Hard Luggage vs Soft Luggage

We’ve used both soft and hard luggage on countless trips here in the U.S., and also riding internationally in places like Africa, Asia, and South America. We’ve used both types of systems for both urban and backcountry riding. We’ve also trashed both types in crashes and pavement slides.

There is no ‘right answer’ in the hard vs soft debate. Hard panniers are good for some things, soft panniers are good for others. For extended multi-day trips mostly on dirt, soft luggage is the obvious choice. For work commuting or inner-city riding, hard luggage might be better. That said, lots of riders use soft luggage in the city and others use hard luggage on dirt.

Soft luggage for adventure riding has come a long way from the basic sewn-seam, over-the-seat saddlebags that dualsporters were using for offroad camping 10-20 years ago. First, the introduction of ‘rackless’ bags (like the Reckless 80) enabled riders to ditch their pannier racks entirely, eliminating weight and cost while still maintaining a firm connection to the bike. Then, for long-distance touring, frame-panniers (like the Backcountry 35) combined the best qualities of hard luggage with the best qualities of soft luggage, creating an ideal solution for long-term, long-distance travel.

One of the primary reasons people switch to soft luggage, is that they get tired of trashing a set of hard bags every time they ride offroad. Hard bags have a tendency to break off and/or dent when the bike hits the ground. Once the latches, mounts, or seals get damaged, the bags never recover, and they’re very expensive to replace. If you’re on a long trip, that can be very inconvenient. Soft luggage is a lot more resilient, and will stay waterproof through many offroad crashes.

Another reason is safety. Soft luggage is indisputably safer for offroad riding. People visit our booth at nearly every show with stories of broken legs and torn ligaments. The story usually goes something like this:

“I was riding offroad and we hit a section of sand/mud/rocks. I put a foot down for stability, but something went wrong, and it got stuck there for a second. The leading edge of my metal pannier slammed into the back of my leg, trapping it between the ground and the pannier, and snapping my ankle/tibia/fibula/ligament.”

If you browse online forums like ADVrider.com and Horizons Unlimited, or talk to other riders at rallies, you will find this story over and over again. Soft panniers are smaller and more tapered than hard panniers, and they have enough ‘give’ under pressure to prevent injuries.

Here are a few other benefits of using soft luggage for adventure touring:

- More Features: Working with fabric, designers can introduce built-in features that wouldn’t be possible with metal. Soft bags have internal & external pockets, water-storage solutions, MOLLE expansion capabilities, backpack straps, beavertail stash spots, and more. These features are an integral part of modern backpacking gear, and they’re equally handy for moto camping.

- Lower Cost: Dollar for dollar, you get a lot more from soft luggage in terms of durability, features, and weight-savings. In some cases you can buy an entire soft luggage kit for the price of replacing a single mashed-up hard box. Some riders keep one set of each, using hard boxes for commuting and soft bags for camping offroad.

- Lower Weight: A 35L frame-mounted soft pannier should weigh roughly 25-50% less than a fully featured equivalent hard box. 5-10 pounds may not seem like much of a difference on a big adventure bike with adjustable pre-load, but on a smaller bike 5-10 pounds is huge. To really save on weight, skip the pannier racks and go rackless (like the Reckless 80).

When evaluating soft luggage, keep in mind that there are several different kinds of soft luggage, each with their own merits in terms of cost, convenience, weight, and durability:

- Frame-Panniers: Frame-Panniers (like the Backcountry 35) have a hard frame on the back of the bag. They’re extremely easy to mount/dismount, and they don’t flop around while riding. They’re also the most durable soft bags on the market.

- Saddlebag Panniers: Saddlebag panniers connect over the seat, and also to the rack, with straps. The main advantage of saddlebags is that they’re cheap. However, they’re also a hassle to mount, they distort under load, and they move around a lot in bumpy terrain.

- Rackless Panniers: Rackless panniers (like the Reckless 80) win on weight and price, because you don’t need metal racks to support them. Reducing weight is especially important on smaller bikes, and for riders who like to pack light & tight and ride aggressively.

Much is made of the perceived security benefits of hard luggage vs soft luggage. A locked aluminum hard pannier certainly ‘looks’ harder to steal than a similarly locked soft pannier. However, pretty much all modern soft luggage offers a locking feature (like the Steelcore Locking Strap), so the difference between the two is negligible. A determined thief with the right tools and enough time will eventually get into anything. So pick the luggage you want, lock it up, and try not to worry too much.

Choosing the right luggage system between hard and soft panniers is a totally personal decision. If you’re riding pavement in an urban environment, where the odds of crashing are low and the risk of theft is high, then hard boxes are probably best. If you’re riding lots of dirt, and searching for increasingly challenging offroad terrain where you’re likely to drop your bike, then a good set of soft luggage would be a wise investment. And remember, many riders have both.

The Mosko Team