Review: Detours Sodo Handlebar Bag

Since my last tour, I've been working to downsize my kit. Being that it was my first tour, going out with fully loaded panniers, carrying everything including the kitchen sink, wasn't really all that bad (the guys who helped me out in Medford, OR made fun of how much I had). Now, with that first tour experience under my belt, it's not okay to just have huge bags to throw everything into. The first step in shrinking my touring bike was to find a decent handlebar bag that was bigger than my little Jandd I had for the previous tour (in hopes of losing the front panniers).

In my hunt for the right bag it started to become apparent that bag makers make handlebar bags in two different styles and two different prices; the first being randoneurring bags. Usually made from canvas or a similar materials these bags have class, but that class comes at a price, it was hard to find any of these bags within my price range. The second were utility handlebar bags, big huge waterproof bags made of nylon that looked, well, very unclassy. Then I came across Detours, a Portland based bag company. The first thing I noticed is their lower prices compared to most bag prices. With the Sodo pricing at $78 does this price come at a discount of quality?

Mounted on the Surly.

First thing I noticed about the Sodo was that it was not as big as I was hoping. I was expecting a huge Ortlieb or Arkel style handlebar bag, but once putting the bag on the handlebars, I was glad it wasn't. The bag looks real good on the handlebars, it's not bulking out beyond the drops. That doesn't mean it's small either. I was able to stuff in several notebooks, some Cliff Bars, my electronics and still had plenty of room. The thing I really like about this bag though is that is that it was designed with organization in mind. My Jandd bag was basically a bag to throw everything in, making it so when I needed something I had to dig through everything to get to it, the Sodo has various pockets, pen holders, and two separate zippable sections, making finding things a breeze. Then add on top of that the top has a waterproof map case (a must in my bag search), the Detours seemed to be made for disorganized people like me. The bag comes with a quick attach system making it easy to take and go (also with a shoulder strap too), perfect for valuables on tour.

Lots of room and organized too!

The bag itself is not waterproof, but underneath the bag is another zippered pocket with a waterproof cover that has it's own convenient carrying case (and clip to help you even more not to lose it). The only strange thing about this is having the waterproof map case, the cover seems to cover the map case when trying to use the waterproof cover. It's possible to make it work, but would involve not clipping closed the map case. The other thing that I was not crazy about, but this could also come from my lack of having a real handlebar bag is how close the bag is to the actual handlebars, making sticking my hands on the top of the bars a little tight, doable, but not ideal.

A tad tight, but workable.

These drawbacks don't take away from the utility of this bag. A touring bag with the class of a rando bag at a competitive price, I think this is a good way to go.