A recent 3-day ride through the New England gave me the perfect chance to put my new Nomad Moto panniers to the test.

Marty HC, Coffs Harbour NSW

I usually just run a top bag for short rides. My other two sets of panniers only came out for camping trips. They’re great for long hauls but way too big and bulky for shorter rides.

The Nomad Moto bags arrived super quick—so fast I had a few days to tweak what I packed. I ended up loading pub gear, shoes, clean clothes, a tripod, tools, a couple of tubes, spare water, chargers… all the usual stuff.

What surprised me was how narrow they stayed, tucked in tight. They didn’t catch on trees when we hit the single track, and I pretty much forgot they were even there—until it was time to grab a snack out of the left bag.

It rained on the last day. We dodged most of it after changing direction, but everything inside stayed dry and dust-free, no dramas.

All in all, I’m sold on these compact panniers. They still hold a heap but are way better than running a top bag, especially for pub runs when you don’t need to carry camping gear. They stayed solid through the rough stuff, and the extra tie-down points came in handy when I strapped my jacket on for a while. It didn’t budge.

The top bag’s still there, ready to go… hmm, maybe when camping season kicks off!