Miss Grape Cluster 13 Saddle Bag review

Miss Grape Cluster 13 Saddle Bag review

Italian design for your next adventure

Our rating

4

115.00

Dave Caudery / Immediate Media

Published: May 6, 2017 at 5:00 pm

Our review
Plenty of room for a couple of days bikepacking but you’ll need a liner if the weather turns wet due to the untaped seams Buy if, You're planning a couple of days bikepacking this summer

Pros:

Capacity, PVC underside, practicality

Cons:

No built-in visibility

Michele Boschetti founded Miss Grape in Veneto, Italy in 2014 after creating luggage for his own unsupported bike packing trips. This is the smaller of two Cluster bags, which come in 13 or 20-litre sizes.

The 418g Cluster is made from a dotted black nylon fabric that’s highly abrasion- and tear-resistant but still flexible. A polyurethane coating makes it water repellent, but the corner seams aren’t taped, so you’ll need a liner.

The underside and below saddle section are covered with a tough wipe-clean PVC layer, and a roll closure with adjustable buckles keeps differing load volumes snug.

Cluster 13 stability

Two Velcro straps with rubber backing combine with a rubber portion on the bag to grip the seatpost and you’ll need about 20cm beneath your saddle rails to fit it.

Strong polypropylene straps loop through each rail and are tightened by buckled straps that extend from the base. Even when fully laden and riding out of the saddle on uneven ground there was minimal sway.

Cluster 13 performance

After stuffing the Cluster with my sample load, I still had some room to spare. Judicious kit selection and spreading spares out in to pockets would allow the thrifty packer to manage a couple of days’ travel in reasonable weather.

The bag’s position never interfered with pedalling, either.

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