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Thank You Brother for convincing my wife that I need both systems.

Hard panniers win, obviously. Soft cases don't offer the same opportunity for stickers, and as such, you can't impress people with where you've been.

Hard pannier on top, soft panniers on the sides = best of both worlds.

A very good review as always. I like the fact that you didn’t push one system over the other. When I was young I strapped everything to my bike with bungees and ropes. Sleeping bags were rolled in a plastic trash bag first and tied down. Now I’m pushing 60 and I ride with solid panniers. I have no illusions of traveling the Mongolian deserts or outrunning bandits in Columbia. I still go back country on occasion but what I really need is something secure for my stuff when I’m stopped in some city or out of the way place and away from my bike. Soft panniers don’t do that. Sure you can pry open my bags but that at least takes some effort. A lot more than simply releasing the catch on a soft bag. I went with what I was comfortable with and that’s what matters in the end.

soft panniers + hard top case for valuables seem like a winning combo

i don't know what it is but , i like him and like every video in this channal... just me???

One other suggestion, use soft panniers on the side and a lockable hard top box to store valuables. You are unlikely to be injured by a top box in a fall.

Everything you said equals all my 3 years of research on the subject and I came to the same conclusion. I have both hard and will be ordering the soft for the next season. Great Video. Thank you for the simple way of presenting the Pro’s & Con’s for both options.

Great unbiased review! Short, sweet and factual. Well done!

This is becoming my favorite motorcycle channel. Great job.

I must say, Bret, your channel is the best, I learn so much from you!

This was very helpful for someone just getting into riding and choosing gear. Thank you.

Buy them both! Decide on which ones to use based on where you are taking your bike! Loved the video👌 simple, unbiased and straight forward! Hope it helps a Lotta ppl out there make up their minds!

The most straight forward advice I’ve seen on this subject. This channel rocks!

Great vids! Thanks for the pro tips, just got a R1150 GS for travelling and your tips have been invaluable for safety and learning. Keep up the good work!

This happened to my Wife in Yellowstone Park. On her 1200GS she caught the back bumper on a pickup she was passing. That event threw her into the soft dirt roadside at about 25MPH. She had factory hard bags. Long story short two hours later she was airlifted to Idaho Falls for an emergency spleenectomy. If she had soft bags the outcome may have been different.

This video answered a lot of things I had not considered. I'm more into touring via bicycle(Surly BFD) and the part where he talks about crashing and what it can do to the frame was a HUGE eye-opener for me. I would more likely use soft panniers for my side saddles, but I may use a hard pannier on the top of my rack. That way when I stop I can just pack what I don't want to carry into the hard pannier(w/lock) for security purposes.

Always great content! Thank you! Thumbs up!

Thanks for pointing out the differences and best use for each style. I ride a 2022 Himalayan that came with hard panniers. My nephew bought me a set of soft panniers for a gift. I will use use the soft for moto camping and hard for motel trips.

These are great videos, keep em coming. Some of the best adv videos on U Tube!

touring: hard panniers adventure: soft panniers

Nicely done. Big thumbs up!

i liked the end clip of you hiking in the sand, I almost broke my leg with hard cases in the AZ desert, going to get some soft cases for that riding. great video!

Now this is a clear video, thanks!

Once again Great video and fantastic comparison. Thank you

Great suggestions and advice clearly backed up by hard earned experience.Thanks Bret

Loving all your videos.....Thanks for sharing!!

I love your classroom and all of your panniers!

One HELL of a review. 10/10.

Great advice and based on this video I bought the GIVI outback trekker for hard cases as they are just cool and quick to remove and the rack comes off in seconds with a tool. This rack also will work with the Mosko 37 liter soft bags which I'm going to order for the off-road trips. Thanks!

The final credits of your movie are just hilarious! Thanks for a thorough summary of the topic.

Thank you so much for sharing ☺️

Great video again - beautiful ending.... I've the H&B hard cases. repaired the mounting a few times and hammered out the dents on the panniers. my next purchase is soft panniers.

Just came across your videos. Great stuff! I have subscribed.

You’re the best. Keep up the good work. Keep making vids please! I wanna go to your school and learn from you!

Iv been recommending these videos to fellow riders. Some of the videos especially with regarding technique have already improved my riding tremendously. I’m a much safer rider and have more fun on the bike. And the best part is I’m not asked 10 times to subscribe. Come to think of it I can’t remember ever being asked to subscribe. Which is why I subscribed! Ha

Right now, I plan on running a combination of hard and soft for all of the reasons listed above. I normally run my bike with a top case to hold all of my important stuff and I'm planning on eventually grabbing soft panniers for longer adventures. Best of both worlds.

I just started to see your channel, I think it's great... cheers from Argentina!

Superbly informative video.

Thanks for the great video! You summarize it very accurately. I had soft panniers on my HP2, and before a trip across Labrador, my friend gave me his hard aluminum panniers (he was changing bike). I figure the additional capacity and locking capability would be great. It was a mistake. I dropped my bike in very loose sand, and instead of having only my pride injured, the panniers trapped my right ankle and twist it badly. I can only imagine what it would have been in harder ground. Not the best way to finish a trip (not being able to use the rear brake). Also, although they where expensive panniers made for BMW, they where not as water-thigh as my soft panniers. No more hard panniers in the dirt for me... Cheers.

Very educational vedio specially for me planning to get an adventure bike. Love this video

Very informative, thank you for sharing.

Excellent video!

Hard panniers you can use as a seat when camping 🏕 and a wash basin for washing your cloths when on the road.

Always soft panniers for me since 6 decades of riding. They have saved me and my bike on small and big falls.

Super informative vid. I use soft panniers, wrapping everything in zip bags or bin bags. I ride a Himalayan. Locked down at present and can't wait to be set free again. Stay safe.

Thank you !! Really nicely said !!

good cutting and paceing in your video. its a great way to end sentences for an outdoor view in the office to make it more interesting to watch.

Sasquatch sighting @ 4:58!

Great info. Thanks!

Very interesting. Here's something to think about. Even if you own both systems you're only going to have one or the other with you... At one time... thanks for posting

Really concise. Congrats!

Tks for the valuable info ;) thumbs up

I look at it 180* differently. If you fall low side the hard case will hold the bike up. BMWs are so tough you’d need a huge hit to bend the subframe. The boxer motor is equally tough, it will slide for yards without a complaint. Soft pannier only if you need to stay very narrow. I normally ride with just the top case for filtering on commute.

Thanks for these insights on the panniers. Rarely you hear talking about consequences by the impact between legs and panniers.

Interesting review, thanks

Loving your channel! My GS came with a set of HUGE Micatech Pilot aluminum panniers. Great boxes for carrying lots of stuff, convenient side opening, and they hold the bike up nicely if you fall over! But have only used them on dirt once, the first time: I messed up on a rocky road section and ended up with my right foot going under the box...grateful for my Toucans and the rock the front wheel hit that tilted the bike back over. Now I only use the cans on longer asphalt only trips and have a set of old Cortech sport saddlebags combined with a soft seat/tail box for the dirt.

I prefer one hard top, two soft sides.

Loves from Turkey. You are good man. 👍🏽

Damn, as an OCD person I absolutely love your hard pannier setup, specially when you used the word "stage" to explain your charging setup - that gave me chills. But I do like to keep my legs, though. Tough decision.

Great Points on both systems

The angled bottom of the Jesse boxes provides clearance for your lower leg, to either paddle though a tough spot, or reduce the chance of breaking your leg in a get-off.

I have a Plano gun case as a top box which is tough and secure. Side bags are Nelson Rigg deluxe. Secure stuff goes in the box. Clothes, tent etc go in the side bags and roll bags which can be added as required.

GREAT VIDEO THANK YOU

Thanks sir for ur knowledge that you share with us..it's really helpful for us to deside what to buy

Are we not going to acknowledge sasquatch top right corner at 4:59?

The good old army compass! Just found your channel and noticed that ya got a washington plate on that bike. This is "my" home as well and travel Oregon far more these days, especially the southwest section of the state. I absolutely love to be out in these areas of both states!

All great points. I use a set of leather throw-overs with alarmed locks that I remove at the hotel/motel/campground. Haven't had a problem with theft over the years, but never stray too far from the bike anyway. I suppose a determined thief is going to get what he wants anyway, especially in some of these bad areas that I like to stay clear of.

Thank you sir very useful information

Great video, well done. Thumbs up from me.

Very helpful.

I can't agree more. I have both soft and hard for the very same reasons. If I plan on a lot of miles off road/ camping, the soft bags go with me, on the other hand, road trips with my wife and lots of eating in restaurants or going into stores where the bike will be out of site - hard cases are my choice. I do worry more about the bike falling on my wife, but in 30+ years of riding road bikes I've only fell once. off road, well more than I can count or remember.

Excellent. Subscribed.

Quality channel. Can see this one go big

Great job, loooooove the music. Gtrz from Belgium !

tnx again!

Watching this for the third time now. Pity I can only give one thumbs up. 👍

I put Bumot hard panniers on my 2018 GS. I had Touratech on my 2007, but found the Bumot to be slightly cheaper in cost yet stronger and better made. Plus Bumot offers a soft pannier set that goes right on the same rack and locks to the rack the same as the hard bags. I haven’t purchased the soft panniers yet, but they are on my list. Having both gives lots of flexibility in travel style and preferences as you mentioned.

Very well explained.. choice is of the rider...

I will never ever use hard cases again. I came close to tearing my knee out of socket paddling on a hard hairpin corner in Colorado. I've gone to a 30 liter Mosko Duffel and tank bag for everything including camping gear. The more bags or cases you have, the more crap you find to fill them with, the more weight you have to pick up if you go down. My kit is 25lbs with tools and everything...for a week or 6 months.

Well said. My personal preference is the soft bags. I like the light weight, they most likely won't break my leg and if they do get damaged they are easily bungee'd back on. If someone wants to steal my dirty skivvies that's less laundry for me and toxic waste disposal for the thief ;-)

I went with a set of wolfman soft bags. Should be here in 5-10 business days 🤘

good advice. thank you.

I love your channel.

the best video, I've seen about panniers.. great info

Thanks for these informations. 😇

The hard panniers make a good in-room lock box. If I am staying in a sketchy hotel or hostel, I cable lock them to the bed, radiator, desk, or whatever, so the boxes and the contents (computer, camera, medications, important documents) are not stolen. The soft panniers can be easily and quietly cut through.

Great vídeos. Greetings from Brazil

You are doing a great job with these videos! Keep em coming!

Thank you!

Agree totally with owning both soft and hard. I bought Givi Hard and Oxford soft set. Sometimes I put the soft on top of the Hard Cases on road trips when I am camping and need to carry the extra gear. I just subscribed due to this video quality. Curious if your other video are this good?

Just recently discovered your channel, and the word excellent doesn't seem enough to describe what a great resource your channel is, but that is what I am coming up with for now -- perhaps I will look into a word of the day calendar when 2021 gets here to expand my vocabulary. Anyway, question: is the soft pannier water proof or just water resistant. As much as you have used it, I am sure you've been poured on and just wondering if your stuff inside remained dry or became damp/wet. Thank you for all that you do--you're making a very positive difference!!

You forgot to mention the obvious: you cannot apply stickers on soft panniers to show where you've been :) Since 2001 i am using Touratech 42 liters panniers, really satisfied. However, the had their fair share of ground contact and need to be replaced within the next few years (I do long trips every 4 - 5 yrs only). I met 2 riders using the moskomoto panniers this year; had a close look and talked to them in great detail. Awesome product. Later I met to Australian riders who had a very flat 'plastic' topcase for their valuables combined with soft panniers. The topcase was so flat that a big Ortlieb duffle bag could be fitted on top. I guess - for me - this is the perffect combination for a long distance / several months trip. What do you think: Soft panniers, flat top case, duffle bag (and of course a tank bag) for.... let's say Europe - Iran - India?

I think I'll just attach some pool noodles to my hard panniers

liked the vid and liked the irish sticker on the pennies...i use hard ☺

Noticed a Zimbabwean flag sticker on the hard panier 🇿🇼 hope you enjoyed riding through. Looking to do a trip from Cairo to the Cape

I'm a fan of soft luggage mostly, and had everything for a 2 week trip in about 40L (no camping). We did discover that sometimes the convenience of a hard top case can't be beat for odd shaped things. And also for simple things like getting some beers and groceries if you are staying in one place for a few days, trying to carry a box of beer etc any other way is a real pain!

Is that an XT600 you were riding in the desert? Initially thought it was a DR650. Cheers, Campbell - Lovin the channel. Lots of great tips even for experienced riders. (Good breakdown here on luggage).

What about soft ones on the sides and hard one in the middle back....? Just thinking, great episode, thank you V!