PODSACS Frame bag – First Look
I recently decided I wanted to try a partial frame bag for my Kite. The small very cheap bag that now lives on my girlfriend’s bike is not really quite big enough and the full frame bag I have is not only overkill for a day ride but also introduces the problem of not being able to use water bottles. I didn’t want to spend a lot though as I wasn’t really after full on high spec. bikepacking gear, just a light use bag for some day rides. Whilst looking to replace my winter lobster crab gloves I stumbled across the PODSACS frame bag on the Planet X site.
They do 2 sizes; a small at 40x12x5cm (2.2 litre capacity) which I bought for £20 and a larger medium at 45x16x6cm (3.2 litre) for £25.
It is made from waterproof 500D Tarpaulin material. The finish in terms of the material doesn’t look great honestly, it looks cheap and plastic like. It does feel pretty hard wearing though, and I think we be difficult to rip. The zip is waterproof and in a quick hose test successfully kept the water out. It could be one grade larger to make it that bit easier to open and close as well as giving it a bit of a longer life but my guess is that this would disproportionately bump the price to something I wouldn’t be willing to pay given the rest of the spec.
The depth of the bag is about 35mm which is “fine” however I think it could be larger in that dimension to make better practical use of the space in the frame triangle. Even on the narrow steel tubed Kite, 10mm could easily be added.
The stitching around the main seams of the bag body looks fine for my light use purposes. However, I have some reservations about how the mounting straps are connected. They are simply stitched on the outside of the main bag and honestly, I don’t like the look of how they pull against the outside surface. Time will tell of course but I suspect that these will be the weakest link. Hopefully though as I’m not really going to be packing this with weight, it will be mostly the bulk of spare clothing, and I won’t be doing any heavy off-road, they shouldn’t fall apart too quickly. My one other complaint about the straps is the velcro single piece, with buckle, that folds back on itself to secure which leaves a lot of spare strap on the top tube fastening that you can’t shorten. I would have preferred 2 separate straps of velcro, with no buckle, that I could cut to size.
On the whole at £20 I think I have got what I have paid for.
Currently, I have only used it once, where it uneventfully served its purpose. I will report back when I have used it a lot more and we’ll see how it’s wearing.
