Giant Loop has come out with a waterproofing solution for their luggage … sort of.If you’re not familiar with Giant Loop’s saddlebags, check them out. The founders of Giant Loop have come up with a very efficient, centralized way of carrying your stuff while you’re touring around on your KLR650, DR-Z 400, DR650, XT225, KLX 250 or whatever. You get the idea.
These bags are very versatile, fitting a wide range of motorcycles. You can even use them on street bikes, although that wasn’t their original design purpose. They don’t require users to have a luggage rack, since they strap down over the passenger seat – that means they’re a lightweight luggage solution, but you can’t use them two-up.
The major knock against Giant Loop’s products has been their waterproofing. Giant Loop says their products are extremely water-resistant, but don’t say they’re waterproof. They do include a tube of seam sealer with their purchases, and their products will certainly hold up to some wet weather use, but some users report leaks when riding in the rain.
Giant Loop addressed this issue in the past by offering a roll-top dry bag you could add to their luggage setup, but now they’re also offering what they call “Dry Pods.” Essentially, they’re a set of smaller dry bags that are configured to fit in the company’s saddlebags, with a total volume that’s the same as the saddlebags’ volume. The Great Basin set includes two sacks that sit in the lower sections of the saddlebags, two sacks that sit in the “bend” of the saddlebags, and one that sits in the middle, in the section of the saddlebags that sit across the seat. The Coyote set only has three Dry Pods. See the video below!
The Dry Pods are made in the USA, from 200-denier PTU coated nylon, and they’ll cost $104 for the Great Basin saddlebag, and $100 for the Coyote saddlebag.
That’s likely going to be the sticking point for most buyers; Giant Loop’s products have a great reputation, but they’re not cheap, and some users might not want to spend more money to make them waterproof, when other competitors’ products are waterproof out of the box. Furthermore, the Dry Pods look like they could possibly make it tough for users to stuff some items – say, a sleeping bag –Â into the Giant Loop bags.
There’s no word on their site about an arrival date for Giant Loop’s other saddlebag project. Back at the Indianapolis dealer expo in February, Giant Loop had a set of conventionally-styled saddlebags on display, beside their wraparound Coyote and Great Basin bags.
The conventionally-styled saddlebags were designed for long-distance adventure touring, but Giant Loop hadn’t worked out production details or pricing at that time. There’s still nothing on their site about this project, though; we’ll give you a look at the bags when they arrive on the market.
Green garbage bags work too, and you can buy a lot of them for $30….
https://rmabtc.com/shop-rmabtc/?category=Giant+Loop+Gear
For about $30 bucks, you can get the same looking dry bag (at least the yellow ones pictured) at LeBaron’s in Markham and other locations.
I imagine that’s what most Giant Loop users are doing already. Still, judging from the price I’ve seen locally on dry bags, it’s not bad. They’re not cheap, if you want decent quality.
I think Giant Loop is realistic about their luggage’s waterproofing; they don’t call it waterproof, because it isn’t, but most users would be fine with it, as long as they made sure the zippers were protected in the rain, and used the seam sealer. I never had a chance to use my Coyote bag in the rain, so I’m not sure how well it holds up. Our summer here was so dry that I think I rode in the rain less than a half dozen times. I really do like the Coyote bag for packing camping gear in. I’ll likely post a review sometime next season.