When ADV-traveling, it is necessary to find the best quality Bag for your gear. It must be 100% waterproof & very durable to usage wear. There is nothing more annoying than arriving at your destination and finding out that your gear is wet. In our article Hard or Soft Luggage, you can read our thoughts about why we choose to use only Soft Luggage for off-road riding. The brand that we have chosen to use is Enduristan, a Swiss company founded in 2008 by Christoph von Ow, Isabel Jenni, and David Jenni. The company aims to design and produce innovative, high-quality products for individualists for the touring markets. Their products are strong, intelligently engineered, and long-lasting. They are products produced by off-road users for off-road users.
The best way to load your gear to the motorcycle, both for road and off-road use, is with a Saddle Bag. The weight is located low, so the dynamic performance of the motorcycle is changed as less as possible. There are many options available out there, but our focus was in a set of 100% weatherproof, tough to survive off-road abuse and as compact as possible - since if you carry too much the dynamics of the bike will change drastically. Another important factor is that the bags should not get in the way while riding aggressively.
Our choice was Enduristan Blizzard L Saddle Bags, made by a fully waterproof 3-layer fabric, roll-top closure, and all-welded construction. The bags are 100% water, mud, snow, and dustproof and come in three sizes (S, M, L) and ranges all the way from 2x6 to 2x12 liters, depending on size. We went with the L size since they are the ideal compromise between storage capacity and small size. The Blizzard Saddle Bags are made from Enduristan's new 3-layer fabric, a supreme high-tech material. The outer layer of extremely abrasion resistant polymer protects your belongings whilst the inner layer is made of high visibility red vinyl. In between a 1000D Nylon mesh is embedded. The mesh is densely woven yet flexible to allow the 1000D Nylon filaments to align in the direction of the stress for maximum tear resistance.
Riding off-road with the added 2x12 liters of the Blizzard, the dynamics of the bike do not change much and the bags do not get in your way while wrestling with the motorcycle. On steep descents, you can really move all the way back to the rear of the seat, an important riding position off-road, a position that can't be accomplished with the use of a Loop Bag design. The two compression straps on the Blizzard Saddle Bags can easily be converted into an interface to attach a Bottle Holster or a Fender Bag (size M or L only). Like this, you can add 2x 1.5-liter additional volume, 2x 1-liter fuel, or a combination of both. On top of the Blizzard Saddle Bags, there is placement to attach two more Bottle Holsters to increase the range of your hard enduro. The rear of your bike remains free to attach a Pack Sack, a Rally Pack or any XS Base Pack, in order to add storage space, without limiting your freedom of movement.
* For more information about the Blizzard Saddle Bags, visit Enduristan in Greece