a list, I will also talk a bit from my experience.
Soft bags pros:
- light: no one can argue this aspect, it is true, they are the champions of lightness. If this is at the top of your list then you have a winner.
- they tend to survive better in a crash: true and false. If the bike just falls yes, it is true, but if the bike is moving you can say hello to ripped textile fabric. While it is true that with a needle you can repair your bags, I can also say that sometimes is not possible. Where a hard luggage will be just dent, you ended up with a ripped soft bag.
- (if) they are waterproof: false and depends, weatherproof is a more suitable word. Even the best material, with a "waterproof" inner-bag (which is not a plastic bag) will become moist after driving for 12 hours through heavy rain. It is a fabric it has texture, you drive with speed and the wind is blowing, somehow the water particles will find a way through the texture. Maybe the core of the luggage will be still dry but the clothes close to the bag will be moist. For this god gave us the thick garbage plastic bags. They keep all the water out.
- easy to put on the bike: true. Depending on the system, if they come with a rack or you just toss them over the saddle, you can have more trouble putting them or no trouble at all, but it is easier than any hard bag.
- the size can vary: true and very useful, being textile can modify a bit the shape to accommodate things inside, and in some models you can put even more stuff inside so they become a bit taller.
Soft bags cons:
- easy to steal from: in general is true BUT you can still use a bit of basic anti theft material. Depending on the model you can use a small lock or some extra cable locks to wrap the luggage. It is true that any idiot with a knife can cut the bag and grab whatever comes in his hand. And one special mention is that they are prone to rather opportunistic thieves which usually destroy more to steal less.
- in case of a fall the content is not at all protected: very true, unless you carry some hard cases in a soft bag but this will not be the case. If you have just clothes then is no problem, if you have electronics, glass or whatever breakable things, there is a bigger chance that you can kiss them goodbye if you land on them.
- if is not a safer area you need to carry them with you even if you stop for an hour: true. They can be more easily taken from the bike by some other people which are not your friends, by the way.
- you can be tempted to take useless stuff just because you can fit it inside: true. Although no one talks about this, the fact that they are more flexible in sizing can tempt you to take more than you need. Been there, done that! You end up with a heavy motorcycle, just because you can put more things in the bags.
Hard bags pros:
- make you look almost as awesome as Ewan McGregor: true. But keep in mind that you are just almost. Hell yeah, they give you the ADV look you see at every Touratech event, every weekend warrior has them on the bike.
- secure and anti theft: true and false. Well is true because in theory it is more safer than a textile bag, if most of the producers wouldn't fit such shitty locks which come anyways at an extra price ... ten times more than they cost. But hey, you have almost the awesome look. Is false because of all the shitty locks they fit and how they fit it. Every Cro-Magnon with more muscle than brain will pop that shit open in a jiffy with a stronger screw-driver. If not the lock but the cheap rivets will pop out anyways. And let's not forget that the aluminium box wall thickness is usually 1.5mm so ...
- waterproof: true. With the assumption that the box has sealed rivets and a good sealing gasket for the cover and you do not consider them submarines. I had no moist in my box even after two full days or riding in rain. I was soaked to the bone but my beer bottle remained dry ....
- can withstand a fall: usually. Depending on the make and how thick is the wall, you have good chances to see them surviving a fall, but being scarred ... aluminium tends to scratch easy.
- if they are bent you can do your justice with a rock: depends. In theory you can reshape a box back to the original shape, at least to finish your journey. But for the price you pay ....
- contents are well protected: depends. As long as your box does not alter its shape too much, the contents will not suffer, or at least not all of them.
Hard bags cons:
- heavy: soooo true. This is the numero uno of the cons. They are really heavy. Well ... maybe 3 Kg per box you say is ok ... but 3 + 3 = 6. And the more bullet proof they are, the thicker the walls, heavier the box.
- the shape of the box can't be changed to fit the content: true. I always use socks and undies to fill the gaps and still I fight to adapt to a rectangular box.
- if it breaks on the road you got yourself an issue: true. As long as you are not a superman, you can't weld with your eyes or with a needle.
- shiny pray for the first league aspiring thieves: true. Because so many of the "true ADV" riders can't help to haul a MacBook to process their photos taken with their professional grade DSLR with professional grade lenses ... which will be uploaded with the existing internet connection from the middle of nowhere ... Well because of them every aspiring thieve thinks that in those shiny boxes there is a treasure in worth of some thousand euros just waiting for them to pop the box open. They do not expect dirty socks though.
There is another option of hard bags .... the plastic ones. They share almost the same issues with their relatives of aluminium family. While they are cheaper, and easy to "weld", they fall also in the heavy weight category.
When to use what:
My rule of thumb is that if I can travel light, do not expect to let the bike and the luggage unattended, do not expect falls which will crash my stuff .... I go for the soft bags. I have a soft spot for them.
If I expect shabby areas and shady characters, one or two falls with valuable content in the luggage, or I need to let the bike and the luggage unattended .... I go for hard boxes.
Other than that ... I ripped my soft luggage just because I did not paid attention when passing through a narrow gate. Would have been just a scratch on the aluminium one. And I scratched them (yes textile can still be "scratched") in a tight curve when I touched the corner of a house .... yes very strange parking spot and I was too lazy.
For the aluminium ones ... since my bike is practically a dildo on wheels .... because of the vibrations, the content inside the box started to "eat" the walls. And there is more vibration on the aluminium panniers as in the soft bags, so I always have to account for that and pack accordingly.
Which one is better?!?! Both and none! I use them on a "what do I need in this trip" base. Today I am with the ADV awesomeness, well almost as awesome, and tomorrow I go with the soft bag because it fits my needs of the day.
I hope you can make your own tests and decide when to use which. It is true that for some of us is expensive to have aluminium boxes, for that I work from Monday to Friday ... so is expensive but not luxury price tag. I do not invest in my car so instead of driving a 50.000+ EUR car I drive just a 2000 EUR car so I can afford to buy stuff for my motorcycle trips, and I am lucky to have both types of luggage.
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