Waterproof pannier: Ghetto solution

gatdammit · Jan 30, 2014

I've been in the worst storms Florida has to offer and have never had standing water in the bag. The inner felt will dampen and it will drip from zipper seam.

Could be that you were just drenching the bags instead of simulating a bike at speed with laminar flow helping shield the bags some.

I'm thinking the only way to truly waterproof them is a full cover that draws tight around the mounting arms. Mostly found model specific covers like this: Arkel Pannier Cover

There was a member that coated his bags with a waterproofing spray that you can buy at hardware stores. They looked like ass.

zippy49 · Jan 30, 2014

That's how it goes...

Thanks for the effort, Monstard. I'll be looking for a pair of dry bags soon. I have a couple of bags from RiderWearhouse that are made from very thin waterproof fabric, almost like silk. They have straps to carry them as a backpack and hold a bunch of groceries; compress into a small attached pocket for storage. That would be the ultimate fabric for a dry bag.

Unfortunately, dry bags are generally intended for rafting, so they need to be pretty rugged.

porkrind · Jan 30, 2014

gatdammit said:
There was a member that coated his bags with a waterproofing spray that you can buy at hardware stores. They looked like ass.

I did that and regret it. I still haven't gotten all that crap off.

suprphreak · Jan 30, 2014

porkrind said:
I did that and regret it. I still haven't gotten all that crap off.

Is it not possible to spray the waterproofer on the inside of the bags, under the liner material?

porkrind · Jan 30, 2014

suprphreak said:
Is it not possible to spray the waterproofer on the inside of the bags, under the liner material?

That probably would work. I just had no idea it would end up so milky looking, so I put it on the 'normal' way.

gatdammit · Jan 30, 2014

I don't know how that would adhere to the felt interior. You'd probably want to try and remove that first. I'd just use dry bags before going to that length.

zippy49 · Jan 31, 2014

The bag shells are waterproof, even if the cloth exterior soaks it up. It's the zippers that will leak.

I'm with gat, a couple of dry bags are the way to go. Going shopping today, as -wow- it is actually raining here! We need it badly.

mentalist · Jan 31, 2014

My new Givi top box is watertight

twozzie · Jan 31, 2014

No issue with waterproofing, we don't get any rain in California.
Bottled water anyone?

zippy49 · Feb 2, 2014

I think your comment was premature...a big storm is on the way to you right now, woo hoo! We sure need it.

Thanks to all who washed their cars, made plans for a ride, or did anything else to tease the rain gods. Got my weekend ride in yesterday.

Monstard · Feb 2, 2014

Momfer said:
Ah, to bad.
The water in the case may be in there because the inner tube strap closed it so the water couldn't get out so it filled up.

...

gatdammit said:
I've been in the worst storms Florida has to offer and have never had standing water in the bag. The inner felt will dampen and it will drip from zipper seam.

Could be that you were just drenching the bags instead of simulating a bike at speed with laminar flow helping shield the bags some.

I'm thinking the only way to truly waterproof them is a full cover that draws tight around the mounting arms. Mostly found model specific covers like this: Arkel Pannier Cover

There was a member that coated his bags with a waterproofing spray that you can buy at hardware stores. They looked like ass.

yes, the rubber strap somehow prevented the water from draining out fast enough. gatdammit, you may have a point on the laminar flow at speed. but i wanted to simulate the worst case scenario of getting the box wet, like parking the bike outside with bags on and there was a sudden downpour, which is quite common here

has anybody tried NANOTECHNOLGY WATERPROOFING? they tested it on cellphones and looks like they work. is this the same coating that porkrind used?

Liquipel brand on cellphones
VIDEO

another brand, Ultra Ever Dry, tested on other materials.
VIDEO

if it's good enough for cellphones, leather gloves and boots, cinder blocks, it should be good enough for our panniers... and we need only to apply the spray around the zipper area and mounting attachment points, not the whole bag

zippy49 said:
Thanks for the effort, Monstard. I'll be looking for a pair of dry bags soon. I have a couple of bags from RiderWearhouse that are made from very thin waterproof fabric, almost like silk. They have straps to carry them as a backpack and hold a bunch of groceries; compress into a small attached pocket for storage. That would be the ultimate fabric for a dry bag.

Unfortunately, dry bags are generally intended for rafting, so they need to be pretty rugged.

yes for the meantime, i think the lighter fabric dry bags are the way to go.

gatdammit · Feb 2, 2014

The nano coating for electronics I've read about have to be specially applied- you have to send your device to them. And it's not cheap.

The Ultra Ever Dry is more like what the member used, but a more commercialized product in an aerosol can. This looks to be more professional as it's two steps and the were using a pneumatic sprayer. But look at the boots in mud test at the very end of vid. The treated boot looks ashy and dried out compared to non-treated. I'm betting it leaves a noticeable coat and so I wouldn't spray on my bags. That vid was really cool though. Pretty amazing product.

porkrind · Feb 3, 2014

Yeah. That was the problem with the two part Rustoleum Neverwet. It dries down to a very thin, rubbery film. That film is distinctly milky and very very noticeable on black. Apparently, there's a clear version in the pipe, but who knows when that will arrive.

ohayo · Feb 4, 2014

I will not recommend the Neverwet applicator.

The waterproofing works superbly well but it doesnt last at all. Those feature in the video may have gone thru few cans of application.

cndctrdj · May 9, 2014

Looks like you guys have a lot of research on these bags. Any new ideas in the works

appliance821 · Jun 27, 2014

If the stock dry bags take up too much room, a couple of heavy duty garbage bags should do the trick. And you could use the stock bags for more gear vie rokstraps etc.

gatdammit · Sep 11, 2014

Anybody know where that thread went about the pannier covers? I think it was one of the guys from Malaysia or Vietnam said a company he worked with was making external covers for the bags. Pretty sure he had pictures of the ones he was demoing.

If I can't get my now grey bags warrantied, I'll be needing some covers as they look like Afghanistan: bombed out and depleted.

Monstard · Sep 11, 2014

gatdammit said:
Anybody know where that thread went about the pannier covers? I think it was one of the guys from Malaysia or Vietnam said a company he worked with was making external covers for the bags. Pretty sure he had pictures of the ones he was demoing.

If I can't get my now grey bags warrantied, I'll be needing some covers as they look like Afghanistan: bombed out and depleted.

it was user ambientscape from vietnam who tested the bag covers and posted it here

... yeah. now that you mentioned it, i was wondering about those myself

gatdammit · Sep 12, 2014

Thanks.

zippy49 · Sep 12, 2014

Here's what I bought to keep my stuff dry:

Ultralight Dry Sacks? | Outdoor Research | Designed By Adventure | Outdoor Clothing & Gear

They pack really small, but I would not carry heavy or sharp stuff in them. They'll be fine for clothing, cold/wet weather gear, and personal items. I went with the 35L ones.

Waterproof pannier: Ghetto solution

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