Review on Ibera PakRak Clip-On Bike Panniers: Quick-Release And Weather-Proof, Perfect For Any Adventure by Darin Marshall

These are nice looking and well constructed panniers. However, they have a few issues that leave me not fully satisfied.First, there is not a single hook, loop, strap, or D ring for you to attach anything to. No place to attach a reflector or a tail light, no place to attach bungees, nothing. Seriously? Has whoever designed these every ridden a bike? There's always something you want to attach somewhere. How hard is it to add a few strategically placed D rings and maybe a strap for a clip-on light?Second, other than the very flat zippered pocket on the top flap, there is not a divider or a pocket anywhere, inside or out. Everything you put in this pannier is just bouncing around with everything else in there. I like to keep my tools, my spare inner tube, a rag, a few wipes and a few zip ties with me at all times. I'd like to keep all these supplies in a pocket separate from my groceries, laptop, . But no. There's not a pocket anywhere for a road kit. I had to buy ditty bags and put my emergency kit in those, and toss those in the bottom of these bags, where they continue to bounce around with everything else. But at least they bounce around together.Third, I find these bags unnecessarily difficult to close. There's a bit of elastic at the back of the cover, near the rack, that does not glide smoothly over the body of the bag. Every single time I close these bags, I have to grab the elastic on both sides and pull it into place for a snug fit. It does make the bag look nice and neat when closed, and maybe it helps keep rain out. But it's annoying that I can't just flip the flap over and close the bag. Also, the clips that hold the top flap down are surprisingly finicky. I'm not sure why, but I have to slide the tab into the clip exactly parallel or it won't go in.Fourth, the bags do not collapse when empty.They ship flat, and I assumed that I could collapse them at least a little bit when they're empty. But no. They ship with rigid pieces of plastic that you slide into very snug slots to give them structure and shape. You do not want to remove these every time you empty the bag and reinsert them when you load the bag. And even if you did remove them, the bag would just flop around loosely - you can't cinch it so it's smaller. So these bags are always the same (generous) size no matter how much or how little you have in them.Finally, the bag claims to fit most racks. IT DOES NOT. The clips on top probably do fit over a variety of sizes of rack tubes. And the tab that releases the top clips is a really nice touch, and works well. The problem is the bottom clip, the one that keeps the bag from flapping around when you turn. It is a fixed distance from the top clips, and the distance is very short! I saw that before I purchased these, but I thought I'd be able to rotate the clip so it could grab on to one of the tubes going down to the bottom of my rack. WRONG. That clip does not move up or down, and it does not rotate - you can only slide it left and right. So if the bottom tube of your rack isn't exactly 7" from the top tube, the bottom clip won't connect. I had to remove the bottom clip, flip it upside down, then use a 10" bungee to stretch between the bottom tube of my rack and the inverted clip on this bag. It's a reasonably snug fit and it works well enough. But, contrary to its claims, this bag did not fit my rack - I had to jerry-rig it.I'm keeping the bags, because I do like the quick on-and-off feature. And they're good sized, and they look sharp. But with a few tweaks to the design they could've been perfect. They're not.