I have had a pair of "Bike-Packer Plus" bags for some time now, not quite the same as the "Sport-Packer Classics" you mentioned, but they are the same design, just larger (meant for rear instead of front) and with a little better material.
So I like a couple things about the Ortlieb Bike Packers - they have a small front pocket, they are mostly waterproof (but not like a back roller), and they can be over stuffed! The overstuffing comes from a second set of draw cords inside the bag that allow the vertical height to be increased by several inches. This works well for light and longer items and I have used this feature frequently when grocery shopping or bike camping. So I dislike a one thing about the Bike Packers as well - the ability to carry them off bike. I use an Ortlieb Bike Shopper as my daily bag for commuting. It's great because it has a simple zip closure and a really comfortable permanent handle to carry it off bike. Compared to the Bike Shopper the Bike Packer is a super pain to carry. You can either carry it by the release strap (not really the purpose) or you can carry it by using the shoulder strap. The should strap can be cinched short enough to carry by hand, but it's not as comfortable as the Bike Shopper handle. But the real drawback here is that the carry strap MUST be removed before cycling. There is no way to secure down the carry strap on the Bike Packer and it is extremely dangerous as it can catch in your spokes and cause a crash. I've read more than one account of this happening online, and I've personally left mine on and had it start to get tangled in my spokes - luckily I was rolling at a slow speed and stopped immediately. So here is where I'm at - the Bike Packer (or in your case, you're looking at the Sport Packer) is great for touring - it holds a ton and has a nice design on bike, but practically speaking it is not great for frequent carrying use. I am over the moon with my Ortlieb Bike Shopper for exactly your scenario - groceries. Note that I almost never zip closed the BIke Shopper, I just leave it open as a tub. It holds a normal paper grocery bag worth of groceries just fine if you keep it open, a little less if you try to zip it closed. Patrick in DC -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/0e23da6b-487f-48ea-9e19-446ee9ed5686%40googlegroups.com.
