The Adventure Spec Magadan panniers live up to their lineage as simple and sturdy soft sacks

‘Light is right’ – so goes the motto of Adventure Spec. The brand is all about minimising mass and maximising practicality to create robust products that simply work well, no matter what you throw at them.

The two previous incarnations of their popular, but somewhat niche Magadan motorcycle panniers were highly regarded by overlanders and with names like Walter Colbach and Chris Scott involved in their development, it’s little wonder they worked so effectively.

With such a strong lineage behind them, I opted to run Adventure Spec’s latest version for a 20,000km (12,500 mile) trip down to Cape Town; pitting them against 21 countries, a fair amount of mud and the seemingly never-ending downpours of west Africa’s rain season.

Simplicity appears to have been the predominant design objective with the Magadans. They’re designed to be robust, with two very effective three-layer Velcro straps taking the weight of the bags, a basic Velcro topped, roll closure and two big, sturdy buckles per pannier to keep things cinched down.

Whilst Adventure Spec don’t claim the Magadans to be waterproof, unless you sling them in a river they will keep the worst of the elements out – although it is recommended to use internal dry bags in conjunction to keep your belongings fresh. Adventure Spec do sell their own dry sacks separately, but any will suffice.

How big are they?

The previous versions both offered 35 litres per bag by making use of front and rear side pockets. The MK3’s lose the pockets and so volume is reduced to 32 litres aside (64 litres total).

I found the Magadans to be just right in terms of storage space, their wide opening, boxy design makes luggage easy to stow and you can comfortably fit everything needed for a long trip away when using a small additional roll bag mounted on a rear rack.

What features do they have?

For a pannier designed with simplicity in mind, you’d be forgiven for expecting this features list to be rather short. Nonetheless, the Magadans do incorporate several well thought out details to improve their usability.

Whilst they no longer feature the handy Kevlar layer that the MK1 and 2 bag offered, sturdy security loops are positioned on the front and rear of each bag to allow for a security cable to be passed around, thus preventing most opportunist thieves from having an easy peruse through your worldly goods.

Replacing the lost side pockets, Adventure Spec have incorporated Molle webbing allowing customers to effectively build out their panniers in a modular fashion, depending on how much gear is required for each specific trip.

Adventure Spec sell their own various pouches, but any generic Molle compatible option will work. I opted for a set of cheap no-brand pouches for my test, although these deteriorated to the point of being unusable after a while and were far from the quality of the Adventure Spec offerings.

Being able to build your luggage allows for easy separation of items, meaning a first aid kit can be more accessible, messy items like chain lube or oil can be kept separate to your clothes and waterproofs can be accessed without opening the main compartment.

For users with wild camping intentions, remaining inconspicuous is often key. For that reason, the reflective tabs fastened to the rear of the bags are attached simply by snap fasteners, meaning they can be removed in a jiffy to reduce chances of being seen by passers-by.

1000D Cordura fabric makes up the bulk of the construction, but in high abrasion areas, rubber is further overlayed to prevent rips and tears against any unplanned spills down road or trail.

The majority of parts are easily replaced, making the Magadans very serviceable mostly anywhere in the world. Buckles can be removed without need to cut straps and without the presence of a waterproof membrane, repairing the bags should be easy enough. What’s more, by using basic one-inch cam straps to keep the bags tight against your pannier rack, replacement is easy and hassle-free compared to the more common sewn on approach.

What are they like to use?

With a massive top loading opening, they’re very easy to fill with gear. The roll closure allows for the bag’s size to be adjusted depending on how much equipment you’re carrying.

Mounting can be a little tricky at first. They lack the slick design of some of their more premium rivals such as Mosko Moto’s fabulous but pricey Backcountry panniers.

The Magadans must be used in conjunction with a traditional rectangular rack. Nothing brand specific is required, but they shouldn’t be mounted straight to your bike like some of the rackless systems out there.

Once the panniers are in place, a separate securing strap must be fed around the bag horizontally to hold them steady. I found mine drooped slightly, especially the left bag which had a six-litre fuel bladder attached which caused them to foul on the rear wheel.

To solve this, I opted to use an additional strap around the upper carrying handles to pull them together and keep them more upright.

How durable are they?

Soft panniers are favoured by overlanders for their ability to sustain impact and be unaffected where hard panniers would deform and break.

Despite somewhat unsympathetic use, including a few spills (one of which was a slide down a Nigerian highway), some rough loading onto various states of boat and an encounter with the front bumper of a taxi in Lagos, the Magadan’s held up extremely well during my testing.

They came away fairly unscathed, bar one small tear on the underside left bag after it had fouled against my rear tyre.

The bags didn’t receive a single wash on the trip, but upon receiving a scrub down back home, they still look presentable, with colours barely faded and everything admirably intact.

Do they look good?

Subjective of course, but I like the look of the Magadans, even more so when they’re covered in mud.

They’re a simple design, lacking the flashiness of some rivals but again this is a conscious effort to not attract unwanted attention.

The Magadans are unlikely to win any beauty awards for their appearance, but the simple ruggedness they exude makes them pretty handsome in my opinion.

The bottom line

With so many options now available on the soft pannier market, the choice is mind boggling. That said, when it comes to simple, effective bags that get the job done and come without the weight penalty or wallet oppressing price-tag of the likes of Lone Rider (£918) and Mosko Moto (around £1244), the Adventure Specs are hard to knock.

Features are basic, but everything works reliably and they’re as durable as old boots. They’re nothing fancy and they certainly lack some level of bling factor, but I’d gladly opt for a set of Magadan’s to ride to the Siberian town from which they take their name.

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