Turkana HippoHips 30L Saddlebags Review

[MotoNews]

Published in: Gear

Picking a luggage system is as personal as choosing the right bike for your adventure. Let’s be honest, we all crash riding off-road. Therefore, going off-road requires a luggage system that’s durable and can handle a few bumps. Are the Turkana HippoHips up to the task?

The HippoHips soft luggage system mounts onto any pannier rack, and the weight is carried by a big strap that goes over the pillion seat. The system comes with two outer side bags (30L capacity each), two waterproof inner bags, two utility pouches (3L), and two bottle pouches (about 2L). The HippoHips utilize the MOLLE system on the front and back, which means that these sides are customizable to your personal preference. Installing the system takes about 1.5 hours. After two weeks we swapped the mounting straps for heavy-duty tie wraps, so the system was more securely mounted.

I rode about 6,000 miles with the HippoHips and am now a fan. If you’ve ever been on a long journey, you’ll know that your bike and everything that’s on it, is your home. I used the utility bags for first aid and other emergency stuff. The bottle pouches hold extra water (total of 5L) and the stove. As an extra, the MOLLE system allowed mounting an axe to the luggage exterior.

The outer bags are water resistant and the inner bags are 100% waterproof. When wild camping, I try to find a spot next to a river or lake to use one of the waterproof inner bags as an outdoor fridge by hanging it in the water tied to a tree.

The inner bags do have one disadvantage. They fit perfectly in the outdoor bags, but because everything is flexible, stuffing hard items require something softer to fully utilize all the space. The extra pouches on the MOLLE are very useful but recommend getting a couple of extra bottle pouches and inner bags for the utility pouches as well.

And how do they hold up to rough use? So far, I’ve crashed off-road with the HippoHips several times, and they’re still like new.

TurkanaGear.com

MSRP: $449 (eight-piece set)

PROS:

• Inner bags are 100% waterproof
• Customizable MOLLE system

CONS:

• Outer bags are only water resistant
• Mounting system could be more rugged

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