Saddle bag

Saddle bags are a useful accessory but can often ruin the look of a nice bike; a baggy material with velcro straps wrapped around multiple surfaces. The Lezyne Pod Caddy does away with straps and baggyness, creating a saddle rail mounted hard shell case.

The Lezyne Phone Caddy is large enough to take not only your mobile phone but a bunch of other ride essentials too, and it'll fit neatly inside a jersey pocket.

The Phone Caddy, which measures 150mm x 110mm x 45mm, is made from a nylon fabric and although it's not fully waterproof, it's water-resistant.

The Camper Long Flap is a saddlebag, part of the Carradice Originals range, and designed (you will not be surprised to hear) for lightweight touring and ultralight cycle camping.

Manufactured from 'cotton duck', a traditional fabric woven from cotton which is incredibly hard wearing and has an inherent water resistance, the Camper Longflap is the largest bag in the Carradice Originals saddlebag line.

Considering its 24 litres capacity, I was very keen to see if the bag would indeed carry everything necessary for a camping tour.

A leather saddlebag is a classic cycling accessory that my grandad would have found familiar. That said, it's hard to avoid the phrase 'Gucci manbag' when trying to describe this offering from Spa Cycles.

Not everyone needs to take several rounds of sandwiches, a phone, a camera, a waterproof, a spare gear cable, three tubes, patches, a lucky Gonk and all the other saddlebag detritus that some deem necessary on a ride all stuffed into a saddlepack that would trouble a budget airlines baggage allowance, others like to travel fast and light, the Lezyne Micro Caddy (Small) is for those people.

Avenir's 1.5 litre Sonic Welded Waterproof Seat Pack represents excellent value. The top-notch 840/420 denier laminated polyurethane construction comes complete with welded seams and the roll top closure gobbles multi tools, a long handled fixie-type wrench, spare tubes, race-cape, energy bars, keys, wallet, smart phone, energy bars and contingency lighting. The prodigious outer flap not only locks the great British weather out but also incorporates a blinky mount for neat, nocturnal safety.

Knog's The Dog saddle is made from the same super tactile 1200denier waterproof cotton duck as the Pig Dog Messenger Bag I reviewed this time last year, with efficient packing its diminutive dimensions will just about gobble a small multi-tool, patch kit; tyre levers and two heavily restrained spare tubes. Very nicely executed and all you'd need for a pared to the essentials pack, but 17 quid still feels steep.

Ah, it was almost such a good seatpack. The Exspider is a cavernous pack that'll easily swallow enough survival kit for an epic ride. The only problem is that if you do fill it up, it's not really built well enough for the job in hand.

The Tour bag from SKS is sturdy and cunningly engineered bag that is just the job for short audaxes and day rides.