Turkana Gear Pellipouch Handlebar Bag
Tank bags are handy, but they also can be annoying: having to pull them off when gassing up and then replacing them, positioned right in your crotch while standing on the pegs, and making you feel like you’re sitting IN your bike instead of ON your bike.
The first inconvenience doesn’t really bother me, but the other ones do. I recently took my tank bag off (Nelson-Rigg Hurricane) and installed Turkana Gear’s “Pellipouch” handlebar bag instead. While the Pellipouch will not hold a bulky DSLR or other large items, it will hold pretty much everything else you might need handy and to be quickly within reach. And, while a full DSLR might not fit, most point and shoots should, and that is just as good for ninety percent of the shots I take on the road.
Turkana Gear has really impressed me with its durable construction and light weight, not to mention the cost savings over some of the other “big name” brands. I’ve outfitted my Tiger 800 with the Hippo Hips panniers, quick mount plates, and a forty-liter Duffalo dry bag, and have been very happy with the setup for thousands of miles. You can read all about those HERE (includes a newly revised comparison list).
The Pellipouch attaches easily to the drop center of most handlebars, putting it front and center and easy to reach. It’s a great place to store a small camera, documents you may need to access from time to time, and any other little things that you might have stored in your tank bag before. Now the top of the tank is clear, and I don’t have an annoying bulky bag between my knees when standing or at chest level while sitting, directly in front of me. An additional benefit is that it can just as easily be attached to your frame.
I installed the Pellipouch to my handlebars and rode with it for tens of thousands of miles and it is still as good as new. Turkana offers a lifetime warranty as well (for all their products) in case you ever have an issue. This winter, I bought another one and attached it to the frame. It sits almost invisible and out of the way under my left thigh but can be reached in an instant.
The bag is made of the same tough material as the panniers’ and dry bags’ outer shell, although, with the Pellipouch on the bars and frame, they are unlikely to chafe against the ground in a drop. There is Molle webbing on the top of the bag, as well, making it handy to attach little things to the outside when needed. I find it a handy place to slip the temple of my glasses to store them when I get off the bike.
While the Pellipouch is water-resistant, it is not waterproof, although it will withstand mild rain. The Hippo Hips and Duffalo use a replaceable waterproof bag within the outer layer, but the Pellipouch only uses the outer layer material. Ziplock bags for any vulnerable stuff packed inside (like an international driver’s license) are needed to keep things dry. Waterproofness would be one thing I’d like to see in a future version of this useful bag or some kind of waterproof liner(s) as used in the other bags.
The Pellipouch fits best on handlebars that have a fairly deep drop center. I found the bars on my Tiger a bit too flat but a couple quick-release zip ties attached from the Molle on each end to the mirror mounts keep the bag in the correct position.
Price for the Pellipouch before shipping and taxes is $80.00 USD
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