PRoductreviews Touratech Waterproof Adventure Dry Bag By Ron Davis #111820
WHEN I READ THAT AFTERMAR- ket gear vendors Touratech and Ort- lieb had teamed up to produce a new line of dry bags, my reaction was, what could go wrong? As is turns out, practically nothing.
Ortlieb has established a global repu- tation since 1982 for waterproof, road- tough luggage for all kinds of uses. Touratech’s massive cat- alogue of general and model-specific adven- ture gear is a wish-book for riders the world over, and the German com- pany has a history of teaming up with other gear manufacturers to save on the costs of research, development, and manufacturing. For example, Touratech’s Adventuro Mod helmet is a result of collabora- tion with Schuberth. Tourtatech’s partnership with Ortlieb on a drybag also made a lot of sense since there was already a plethora of dry bags out there; the price point had to be kept down to remain competitive. Touratech’s Waterproof Adventure
would work better for my bike (BMW F 700 GS), and of course he was right. Touratech’s new dry bags are available in
six colors, including the hi-vis yellow, orange, and red, but I went with the silver, thinking it would reflect heat and match my bike’s trim. Whatever color is chosen, there is also 3M Scotchlite reflective material on the ends and handles. The bags use the
shoulder strap is included. The Touratech/ Ortlieb bag fairly bristles with attachment points that should accommodate just about any mounting configuration a rider could come up with. D-rings and pass-through slots provide lots of mounting options, though curiously Touratech does not pro- vide any mounting straps. Rok-straps are recommended by Touratech, but I’m a big fan of their ingenious Arno and Zega-belts, which are not elastic and are fail-safe reliable. Ortlieb’s distinctive
Though mounting straps are not provided with Touratech’s new Adventure Dry Bag, “Arno Straps” are a good choice for a secure mount on a bike through any of the many attachment points.
Dry Bags, added to their catalogue in 2016, are offered in three sizes: medium, large, and X-large. An incur- able packrat, I first tried the X-large. It is hu-u-u-uge (15.7 x 28 x 15.7 inches); in fact, I found it was too huge for my bike, encroaching on my derriere space when used across my pillion seat in front of a top box. The friendly customer service rep suggested the medium (11.8 x 21.3 x 10.6 inches)
20 BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017
familiar horizontal roll top opening, a stan- dard Ortlieb touch which provides water- proof protection unless the bag is totally submerged. Stiffeners in the opening edges make closure easy, and compression straps with polycarbonate buckles (two across the top and one at each end) keep the top closed up tight. For toting the bag into a tent or motel
room, the Adventure Dry Bag has carrying handles which mate together using a pad- ded hook and loop wrap, plus a padded
welded-seam polyurethane fabric has a well-earned rep- utation for toughness. Apart from encounters with sharp objects, these dry bags should offer life-of-the-user service, but of course this is soft luggage, so it doesn’t offer the security of hard cases. In use, I found the bag’s versatility, not to men- tion the ease with which a bag like this can be mounted and unmounted from my bike, is a saving grace. I also like a soft luggage bag like this since it can be com- pressed down when it isn’t stuffed full.
If the partnership of big-name marquees
behind these bags wasn’t confidence inspir- ing enough, consider Touratech’s five-year warranty covering manufacturing defects and five-star customer service. The medium-sized dry bag retails at $104.95, with each step up in size adding another $10. For more information, visit touratech-
usa.com.
PROS: Tough, reasonably priced, ease of use CONS: No mounting strap
member tested
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