Vel Waterproof Saddle Bag Small

In this small size, the Vel Waterproof Saddlebag is a superlight and compact option for carrying essentials on a ride. It's capable, well made and decent value, though an LED light loop would be handy, and the Velcro seatpost strap can be annoying.

Rather than stuffing your tools into a jersey pocket, a seatpost-mounted pouch makes a good alternative for taking your essentials along on a ride. The Vel measures 12.5cm long, 6.5cm wide and 4.5cm deep and has a capacity of 0.45l, in a single compartment. It's designed to take a road inner tube, CO2 gubbins and tyre levers. (It comes in a large size, 0.8l, too, for £25.)

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The bag is well made from waterproof fabric, complete with welded waterproof seams and a water-resistant zip. It does keep everything nice and dry, even though it's sitting in prime road-spray position, and the long zip-pull is handy for use with long-fingered gloves, though the soft nature of the bag means it's a two-handed job to do it up again.

It fastens to the seatpost with a Velcro strap, with another strap attaching it to the saddle rails. It's incredibly straightforward to fit, and thanks to the two-strap design it should fit pretty much any seatpost/saddle configuration.

The seatpost strap is fixed to the bag, unlike the strap for the saddle rails. This does cause some issues with there being a lot of excess strap that can't be re-threaded back through to keep it out of the way.

Unfortunately, it's also the hook portion of the hook and loop fabric strap that is left flapping in the region of delicate Lycra shorts. You can cut the excess off, but that seems a less than perfect solution.

I found this small a good size, capable of taking the bits it's designed to as well as a gel or small bar. Given how soft and pliable it is, with no padding at all, I was inclined to wrap tools and bits in a microfibre tube scarf or similar to pad it out a little. It's always useful to have one of those along anyway. However, if you don't mind a bit of rattle, that's not really necessary, and the saddle strap does let you cinch it in a bit.

> Emergency essentials: 10 things to take with you on every ride

One thing I'd like to have seen is some sort of LED light loop. It's an incredibly lightweight and soft bag, so it might be that a light would struggle to sit upright enough anyway, but it's always useful on a seatpack nonetheless. The reflective logos are a nice touch, but not quite as visible as a light would be.

At £20 it's not bad value – only £2.99 less than the Fizik Saddle Bag (up £1 since Anna tested it), which has a slightly stiffened construction and single broad strap attachment, both of which address some of the problems of the Vel. The Vel, however, is nearly half the weight of the stiffened Fizik!

It's also lighter than the Blackburn Grid Small Seatbag at £19.99, and the even cheaper £14.99 Lomo Bike Saddle Bag. It's even 6g lighter than the already impressively low weight and slightly smaller 42g Evoc Seat Bag.

> Seatpacks vs pockets: what’s the best way to carry stuff on a ride?

Overall, it's a good quality bag that attaches easily to the bike and will carry most of the essentials for a road ride, keeping them dry and accessible. The seatpost strap could do with being more adjustable or shorter, though, and the soft construction does allow for things to rattle about a bit. In an ideal world I'd also like an LED light loop. That said, weight-weenies will love its pared-down minimalist design.

Verdict

Well made and very weatherproof, but a few niggles make it less than perfectly practical