Of all the North St. bike packing fleet that I have reviewed–the Tool Roll, the Micro Pannier, the Pioneer 9 Hip Pack–the Fuel Pouch is my favorite

What I Liked

Fill ‘er up

When jersey pockets don’t offer enough room, or an item that can’t be trusted to jersey pockets because it would be easily tossed out of a pocket or fall out during a crash (read: keys or a cell phone), the North St. Fuel Pouch provides a great option to store those valuables. Riding with the pouch on my top tube made it convenient when I needed something quickly like gels or my phone to snap a picture. 

Tough Love

Like all North St. bags, the Fuel Pouch is weatherproof and made with tough Cordura nylon and reinforced variant X-Pac sailcloth. This helps the bags to retain their strength and make them resistant to tears and scuffs.

The Amazingness of North St. Bags

Curtis Williams, North St.’s founder and owner, is the sole designer of all the bags. Since he’s also an avid cyclist, it’s safe to assume he knows that cyclists need high-quality bike bags that are functional and durable. He also prides himself on offering his entire workforce—four stitchers, one cutter, one fulfillment and hardware assembler (who also does all North St.’s customer service and retail support), and one sales and marketing coordinator—a livable wage.

Keep in mind this all takes place in Portland, OR, not exactly known for being a cheap place to live. This team of eight Portlanders average around thirty bags and fifteen upgrades (pockets, straps, etc) per day that they sell direct and through specialty outdoor gear and bicycle shops.

USA-made and Lifetime Guarantee

The North St. Fuel Pouch is slapped with a “Made in USA” tag proudly sewn on the outside of the bag. All North St. Bags are built tough for long wearability and come with a lifetime guarantee.

What I didn’t Like

Velcro

I have a thing about velcro. It can easily become a lint receptacle, with the fuzz ruining the close-ability factor. As much as I tried, I couldn’t get the pouch 100 percent snug against the top tube and stem, which lead to some flopping of the bag throughout the ride.

The post North St. Fuel Pouch Review appeared first on gritandgearonline.com.

What I Liked 

Adaptability

The North St. Bags Tool Roll is flexible and small so that it can be easily rolled up to fit into a jersey pocket or strapped to the top tube.

Tough Love

Like all North St. Bags, the North St. Bags Tool Roll is weatherproof and made with tough Cordura nylon and reinforced variant X-Pac sailcloth. This helps the bags to retain their strength and make them resistant to tears and scuffs.

The Amazingness of North St. Bags

Curtis Williams, North St.’s founder and owner, is the sole designer of all the bags. Since he’s also an avid cyclist, it’s safe to assume he knows that cyclists need high-quality bike bags that are functional and durable. He also prides himself on offering his entire workforce—four stitchers, one cutter, one fulfillment and hardware assembler (who also does all North St.’s customer service and retail support), and one sales and marketing coordinator—a livable wage.

Keep in mind this all takes place in Portland, OR, not exactly known for being a cheap place to live. This team of eight Portlanders average around thirty bags and fifteen upgrades (pockets, straps, etc) per day that they sell direct and through specialty outdoor gear and bicycle shops. And last month, October, they celebrated their tenth birthday!

USA-made and Lifetime Guarantee

The North St. Bags Tool Roll is slapped with a “Made in USA” tag proudly sewn on the outside of the bag. All North St. bags are built tough for long wearability and come with a lifetime guarantee.

What I didn’t Like

Velcro Straps

I would have preferred a quick release buckle as adorned on its pannier bags. I had to wrestle with the Velcro in order to get the tool roll fastened under my bike seat. After struggling with the roll too many times, I resorted to either stuffing it in jersey pocket or stashing it in the front pocket of one of the pannier bags. 

Final Thoughts

When my bike packing excursion presents the opportunity to pedal off the road and into single track, the North St. Bags Tool Roll, I’m taking my tools with me–along with the Pioneer 9 Hip Pack and the Mirco Panniers.

The post North St. Bags Tool Roll Review appeared first on gritandgearonline.com.

What I Liked

So Many Possibilities

Uses for this bag are endless – it’s a fanny pack, coffee stop purse, and stash and stow bag. I’ve stuffed the bag with a variety of accompaniments such as a multi tool, small first aid kit, mobile phone, spare water bottle, rain jacket, wallet, and food.

Capability

Inside the main compartment are two pockets which I’ve used to securely hold money and ID. I also store the adjustable “purse strap” in the zipper compartment when not in use. The front pocket can hold a bike tube or a *gasp* foldable paper map (yes, paper maps are still a thing). I also liked that the bag is made with North St. Bag’s durable waterproof X-Pac sailcloth.

North St. is just an Amazing Brand

Curtis Williams, North St.’s founder and owner, is the sole designer of all the bags. Since he’s also an avid cyclist, it’s safe to assume he knows that cyclists need high-quality bike bags that are functional and durable. He also prides himself on offering his entire workforce—four stitchers, one cutter, one fulfillment and hardware assembler (who also does all North St.’s customer service and retail support), and one sales and marketing coordinator—a livable wage.

Keep in mind this all takes place in Portland, OR, not exactly known for being a cheap place to live. This team of eight Portlanders average around thirty bags and fifteen upgrades (pockets, straps, etc) per day that they sell direct and through specialty outdoor gear and bicycle shops. And the month of October just happens to be their tenth birthday month!

Lifetime Guarantee

All North St. bags are built tough for long wearability and come with a lifetime guarantee. Click the link for a run down of all the durable fabrics North St. employs in its bags. 

What I didn’t Like

Velcro smelcro. Again with the velcro mechanism that secures the bag to the bike. The velcro straps that wrap around the handlebars are short, which lead to much pulling around bike cables so that it would fit on the handlebars, which I didn’t like at all.

Final Thoughts

When your bike packing excursion presents the opportunity to pedal off the road and into single track, the North St. Pioneer 9 Hip Pack is a vital cog in the bike packing gear set-up.

The post North St Bags Pioneer 9 Hip Pack Review appeared first on gritandgearonline.com.

A big plus for me is the color options. You’re not stuck with just black as a color for the bags. North St. Bags offer so many color choices to suit your mood – I snagged the limited edition Blaze Orange for extra visibility on the road (CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?) and so that I can locate the smaller bags (fuel pouch and tool roll) when tucked inside the pannier bag or hip pack. The majority of the North St. Bags product line are also available with custom colors and printed patterns, which is fun. They’re made to order and available in about a week.

I tested out the products through the summer and into the fall, which gave me a chance to try the bags out in various weather.

What I Liked

Heavy-duty Material

The North St. Bags Micro Pannier is made with heavy-duty material with waterproof roll top for extra protection from the weather. The clips on each side of the bag to accommodate a shoulder strap, providing a convenient method of carrying the bag after its snapped off the bike. I’ve stored my bathroom necessities, towel and flip flops in one of the bags, and when it came time to visit the ladies room for a nice shower, all I needed to do was stash my change of clothes in the bag and head off to un-funkify myself. 

Lightweight

The bags are smaller and more lightweight than other pannier bags, which is both a pro and a con. Because the bags are smaller, I was able to ride through single track without much of a snag on a bush. The bag has a bungee cord to hold the bottom of the pannier securely on the bike, which allowed me to ride down the bumpy single track without worrying about the bag popping off my bike. 

Mounting System

The hook and bungie cord mounting system were fairly simple to attach to the pannier rack, and the bungie cord helped the bags stay attached to the pannier rack when riding a variety of terrain. For example, if I needed to lift my wheels over a small tree branch in the middle of the trail or ride down a curb, the bags didn’t fall off the bike.

Made in the USA

North St. panniers are handmade in Portland, OR and their products can be custom made in addition to their stock panniers and bags.

North St. is just an Amazing Brand

Curtis Williams, North St.’s founder and owner, is the sole designer of all the bags. Since he’s also an avid cyclist, it’s safe to assume he knows that cyclists need high-quality bike bags that are functional and durable. He also prides himself on offering his entire workforce—four stitchers, one cutter, one fulfillment and hardware assembler (who also does all North St.’s customer service and retail support), and one sales and marketing coordinator—a livable wage.

Keep in mind this all takes place in Portland, OR, not exactly known for being a cheap place to live. This team of eight Portlanders average around thirty bags and fifteen upgrades (pockets, straps, etc) per day that they sell direct and through specialty outdoor gear and bicycle shops. And the month of October just happens to be their tenth birthday month!

Lifetime Guarantee

All North St. bags are built tough for long wearability and come with a lifetime guarantee. Click the link for a run down of all the durable fabrics North St. employs in its bags.

What I didn’t Like

Size. As mentioned above, the pro of the pannier bag is that it is small enough to allow a ride down single track. But the small bag is a con as well – you’ll need to be very choosy about what you back in these bags.

Shoulder strap not included. Unlike other pannier bags, shoulder straps do not come with the bag, but can be purchased ($14.99). 

Final Thoughts

When your bike packing excursion presents the opportunity to pedal off the road and into single track, the North St. Micro Pannier bags are the hero of bike packing bags.  And that’s why I like this system so much – if I can ride dirt or venture into the woods on my bike, then I’m a happy girl.

The product offering of all North St. Bags bags are weatherproof and made with tough Cordura nylon and reinforced variant X-Pac sailcloth which helps the bags retain its strength. 

The post North St. Bags Micro Pannier Review appeared first on gritandgearonline.com.