The Nomad is a saddle bag from ‘Rynox Gears’ who is a new player in the motorcycle travel gear segment in India and offers a decent lineup of products primarily consisting of tankbags, tailbags and saddlebags. The ‘Nomad’ is a good quality saddle bag with a decent feature set and brings in the same quality and finish seen across its entire range.
Looks
If there is something that we have seen consistent with Rynox products is that they always look good. The up-swept design of bags make sure the bags do not rest on the exhaust and departs from the conventional boxy looks. The 3M webbing material, 1680D polyester with PVC coating, the leather patches and the overall fit and finish gives the saddle bags premium upmarket feel to it. All stitching are strong with no loose ends. The Nomad definitely is a trendy looking saddle bag that will look good on all the bikes out there.
Safety
The Nomad is a strongly built bag with tough material. The YKK zippers felt a bit light and flimsy initially, but they turned out to be quite strong and really effective water proof. The base of the bag consists of a detachable PE sheet that add extra strength and give the bag proper shape. The inner side of the saddle bags is made of slip, scratch and heat resistant protective material that makes sure your side panels are safe. There are also 3 hoops on each bag to secure it in place with the straps provided. The two main Velcro strips can either go below the seat or above the seat depending on make and model of the bike and are very strong. The extra straps we mentioned provide for the fastening of the bag, one goes over the tail and the rear grab-rails, one below the tail section ( or can be fastened to the foot rest bar again depending on make and model ) and one again over or under the seat. We found the fully loaded bag completely expanded to be a bit wobbly and move around a bit while riding.
Functionality
Once expanded with a capacity of 38 litres per side space is definitely a luxury. Like we said earlier the up-swept makes sure that the bags remain safe from a hot exhaust. The basic material the tank bag is made up is quite thick and tough. The extra two pockets provide for placing quick access materials. The padded shoulder straps provide for an easy way to carry the bags once off the bike. There are extra belt hoops provided that can be used to fasten tripods, tents or any other stuff.
Verdict
The Nomad from Rynox Gears is a saddle bag with a lot of space. The mounting system takes a bit getting used to but once you get a hang of it, its pretty ok. The only thing that we were not comfortable was with the bag loosing its shape and droopy when fully expended and loaded. The Nomad is priced at Rs 3,990/- and considering the large capacity, the easy top mounting, the shoulder straps and good quality materials all add up to the saddle bags being a good option.
