) Unless you ride solely for pleasure you’ll need to lug stuff from A-to-B: gym kit, work clothes, groceries - and not all of us want a top-box sullying the clean lines of our pride and joy. This is where a backpack comes in. It’s perfectly possible to use any old thing you have lying around the house but, of course, like all motorcycle accessories, you can also spend an arm and a leg. So is Kriega’s R30 really worth its £139 price tag? Firstly, it’s immediately apparent that the R30 is well put-together: the fabric is thick, sturdy and feels as well stitched as a high-end jacket. The buckles, straps and clips are all similarly high-quality. I’d have to use and abuse it for a few years to check, but it feels as though it’ll give years of faithful service. Kriega are confident enough to offer a ten-year guarantee, so save that receipt. The 30 litre capacity is enough to hold a change of clothes, laptop and a few days’ groceries, so it’s the perfect size for the average commuter.

It’d also hold enough stuff for a weekend away, so very light touring is possible, although you’ll have to pass it back to the pillion if you have one. The main compartment is a roll-and-clip type affair, like a dry-bag, and claims to be totally waterproof. I’ve had no problems with leaks. And the waterproof liner can be removed on dry days to give a little more room. Two water-resistant outer pockets are the only other pockets, but that’s more than enough. Some bags go out of their way to look technical by offering dozens of small compartments and the net result is usually that you can’t find anything. All the zips have chunky tags for gloved hands. On the outside you get reflective highlights here-and-there which do the job at night without looking too hi-vis during the day. Six cinch-straps make it easy to keep every firmly in place and tightly bound – you don’t want things slumping from side-to-side as you go around corners, like you may get with a cheap sports bag.

One obvious thing is that it’s designed for use on a motorbike with a bulky jacket – so if you carry it around off the bike you’ll find that it’s loose, even when cinched-up as tight as it’ll go. Normal backpacks can be tricky to get on and off over leathers, not so with Kriega’s products. Adjusting the straps is pretty straightforward, with a nifty aluminium ring on the bottom of the two straps that means you can pull it tighter even on the go and with gloves on. as100v backpack mountThe straps do a nice job of keeping the pack tight to your back and spreading the weight around evenly. dakine coast cooler backpack for saleThe way that they join together over your sternum with two unusual clips does make putting it on feel a little like strapping yourself into a parachute, but once that’s done the bag is going nowhere. kriega backpack review

Another nice touch is the extremely thick and spongy padding on the back. This is really important because anything you pack in the bag could well end up between your spine and the tarmac at speed should you end up taking a spill. It doesn’t replace a spine protector, but it might stop the pointy corner of your laptop leaving a lasting impression in your kidney. snowpulse backpack saleWhether or not you can stomach spending £139 on a backpack will come down to how much use you’ll get out of it and your budget, but the motorbike-specific design touches will make life easier and the construction is suitably robust to allow you to get years of use out of it. Kriega have refined their backpack designs over years, and it shows.Was this review helpful? Was this review helpful?“How am I going to tour on this thing?” I think to myself, as I look at the single seat 2015 Indian Scout. The bike has no pillon, no rack, and no means to mount a tailpack or saddlebags.

To be honest, I know exactly what I was thinking…“OMG that thing is HAWT. I wanna ride it!” but that bit of impulsiveness put me in a minor bind—where’s my gear going to go? Luckily, I just received a Kriega R25 backpack, which, if it works as advertised, could be the answer to this packing conundrum. Kriega backpacks utilize a novel harness system; instead of the common shoulder and waist strap, Kriega utilizes two shoulder straps joined by two chest-level fasteners. Like a parachute, I’m told. I’ve never jumped out of a perfectly functional airplane before, so I’ll have to assume that’s true. To test the pack, I loaded the 25-liter R25 with bottles of seltzer and large cans of crushed tomatoes and wore it around the house for a day. It did well, transferring the weight to the small of my lower back. I didn’t feel any weight on my shoulders, although I did suddenly get hungry and thirsty. When the time came to hit the road for my Northeast Pizza Hunt (look for it in an upcoming issue), I loaded up the R25 with 18 pounds of clothing, motorcycle gear, and cameras.

Five days and over a thousand miles later, with the Kriega worn over 10 hours each day, I’m happy to report a complete lack of shoulder or back pain. The harness system flat out works, and it is simply one of the most comfortable and hassle free backpacks that I’ve ever used. One of the advantages of the Kriega harness is that you adjust the size just once. With standard packs, I find myself fine tuning the straps each time I put it on. With the Kriega, I just snapped the chest-level clips, and I was on my way. Two pulls near each hip can be adjusted on the fly to fine-tune the weight distribution. Compartment-wise, there’s a big main compartment, a small internal one, and an exterior slash pocket. Which is okay by me—I tend to forget where I’ve put things and with just three compartments I’m wrong less frequently. The main compartment also has a notebook sleeve that’s big enough for a 15-inch Macbook Pro and an iPad. The ample back padding provides protection, but there is no padding along the bottom edge;

a piece of foam might be useful here. Compression straps help hold everything in place, and they incorporate retaining clips to prevent the straps from flapping in the breeze. Attachment points enable additional mini bags to be added. The R25 seems to be made of tough stuff, with 420D ripstop nylon, 1000D Cordura base and harness, big-toothed zips, thick fabrics, and generous 3M Scotchlite reflective patches. The pack is guaranteed for 10 years. And while Kriega doesn’t advertise the pack as water-resistant, it did hold up quite well in a light, hourlong shower. Later in the trip, a three-hour plus storm while battling trucks on I-95 was more than the Kriega could handle; water soaked through the shell and things got wet. One downside of the Kriega is that the harness system looks like a serious piece of hardware, which isn’t normally a big deal, but you do stand out a little bit when wearing it. And the pack doesn’t feel right when not clipped in. So be prepared for questions and jokes when wearing the pack in impolite company.