Kriega US drypack system

[holokitten]

I just finished up a solo 2 week 3200 mile trip from Austin TX to Salt Lake City Utah, on which I camped the entire way.  I posted this review on Revzilla when I got back, but it looks like they've since de-listed the item the review was attached to.  So here it is for you guys.
 
 
 
I just used this bag set, plus an additional 30L bag mounted to my FZ-07 on a 2 week, 3200 mile trip from Austin TX to Salt Lake City UT and back. In the 30L bag I carried a 2P Marmot Tungsten Tent, A Big Agnes QCore inflatable pad and a Marmot Meteor down sleeping bag. The tent poles fit just barely and I had to use a strap extension (included with the US40 combo set) to get the buckle to reach. In the 20L bag I carried a pair of hiking boots and a fuel bottle. In one of the 10L bags I carried my Primus camp stove (similar to jet boil), camp meals for 3 days and my rain gear. In the other 10L bag I carried a pair of town shoes and clean clothes for 3 days. The 10L bags were stuffed completely full. The 20L was relatively empty, and the 30L was a bit less than completely full (mainly because filling it to capacity would encroach on the seat space on the FZ-07).
 
 
The build quality on these bags is fantastic, the material is very high quality and the stitching is solid. There were a few times when I was concerned the strap tension was putting strain on the stitching but on close inspection no strain was evident on the threads. If I had any complaint its that it takes a long time to attach the bags to the bike when doing the full 4 bag setup. While the strap system is simple and straightforward to use, the sheer number of straps (4 for each bag for a total of 16) that must be properly attached, tensioned and threaded through the keepers meant the morning install took a bit longer than I'd like.  There is one suggestion that I would make to Kriega, and that is to use a different color of loop on the bottoms of the bags (the loops meant to be used to attach the bags together). There were a few instances where I accidentally anchored the strap of the 30L bag to the bag itself, rather than to the loop attached to the bike. If you have to take off one or more bags to fix the problem then re-mount the outer bags the time to install goes up significantly. This could be really easily prevented just by using a different color of webbing loop on those mounting points.
 
 
The rest of this review is specific to the FZ-07. Because of the design of the passenger seat and the subframe, its basically impossible to use the anchor webbing straps included with the bags. Yamaha had a bit of foresight here and included a set of anchor loops into the seat itself. I found these anchor loops to be sufficient for using the 20L or 30L bag solo, or the 20L with the 2x 10L bags. However, using the 30L with the 20L stacked on top and the 2x10L bags on the side was too much for the seat straps alone. No matter how much tension I put on the straps the load was wobbly. To solve this I ran a Kriega Cam Strap under the seat and around the subframe, then over the 30L base bag, and cranked it down. With the single cam strap and the 4 anchor straps providing a secure mount for the base, the rest of the load could be carried without any wiggle or give.
 

 

[ch3rryghost]

I think you have it packed up really neat which I like. You do have a point with the loops; I've personally strapped my 20L dry pack to itself instead of the pillion seat straps. If you were to do your setup all over again, would you look for another method of packing instead of using all Kriega's? Despite the annoyances of pack time, the waterproof feature of the bags should give it some brownie points. Trying to find a system that works on the FZ without adding saddle bags and having the 20l. this would be a convenient choice. Thanks for your review. If you have any additional pictures of gear that you brought along I'd be interested to see them.

[aeisan]

Great write-up! Assuming this is for the US30, US20 and US10 bags? Or were these older models that are different?
 
I have the R25 rucksack and love it. I commute with it often and have no complaints about it. Soon I'll be adding a US10; looking forward to the flexibility of using it either as a tail bag or having the option to strap it directly to the R25.
 
I couldn't agree more on the build quality of the Kreiga bags. World class.

[holokitten]

I think you have it packed up really neat which I like. You do have a point with the loops; I've personally strapped my 20L dry pack to itself instead of the pillion seat straps. If you were to do your setup all over again, would you look for another method of packing instead of using all Kriega's? Despite the annoyances of pack time, the waterproof feature of the bags should give it some brownie points. Trying to find a system that works on the FZ without adding saddle bags and having the 20l. this would be a convenient choice. Thanks for your review. If you have any additional pictures of gear that you brought along I'd be interested to see them.

Having done the trip with the Kriegas I can say I'm not in a hurry to swap them out for something else.  Really, the only inconvenience was just how long it took to get all 4 attached every morning (compounded by the few times I attached the bag to itself rather than the bike).  I think if I were to make any changes it would just be to cut back on a few items so I only need to take 3 bags, instead of 4.  (leaving the hiking boots and fuel bottle at home would have eliminated the need for the 20L bag).  I guess my review came off as sounding negative... Really I love these bags.  I just wanted to point out the few areas where I had an issue on my trip.
 
One other thing to note, was even with the load (which i estimate to be in the 30-40 pound range) I never felt like the bike was top heavy. I don't know that I'd ever stack a fully loaded 20 on top of a fully loaded 30 though.  That might be pushing it (or at the very least look overloaded)
 

Great write-up! Assuming this is for the US30, US20 and US10 bags? Or were these older models that are different?  

Yeah, I bought the US40combo, which was the US20 and 2x US10, and then bought a 30L when I realized the 20L wasn't deep enough to fit the tent poles.  When I first made this post I tried to find the item on the Revzilla store but all the links to the item were dead (redirecting me to the main store page, not coming up when searched for etc) but today I see them there.  So yeah this review was for the current models.  Must just have been a hiccup on their end (or a dumb user error on mine).

[ch3rryghost]

Did you think it was redundant to pack the sleeping bag and tent in a Kriega? I'm trying to figure out what packs I should buy for my short camping trip (trial for a longer trip). I had no intentions on packing the tent in another bag but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this as minute of a detail as it is.

[holokitten]

Good question.  It didn't seem redundant at the time.  When I made the decision to pack the tent in the Kriega I wasn't thinking about how all those straps would get tiresome every day.  It was just a combination of not wanting to deal with a wet tent if it rained and my assessment that this particular tent bag was an awkward shape to strap externally.  Despite being sold as a 'backpacking' tent the Tungsten 2p tent bag is rather quite large.  Repacking the tent in the Kriega directly without the tent bag let me put it in a shape that was more convenient for my setup.