Carradice Nelson saddlebag

Way back in the mists of time, I tested the  Carradice Super C saddlebag. I fell in love with its simplicity, convenience and retro-styling and it has been strapped to my bike ever since. What I didn't fully appreciate is that the Super C is in effect the modern version of the Nelson, which is what I'm testing here.

The Nelson is the all-time classic saddlebag. Made from cotton duck fabric with leather straps, it is a beautiful piece of kit and if you roll with the audax/CTC crew then you're bound to see several in varying degrees of vintage. Along with wool, cotton duck and leather form a holy trinity of original technical materials and as the merino revival goes to show, they have never been bettered in some ways.

Duck is pretty much impervious to water as the fibres swell and lock together when wet. It also breathes, so your damp kit will dry out rather than rotting gently inside. The straps that close down the main flap and the side pockets are leather with shiny buckles. They look fantastic but the quick-release buckles on the Super C are much easier to use, especially if you're reaching behind to open a pocket and extract a cereal bar. Although it is made from the same cotton duck as the Super C, the Nelson seemed stiffer and held its shape better when empty.

Capacity is modest at 18 litres, but that's enough for a day ride, long audax or ultra-lightweight mini-tour. The top of the flap has fittings to strap on extra luggage, although you could always upgrade to the longflap version which will accommodate bulkier items under a longer main flap. The main flap on the standard model is perhaps a little short at the sides, which might let some drops of rain blow in, although the inside of the bag is protected with a drawstring storm flap. On a recent blustery and foul hundred miler my kit, including a couple of OS maps, stayed dry and happy for eigt hours of sideways rain and spray.

Feature-wise it's fairly basic. You get two side pockets, a drawstring stormflap, a light loop (big enough to carry two rear lights) and that's your lot. Sturdy sewn-in reflective strips, like those on the Super C, would have been welcome.

Although the bags themselves are nigh on perfect, fitting them to your bike can be a bit of a fiddle and a faff. I know from experience that the Carradice SQR system (which allows you to simply lift the bag plus mounting cradle off the bike) won't fit on my bikes and that I'm too short to get away with simply letting the bag dangle. The answer is one of the various Bagman support brackets, as supplied by Carradice. They don't come as standard, although our test Nelson came with the Bagman QR Expedition, which I'll be reviewing separately. Models in the Bagman range aren't cheap and if you need one you'll need to factor that into the price.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed using the Nelson and it will be permanently occupying a space on one of my bikes. If you're tossing up between the Super C and the Nelson it comes down to what you value most. The Super C edges it on practicality (size, reflectives, quick-release buckles) whereas the Nelson has the handsome vintage looks. As I scored the Super C at 9/10, it seems fair to give the Nelson 8/10.

Verdict

Superb bag with smart vintage looks although it doesn't quite have the practicality of the Carradice Super C.