UPDATE 8/22: To my considerable surprise, the set of these panniers I bought in 2012 & have been using weekly for all that time are still intact and perfectly functional! This was quite unexpected (it seems less and less often, these days, that one is *pleasantly* surprised with the build quality of any product).

When I reviewed them 10 years ago (q.v., below) I was a bit dubious about the durability of these bags (especially in any crash): now, under regular use in grocery runs every week for all that time, they are still hanging together & still fit for purpose (I never did have a bicycle crash with these mounted, so I still think they would do badly in that case, but simple regular use has been no problem).

Of course, the bags are no longer in "mint" condition after all this time - the fabric is close to worn through in several places & a hole in one side needed patching with duct tape, but the basic structure and all fittings remain sound, and they still hold full grocery loads in each side as well as when they were new.

Now that they have passed the 10 year mark & remained useful, I'm only curious how much longer can they possibly go (15 years use? 20?)! However long, in any case I have already bought my 2nd set of these bags, so whenever my original old ones finally do give up the ghost, I'm ready with a new set for another decade+ of use.

5 stars for durability here - at this price compared to most others, quite amazing!

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Bought this as an alternative to metal baskets for my bicycle rack (the idea being, they might be lighter and more readily removable, when not needed).

PROs:
1) Easy all-quick-release-buckle (top-front, and sides) attachments to rack.
2) Carrying handle in center section for easy toting off bike [lays basically flat], along with through-slots for threading other attachments or locking cables (e.g., for parking in high-pilferage areas).
3) Very practical carrying capacity (just about one full supermarket shopping bag's worth, each side).
4) Very good value at the $25 Amazon price (half or less, of [admittedly more elaborate] similar soft bicycle luggage available at my own local bike shops).
5) Not too bad looking [IMHO].

CONs:
1) Attachments to rack are secure, but not tight - bags will move around a bit as you ride.
2) As some other reviews have noted, construction is not super-duper-durable: most all stress points are single-seam or single-layer construction only, and does not look like they would hold up great in any crash; and I'm not sure how long they would hold up under heavy daily use, either (not a great problem for users like me, who only plan on attaching them for occasional grocery trips and light bike touring; but endurance touring and/or heavy trail riders looking for bike luggage might want to think twice about these bags).
3) Rigid panels for sides of bags are a little challenging to install (not just to slide into their designated fabric pockets, but to do so while keeping them inside the side seams, is not so easy); not impossible, just not easy.
4) Plus, the hard side panels are basically required to keep the bags themselves rigid enough for stable mounting (I left the side panels off for a while at first, preferring to keep the bags collapsible, but I then discovered this allowed the bags to flex enough when loaded to be able to catch the wheel spokes of the rear wheel now and again - the rigid back panel of each bag alone is NOT enough to prevent this by itself), which is a bit less configurability then I was originally hoping for (also, it means they take up that much more storage space, when left at home).
5) Quick-release buckles securing the top flaps for the bags are non-adjustable for length; if your load doesn't fully fit as is, you'll be carrying them with the bag tops open.

OVERALL: I'm basically happy with these panniers. They're not "premium" in design or construction, and heavy-duty users might want to look elsewhere for their best choice in bicycle luggage; but for the low price I paid and the light use I use them for they're really all I require, and I certainly can't suggest any superior choice at this price point. Very useful, and a good value.

My family has been using these bags daily for about a month to carry groceries, school backpacks, purses, lunches, and everything else. We've mounted them on three bikes, with two different style of rack. These bags are a terrific value, but you have to be willing to get crafty in order to get them installed. The included mounting system is silly for any rack I've ever seen except the spring-loaded clamp on top type. Once installed, though, they are sturdy and look great.

I cut all the straps off and used zip ties (50 for $1 from the local hardware store) to secure the sides to the rack struts. There was no need to secure the top since the sides were tight enough on all my racks that the bags will not be able to slide back or forward.

The plastic backing in each bag is not stiff enough to keep the bags from bending with heavy loads. This is also very easily remedied with the insertion of a piece of corrugated cardboard or mastic. Some racks won't need this, the Blackburn design will.

The bags have retro-reflective fabric on the back and sides, which works very well in our visibility tests at night, outperforming an SAE plastic reflector obtained from at auto parts store both in terms of brightness and width of viewing angle.

They are waterproof.

These are a bad choice for anyone who wants to be able to remove them quickly. They look intended to be mounted permanently and forgotten about until you need to carry something. Consider them your bicycle's trunk.

They do not come above the level of your rack, so it is easy to lay something large on your rack. We've been able to haul jackets, backpacks, lumber, and other larger items by bungee-cording them on top of the rack and laying them across the tops of the bags.

Pros:

-Lots of room with the top bag. I bike commute and needed something that could hold my lunch, laptop, work clothes and shoes, and my running stuff (running shoes, extra socks, shirt and shorts) if I plan on going for a run on my lunch break. A friend at work gave me an old pair of water resistant panniers but they are small and and didn't have pockets on the outside so they weren't working for my commute needs. These panniers seem to have enough room.

-Front of the panniers are tapered so even if you have large feet (I'm size 12 mens) your feet don't hit the bags when you pedal.

-Plenty of pocket space on the outside. This is convenient for storing things like my cell phone, keys, wallet, bike lock and other small items so I don't need to dig to the bottom of the panniers to fish them out.

Cons:

-The zippers are a little difficult to zip/unzip around the corners but not a major annoyance.

-The material seems somewhat cheap and thin although I just got these and I'll see how they hold up long term.

-No real easy place to clip a light on the back of the panniers. Since the panniers and bag on top are large, your seat post for the most part is blocked. I leave one of the back pockets partially unzipped so I can clip a light on the rear, which seems to work OK.

-As others have mentioned the flat plastic pieces that come with the panniers to make the bags more rigid are difficult to install. I understand the manufacturer leaves these out to keep shipping costs down but I would have gladly paid another $10 if these were already installed. I struggled with this for about 15 minutes but finally got them in.

Overall:

I rate this item 4 stars overall. There are some things I don't like about them but overall I feel like this is a good value for about $45. You can easily spend over $100 for panniers that are water resistant and higher build quality, but I think these panniers will probably last me at least a few years, maybe more. The material as I stated is pretty thin and if there is a solid rain the material isn't going to keep much water out, so I suggest getting the rain cover as well. The downside to getting the rain cover is for whatever reason it's often on backorder. The first time I ordered the rain cover it took about 3 weeks before it actually shipped.

Inexpensive and basically these work and look ok.

Since the 1970's I have been a practical bicyclist. These days going about 6-7 miles each way, daily, to work. These panniers are just perfect for dropping in my jacket, small backpack, sweater, books, laptop, U-lock and so on. I bought this one because I had an identical one before. I found that one in a recycling area a couple of years ago. It was beat up and partly ripped on top and from tire-holes and abuse from carrying heavy sharp objects. With a
So now I bought a new pair of the same make/brand. Here are a few pointers, in no specific order. As usual just my personal observations:

- Each compartment fits a box slightly over 12x12x6 inches (30x30x15cm).
- The back has netting in which I put red blinking lights for increased traffic safety at night.
- It fits my "Super Tourist" bike rack nicely. The rack structure is shaped to prevent the bag from hitting the tires (please read this twice).
- A regular V-shaped support rack may not prevent the corners from hitting your tires or spokes ripping the fabric (read this twice).
- A bit of a tight fit, but the spring loaded rack trap does fit into a slit on the pannier. This is the only fastening I bother with. In other words, it slips on.
- The material and cover seem waterproof, definitely fine for moderate rain, but I would still use plastic bags around whatever may get wet, just in case. I don't know how this holds up getting soaking wet and being banged around with a heavy load and all wet. If in doubt, there are silicone sprays to repel water.
- Lids close with strap+snaps, very quick and easy. There are snaps under the top, which on my spring-loaded rack become unnecessary. Snaps on the sides let you tie it to the rack. I don't bother with these and in case they fly up, I don't mind looking like Dumbo once a year.
- I keep an extra padlock to lock the pannier onto the rack when I leave it outside.
- So the bag has a handle. You can carry it into the grocery store. When full and heavy, I do find it difficult to slip it on the spring loaded rack. Maybe practice makes master? I still just get grocery bags and slip those into the panniers.
- My only gripe is that the bags come with four stiffeners, plastic sheets that I have a hard time getting into place. These slip inside, into the bottom and the backs and front and give the panniers their boxy-shape. I decided to leave them out altogether since they make the panniers permanently bulky. Without the stiffeners in, I can slip the panniers off the bike and put away without them taking so much space. Maybe it's not a gripe after all.
- The assembly is otherwise extremely simple and practical. No hidden pockets, no frills or pop-out magic.
- I don't really care how the panniers look, they're black and grey. For me that means just fine.

To summarize, I highly recommend for the budget ($25- +/-) and use for moderate weight and convenience. As with other things in life, if you take precaution and treat it well, it will last just fine. Placing sharp objects in the bottom and loading with weight may puncture the bag but hey, that is logical, isn't it? I think it would last on a long tour if you use it right and don't abuse it.

This will make a second bag for me this one I purchased, the first bag was a gift but If I had purchased myself might have been seriously thinking of sending back for a few reasons like the clips did not hold and the material was on the cheap side.

The new ones I have now appear to have fixed those faults these are much better made and the clips actually work.
I choose the black/green for the color alone but one would assume they are all made the same otherwise, except for older gray/black version which I would recommend avoiding.

I should note the first bag was the gray/black version the least expensive version which now appears to have an update to silver/black that hopefully fixed those issues, if they are made like the black/green version I would agree.

I like these for the space which is adequate for my needs not to big nor small and that it has rigid panels so it keeps it's shape and are fairly strong, look good on my bike as well, the older black/gray version actually held up for quite awhile till started to rip. I ended up stitching it together by making holes through the necessary pieces and running zip ties through, and yes it worked for quite awhile and not all that noticeable still have them as a matter of fact but they are real beat up after many miles and conditions.

If you are looking for waterproof I am not sure on these new ones at this time, there is a liner but I would say they it is water resistant at best. I keep a couple heavy plastic bags in the bottom just in case to put my valuable stuff in just in case.

Anyway the big issue I have read over and over and I myself have had is with the bag hitting the wheel specifically the spokes which can lead to broken spokes, which as you may or may not know is not much fun to fix.
The other thing is that the bag rips along the top, in my case it is because I had it mounted wrong. The part between the bags needs to be fully supported by the bike rack front to back and side to side, so if you don't have a proper rack you are more than likely going to have problems eventually.

So I came up with a relatively easy add-on/mod that works well and clips onto the seat-stays part of frame. All the materials needed are a couple of mending plates, I used 5/8ths by 5" and some machine screws 10-32 by 3/4 and washers, couple small and then large diameter washers to increase surface area which is important to prevent tearing.
I ground the excess bolt off and smoothed the surfaces down on the inner part and covered with gorilla tape, I also used thread lock instead of lock washers just because I ran out of those size lock washers.

Anyway it turns out to be very strong and holds the bag firmly along with the straps in place on a proper bike rack, especially if you have to carry the bike with heavy items in the bags up stairs like I do works like a charm.

And of course most important it keeps the bag from hitting the wheel, at least on my bike setup works well.

Couple of pics will show the angle is important to align with the seat-stays part of the frame (that is the part from the seat tube to the rear hub) It is important for holding power up and down, front and back. The flat face of the plate should be flush with the stay, if not may not work as well as it does for me.

It is best to put the first hole with bolt through in the front facing corner of the bag where the straps are that way you can line everything up and determine the best point to make the bend in the plate, other bikes will be a bit different.
I also added a bit of gorilla tape to the frame.
Yes I like doing this sort of thing maybe you can come up with better or hopefully easier, I think with the clips the bags will last much longer.
Have fun, and safe cycling