# Perfect drybag for handlebars - Outdoor Research Lateral



## toolong (Nov 24, 2007)

I was looking for an easy to attach dry bag...I think I found a perfect one. Haven't tested it out yet in the wild yet, but looks like it will work perfectly.









It's the 10L Outdoor Research Lateral Dry Bag. Killer feature: it has 2 built-in straps that are about the right size for a niner handlebar.

I got mine from amazon for $36. I think Outdoor Research guys might have a whole new market to serve with this. I haven't seen this bag mentioned on this forum yet, maybe this will help the next person looking to do this.

The other bag is just some generic 20L, testing out a harness out of nylon straps to hold it...looks promising, but it's not an obvious winner like the front bag.


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## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

If for any reason you decide you want to try something else, the Thermarest gear view dry bags are another possibility... they're that long/narrow shape everyone looks for. We started with the med version but we'll probably be using the large size more.


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## jbphilly (Feb 22, 2012)

I do like the looks of the shape on those Thermarest ones...now I wish I had a compression sack for my quilt that would keep it narrow instead of ball-shaped once it's compressed


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## trhoppe (Sep 3, 2008)

I'd be worried at just strapping the dry bag to the bars, as I would think the brakes, cables, etc would rub holes in it. 

Revelate used to sell a "sling" that protected the dry bag, and now they sell a harness, that is essentially a plastic backed sort of protector to mount your dry bag on the bars. That way, any of them can be used.


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## jbphilly (Feb 22, 2012)

I can vouch for the sling; I use it on my setup. It's a real flimsy-seeming item, but it holds a great amount of stuff and probably upwards of 7-8 pounds without issue. Of course, putting that much weigh on the front affects handling, but the Sling is up to it. It's too bad it isn't sold anymore.


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## trhoppe (Sep 3, 2008)

I'm about to sell mine if someone wants it. I want to get the "harness" setup that they have right now. A touch heavier, but has foam to back the stuff away from the levers and also is a bit beefier to hold a "lumpy" dry bag with all my sleeping crap/clothes.


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## jbphilly (Feb 22, 2012)

I'd be interested to see your thoughts on how they compare, once you've used the Harness for a bit.


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## RandomGuyOnABike (Mar 5, 2013)

I was looking at getting the harness as well, but opted for the "sweet roll" that he has since i'm on a time constraint. It's basically the harness and a drybag all-in-one; I'll give a review on it once I've used it for an overnighter / dry-run and this mini-tour thing I'm going on.


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## trhoppe (Sep 3, 2008)

I'm sort of up in the air as well, but I already have 2-3 dry bags to use, and also it doesn't seem like the dry bag is removable from the sweet roll. It would suck for me to pack my sleeping system into that bag with it all on the bike together. Right now, it's kind of nice to just unclip the drybag for overnight, but leave the whole sling setup attached to the bike. 

-Tom


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## RandomGuyOnABike (Mar 5, 2013)

trhoppe said:


> I'm sort of up in the air as well, but I already have 2-3 dry bags to use, and also it doesn't seem like the dry bag is removable from the sweet roll. It would suck for me to pack my sleeping system into that bag with it all on the bike together. Right now, it's kind of nice to just unclip the drybag for overnight, but leave the whole sling setup attached to the bike.
> 
> -Tom


I'm with you on that one.


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## wahday (Mar 23, 2012)

The Revelate Sling has, I believe, been discontinued. Now I think they only offer the Harness and the Sweet Roll. 

I have been considering Bolder Bikepacking Gear's "front carrier" which I would say is somewhere between the sling and the harness. Not as flimsy seeming as the sling, but not as technical as the harness. At $50 I am willing to give it a try. Have been strapping a bag to the bars, but its beginning to rub and I don't want to wear a hole.


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## eastman115 (Dec 6, 2009)

> Have been strapping a bag to the bars, but its beginning to rub and I don't want to wear a hole.


As you can see in the picture below I just wrap a piece of blue foam around my drybag to prevent holes. It works fine and the foamie serves as my bum pad.


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## toolong (Nov 24, 2007)

eastman115 said:


> As you can see in the picture below I just wrap a piece of blue foam around my drybag to prevent holes. It works fine and the foamie serves as my bum pad.
> 
> View attachment 797054


Very wet bum pad  Great idea.


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## wahday (Mar 23, 2012)

eastman115 said:


> As you can see in the picture below I just wrap a piece of blue foam around my drybag to prevent holes. It works fine and the foamie serves as my bum pad.


Very clever, thanks. I still ended up ordering a front carrier from Bolder Bikepacking Gear. I have slowly been assembling enough straps, racks and slings to be able to take another person on a trip (including my 12 yo son who I went on an overnighter with a few weeks ago), so ideas like this are still a great option for me. Plus, I'm kind of a dirtbag, low cost, use what you have kinda bikepacker.


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## brokebike (Jan 31, 2013)

Long been a fan of OR gear, and I think their drybags and compression sacks are some of the very best out there. I see a lot of innovation and clever, common sense design in their products.


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## RandomGuyOnABike (Mar 5, 2013)

Just got some use out of the Revelate Designs Sweet Roll..

I would have MUCH preferred the harness, it is a bit smaller than what I need / want. Good for rain gear, jacket, tent poles.. I was hoping the sleeping bag would fit in it, but they don't unfortunately. Instead, I have my tent poles and camp pillow in it :\

The add-on straps will need to have a bit of figuring out on how they attach to the bag.. after messing with it for a couple of days, I still haven't figured it out, so I just have the around my handlebars. That works.

Thinking back, I _might_ be able to fit the tent in it, but I'm not positive.


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## She&I (Jan 4, 2010)

Thumbs up on OR gear (as long as you're not on a budget).

One very useful drybag feature is the sewn-on daisy which runs lengthwise. You can thread your Harness straps through the pockets in the daisy that will best keep the bag centered. I have an older OR DB like that which also has a window–another sweet feature that I wish was more prevalent in drybags.

Mike


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

Outdoor Research Lateral Dry Bag | Backcountry.com

I just ordered a 15L. I'm riding a small krampus so I'll have to really tighten the straps to keep it off the tire. I bought a folding spork too to get the free 2-day shipping.


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## Trower (Apr 27, 2009)

I just grabbed an Outdoor Research compression drybag off SAC for cheap! It will be my handlebar bag for sure, very well made and well designed.


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## blackgriffen_1 (May 18, 2010)

toolong, do you have any difficulty with the drybag bouncing about? I imagine tying it bag off to your fork crown with a small strap might solve any possibly issues, but maybe it isn't as much of an issue as I'm imagining. . . 

I have an OR drybag tester sample, sadly without a sewn-in daisy chain, but I certainly found another use for it now!


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## intheways (Apr 19, 2004)

Oveja Negra makes a front carrier kind of like the sling as another alternative. I use mine for errands during the week.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

intheways said:


> Oveja Negra makes a front carrier kind of like the sling as another alternative. I use mine for errands during the week.


I also have the Oveja Negra front carrier, AND the OR lateral bag (15L). The Tarptent Moment & the 15L OR Lateral bags are a match made in heaven IIRC; the Moment, when packed, will fit perfectly inside the 15L OR bag (in terms of length).


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## PretendGentleman (May 24, 2011)

blackgriffen_1 said:


> toolong, do you have any difficulty with the drybag bouncing about? I imagine tying it bag off to your fork crown with a small strap might solve any possibly issues, but maybe it isn't as much of an issue as I'm imagining. . .


When I set up my 15L lateral bag, I initially just hung it from the bars. First drop and it was on top of my hands. I used two straps in the middle that go down to the fork crown/top of legs (one on each side). The bag now rubs the headtube, so I'll have to put something on to protect it, but it's super stable (zero shifting when bouncing the front end!). I might try to set up something so I can go to one strap, but doing it symmetricaly with the straps I already have isn't easy. The bag barely clears my brake levers, but that's all I need; the center straps that go down to the fork actually help the bag not hit the brake levers.

The extra straps also keep the bag from rotating; when the bag rotates until the compression strap buckles hit the handlebar, the change in angle causes the straps to rapidly loosen! Could cause serious injury.


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