Is nelson longflap waterproof?

[jawaka]

I've bought a Carradice Longflap Nelson saddlebag for touring. Carradice products are good and honest but I just wondered if the bag would be fully waterproof as the two top fixing straps go through a hole in the bag, round the wooden support and back out through the hole; does water enter through the holes?
It also looks to me that with the flap extended and stuff under the lid that there is plenty of opportunity for water to get in.
How have others got on with it?

[robgul]

My view for ANY bag, pannier etc is to use a thick plastic bag as a liner - rolling the top over to close it before closing the flap on the bag. (I found some very heavy duty "rubble bags" that work)

Rob

[thirdcrank]

Check the Ortleib www and they have detailed info about their different waterproof standards. Their highest standard means that you can submerge the entire item of luggage and the contents will remain dry. Your Carradice bag won't achieve that standard but unless you are intending riding underwater it won't have to. Until relatively recently, I'd only ever used Carradice saddlebags - Camper, Camper Longflap and Super C. I've never had any problem with wet saddlebag contents.

[PT1029]

I think the holes for the mounting straps are OK, as they are pretty much sheltered by the saddle (and rider).
I have used my carradice for years, things stay dry. If used in heavy rain all day, I find water does soak through the lid eventually (think lid damp inside, rather than torrents of water). If that was a worry for you, a plastic bag spread cross the top of the contents would do the trick.
I rarely use/tour with mine stuffed full and the flap extended - I would imaging with heavy rain there would be some inpress of water.

[531colin]

Agreed....the lid/s will eventually saturate, and I have had rain driving in past the lid/s, but not at all often, and the normal precaution of putting your clean clothes in a placcy bag to keep them separate from the tools has always kept my stuff dry.
A separate bag for clothes you "might" need during the day when touring isn't a bad idea....like Paddington Bear's "wanted on voyage".....

[eileithyia]

camper longflap like my carradice panniers i always lined with a plastic bag(s) to put items that i wanted to ensure remained dry... rain creeps in at the sides regardless of the internal flaps being done up ...... there is always that corner where driving rain seeps in..

[Gearoidmuar]

My view for ANY bag, pannier etc is to use a thick plastic bag as a liner - rolling the top over to close it before closing the flap on the bag. (I found some very heavy duty "rubble bags" that work)

Rob

Agree except for Ortlieb roll-top panniers. They do not let water in. At all. Never even..
Rubble bags are the bees knees for other bags.

[thirdcrank]

Of course, the traditional equipment for wet weather riding is a cape, normally secured with toe straps to the outside of the saddlebag flap for quick deployment without opening the bag. In wear, it covers the saddlebag. When the rain stops, it can be folded still wet and strapped back on.

NB This is not a recommendation for cycle capes.

[pete75]

I've had a Nelson longflap for quite a while now. I don't know if it's absolutely waterproof in the way plastic products are but I've never noticed any wetness on stuff I carry in it even after a ride from Selby to south Lincolnshire in continuous heavy rain.
The advantage cotton duck Carradice products have over Ortleib is that they last indefinitely and can be reproofed to new standard easily and quickly with a three quid tin of wax. They're also easy to repair if they ever do get holed.

[pete75]

My view for ANY bag, pannier etc is to use a thick plastic bag as a liner - rolling the top over to close it before closing the flap on the bag. (I found some very heavy duty "rubble bags" that work)

Rob

Agree except for Ortlieb roll-top panniers. They do not let water in. At all. Never even..

Neither do 11 quid a pair Lidl panniers - though they are influenced by Ortleib - as are many other panniers.

[andrew_s]

Agree except for Ortlieb roll-top panniers. They do not let water in. At all. Never even..

It's worth bearing in mind that just as they never let water in, they also never let water out.
If you put something damp into a Carradice on a sunny morning (eg your towel), by the end of the day's ride it will probably be fairly dry. Do the same with an Ortlieb, and everything else in the pannier will get damp too. Just something else to consider when packing.

[thirdcrank]

That's an interesting comment about a form of breathability. It fits in with what I understand about cotton duck - which is that when it gets wet, the fibres in the fabric swell to close the gaps, just like traditional tent fabrics.

My first experience with the impermeability of a Carradice Camper (without the long flap which dates the bag) was when we convinced somebody in a posh grocery with off licence that we were old enough to buy Woodpecker cider (I would have been 14 ) Anyway, as the only one with a decent saddlebag, carried to our binge. Several weeks later, I found that the bottom of the bag was awash with cider.

I try to avoid fings-ain't-what-they-used-ter-be tales, if only because most bike stuff is so much better than it used to be, but it's my impression that the duck used nowadays is a lighter weight (and therefore, thinner.) The saddlebag lids seem to be much thinner.

The most breathable parts of a well-used Camper tend to be the side pockets, which tend to get holes from the bike being stood against walls. A bit of reinforcement there wouldn't go amiss.

[bikes4two]

I have said bag plus a Camper longflap and a Pendle and the Zipped Roll. On occasions I've packed them all to capacity at one time or another and in anticipation of water ingress from winds and wind pressure, I've ALWAYS put items I want to keep dry in plastic bags.

But in truth I've never put kit in just on its own and then cycled in pelting rain just to test out the bag. IMHO it's fairly obvious that when looking at the bag openings, some degree of water ingress is possile in bad weather conditions, so I just don't risk it.

Anyway, using plastic bags helps you organise the saddlebag contents, so why take the chance of damp kit?

[9494arnold]

Had experience a few years ago,pelting rain, parked bike against side of pub,grabbed sandwiches from bag and ran inside.Whilst inside the pub gutter overflowed into the saddlebag which had hastily been left open,came back to bike to find saddlebag full to the brim with water and spare inner tube floating on top much to the amusement of my fellow riders. Is this why it's called Canvas Duck sometimes?

[The Mechanic]

I have a Super C Rack bag and handlebar bag. They are made from the same stuff I guess. I have been out all day in torrential rain and never had any water inside either bag. However, both bags have an overlapping lid which probably makes them more water resistant that a saddle bag that just has a flap. Bottom line is that the material is pretty waterproof but it depends on the system of closure.