These panniers do the job of carrying 36 litres of stuff (44L available too) on your bike – but with a few niggles. Like the straps that clip the two panniers together, for example.
Aside from being unnecessary, they’re so long that you have to wrap them round your rack to keep them out of your wheel. Use one pannier on its own and the strap dangles down next to your spokes. Also, the panniers are shaped for heel clearance, which is good when you’re pedalling but can restrict what you put in them.
The inner fabric on the soft top has started to disintegrate after only a few months, and the zips on the outer pockets are quite stiff – two hands frequently being required to open the smaller one. Those outer pockets are useful though, and the waterproof covers, which zip away at the bottom of each pannier providing cushioning – kept the contents dry in very heavy rain.
Disappointingly though, our right pannier had a left cover, putting the reflective at the front instead of the rear - although we're fairly sure that this must have been a one-off anomaly. The soft top and drawstring also mean you can carry a large baguette without fear of losing it.