Bike Panniers

There are two requirements for bike panniers:

1. They must have a robust system for the panniers to attach to the bike as panniers are subject to a lot of wear and tear in their everyday use.
2. They must be waterproof so that you can carry your sleeping bag and clothes without them getting wet on rainy days.

In general the better panniers are waterproof but they are the most expensive. If you are not going to do a lot of touring a cheaper pannier may do you fine and you can use plastic bags to keep your gear dry.

If you are going to do major tours it is well worth investing in higher quality pannier bags which will give you many years of trouble free service. I have a pair of Ortlieb rear touring panniers which have proved to be strong and waterproof.