Honestly, I don’t get wrapped up in the hard vs. soft luggage debate. They both have their advantages, so I use whichever one I want at the time. I also try not to get caught up in premium vs inexpensive. I have the premium stuff from Mosko Moto and cheap stuff from Amazon…..heck I even have improvised luggage made of things I found at Goodwill! I’ve kept what worked well and trashed what didn’t. There is a lot of garbage out there in the “inexpensive” segment of the motorcycle luggage market. Like……A LOT.
So when I come across luggage that is inexpensive AND high quality, I have to share the info.
The Explorer 10 is part of a new line of ADV soft luggage from Viking Bags. They are a rackless design, which means you just strap them to your bike….no racks needed. They consist of two main parts…..the main “frame” that straps to the bike, and the removable dry bags. The main part acts as a holster for the dry bags, it holds them to the bike and protects them while providing easy access when needed. This model has a capacity of 10 liters, 5 in each dry bag, and has the ability to hold a third bag on top. It’s a fairly basic design that will look very familiar if you’ve seen any other rackless luggage system.
There are not really any special features to talk about here, they are exactly what they look like…..a set of rackless luggage. The reason I’m so excited about them is the price vs quality. They run $249 at retail price but are often on sale for $212. At that price you would expect to get something usable but probably not great. I was NOT prepared for how stout these would be. The outer holster part of the bags is made from ballistic nylon (whatever that means) and is very rigid. It feels like it could withstand some sliding around in the dirt just fine. The inner bags are a basic roll-top dry bag design that also includes a clear window to make it a bit easier to see what’s going on in there. The inner bags are made of a thick TPU fabric with welded seams. Just holding this, you can feel the difference in quality compared to other inexpensive options. Like I said, there aren’t a bunch of revolutionary features to rave about here. It’s just some good quality luggage for a really good price….which is pretty much impossible to find these days.