Firstly, I want to say that I got a discount from Roswheel for trying this Roswheel Attack Series Waterproof 3-10 Liter Bicycle Dry Pack/Seat Pack out, but despite a discount I can assure you that; like all of my reviews, of course I am going to give you my honest opinion no matter what.
I was supposed to finish this review quite some time back, but I never did. I realized the other day that I really needed to get this review out, and then thinking about it I realized that likely the reason that I had never finished the review was probably due to the ease and functionality of using the bag itself.
And that, I think, is a great compliment to this bag. I don’t need to think about it when I need to use it, it just does its job and I don’t have to worry about it.
Mostly I don’t need a larger bag on the vast majority of my rides, but I realized on that day a few days back that when I do need a larger bag for carrying something – usually at a moment’s notice – this bag is there for me, and I can quickly put it on and be on my way without a second thought.
So, as to my notes when I first created a draft for this review… Like the Roswheel Attack Frame Bag (my review of it here – the link to the left is the product link) that I reviewed a few years ago – the first thing I noticed when I first received the bag was the quality of the bag, it seemed (and I’m echoing my other bag review here) like a much more expensive bag than what I paid for it (or would have paid for it before Roswheel’s generous discount). I also have yet another Roswheel bag that I am working on a review for and all three of these bags are a very fine quality.
I have down in my notes that even still in the shipping plastic I thought that the bag looked much higher-priced that what I paid for it.
Upon taking it out I immediately examined and noticed all of the features – the size, the waterproof material, the extra rigid underneath, the heavy-duty reinforced straps with springy loops to hold the extra slack so it doesn’t flap in the wind or get wound up in anything, the reflective surfaces on the sides, and the cargo bungees and places for a rear light(s) in adjustable places.
I could have paid twice or maybe three times as much and gotten a comparable bag, at least visually and feature-wise. Maybe the lifelong quality and durability wouldn’t be the same as a more expensive one but I think for most of us something like this is going to last a long time and as long as we need it. I’ll keep this post updated if anything seems to be wearing out, ripping, or coming apart. So far so good and it’s been a couple of years since I started using it.
One of the first things that I tried right away and which was something that I had been wondering about even before I bought this; or any large supplemental bag – was whether I could put my regular large-sized BV seat bag right inside the bag without taking all of my tools and emergency supplies out first and going through the trouble of transferring them.
Well sure enough; the entire BV Seat Bag slid right down into it all the way to the back of the closed end (which in reference to the orientation of the bike is the front I suppose) snugly and securely. It was also the same for my wife’s seat bag – the medium-sized BV Seat Bag. Both fit perfectly inside.
So, as an additional benefit you don’t need to take everything out of your regular seat bag to switch over to this one. Just take your seat bag off, slide it into the Roswheel Attack Series Bag and fill the larger bag with your cargo. Quick and easy.
Attaching this bag to your bike is just as quick and easy, it mounts in exactly the same way as a regular seat bag. The seat post strap is much wider and stronger-looking than your regular seat bag is going to be, 5 cm wide with heavy-duty Velcro. The side rail buckles are fairly conventional but very adjustable in case you are really filling the bag up to bulging, or at the opposite end of the spectrum – when you need to tighten it more.
The bottom of the bag is a thicker harder material than the rest, heavier-duty plastic-like, and it keeps its form well while the rest of the bag is a flexible nylon material, all of which is double-layered. It is quite water-resistant on the outside and on the inside is a blue TPU waterproof plastic layer. In fact, I have seen a few photos of the bag filled with water without leaking and the Amazon description mentions that it could be used to carry water. Not sure why but I suppose it is an option.
In fact the interior seems cavernous. It is rated at a maximum of 10 liter (about 2.6 gallons) capacity, so you can get a lot into it, and it does lend itself to over-packing somewhat.
Two caveats here, the first being the maximum weight capacity according to the manufacturer of 5 kg or about 11 pounds. And the second is the fact that putting too much weight in the far rear of it, hanging out over the rear tire, may make it begin to droop. So keep the heavier stuff toward the front of the bike inside the bag and lighter stuff toward the back of the bag. There’s just not enough structure for heavier things at the farthest extremes toward the back, but then the bag wouldn’t be able to be rolled up and adjusted to the size desired if there were something rigid along the entire length of it.
But the nice thing is that you can adjust the size according to what you have in the bag. If you only need a little extra, space you can drop your regular seat bag into it, then stick whatever you are carrying inside, and finally roll the bag up (very similar to a dry bag for boating or kayaking, and which makes this bag very waterproof when closing it up) and adjust the two strap lengths for the snaps that hold the back section closed and snap them into place.
The minimum size or the Roswheel Attack Series WaterproofSeat bag, according to the stats, is 3 liters (around .8 of a gallon or so) – something like a plain old seat bag size though on the rather large side.
Conceivably you COULD use this bag as your regular seat bag and expand it as needed. I don’t see why you couldn’t – the weight is probably going to be more than a regular seat bag and it is deeper and possibly a little wider somewhat but otherwise not a lot of difference, I suppose.
Because of its deepness, it does hang further down toward the tire than a regular bag probably would. If you are on the very small side with a small bike, I would guess that you still are going to have clearance but I could not say for sure. Cinching the seat rails straps tighter should raise it if needed. My wife is a bit short with the seat moderately low and there was plenty of clearance, though less than a regular seat bag.
It is also possibly a bit wider than your regular seat bag, again depending on your normal seat bag size. If your legs are quite close together as you pedal I suppose it could be that you might feel or touch the wider width of it as you pedal, though likely you could adjust this via the seat rail straps.
With the two above points I am thinking of all possibilities here, including unusual or out of the ordinary ones. We did not experience either situation when using this bag on four different bikes (including a mountain bike).
So, if you need to carry more stuff you fill it and roll the end up to your cargo capacity and adjust the straps outward – so you have a wide range of choices of how much you carry and the ability to resize the bag as needed.
In the photo above a bit you can see an example of the bag folded right up the seat bag that is stored inside (folded not very neatly, sorry about that).
For bag stats the length is around 15 to 22 inches (38 cm to 56 cm) depending on how you adjust it, with a width of about 5 inches (around 13 cm) and height of around 6.5 inches (16.5 cm). Weight is about 442 grams, just under a pound – heavier than your regular bag very likely.
The maximum weight capacity according to the manufacturer is 5 kg or about 11 pounds. I think you have to use your own judgment on this, according to what you are putting into it, plus or minus.
The company gives you a nice one full year warranty on it.
This bag should fit any seat post, including aero ones as well as carbon fiber, and almost any seat. The seat post strap is just a regular Velcro strap and there is nothing to mar or scratch the post or damage it in any way.
The cargo bungees are nice in that you can adjust and attach various things with them, or tighten them up to tighten the bag itself to keep things more secure inside if they don’t take up the whole bag, and they can also be cinched to dampen movement or cut wind resistance while using the bag, etc.
Last year my wife and I went to my family’s reunion, and we packed this bag about two-thirds full with a moderately-weighted number of things. She felt no real difference in bike handling (despite a windy day) and it worked quite well. Though putting shoes in the far back part made it droop too much so we did have to make a few load adjustments. We used this in conjunction with the Topeak TrunkBag (mounted on my bike – my review of this bag here – direct product link here). Between the two bags we could carry our regular clothes, regular shoes, lots to drink, picnic items and a food item to pass at the reunion and some miscellaneous items.
We also didn’t notice anything while using it on other rides. When full it tilts slightly upward (as most seat bags do) and because when full it is longer it is more noticeable, but despite this we didn’t notice any swaying, or causing of any measurable wind resistance.
So there you have it – the Roswheel Attack Series Waterproof 3-10 Liter Bicycle Dry Pack/Seat Pack seems to me a very nice bag, definitely something I would recommend it if you have a reason to occasionally or often carry extra things. It is a great choice to add to other Roswheel bags or other company’s bags for bikepacking or a day trip, or if you just need to carry a few things here and there.
