Miss Grape Cluster 13 Adventure waterproof seatpack

The Miss Grape Cluster 13 Adventure waterproof seatpack is capacious and hard-wearing. It provides a decent amount of storage for longer bike-packing trips, but it is on the expensive side.

First impressions of the Cluster 13 Adventure are that it feels sturdy, if a little plasticky. It’s made of heavy-duty nylon and polyester — think along the lines of the padded shoulders of a donkey jacket, if your only frame of reference is 1960s workwear. It certainly seems tough enough to survive the brambly rigmaroles of the harshest bikepacking routes.

Miss Grape also says the bag is completely waterproof, a claim that I tested from the inside out by filling the whole thing with water — and nary a drop escaped.

Instead of welding seams like most bikepacking brands, the Cluster 13 Adventure is hand-stitched in Italy and then lined with a waterproof membrane, which means you can confidently pack it with electronics such as portable chargers.

Capacity

Having tested the waterproofing, I then transferred the water into a bucket, a test that confirmed that yes, this bag’s capacity is indeed 13 litres — although the weight limit tops out at 5kg, so you couldn’t use it to transport the contents of, say, 17 bottles of wine.

You can, however, use the bag to transport essential items. There’s ample room in here for your kit, and it happily swallowed all my Audax essentials: inner tubes, a toolkit, a large pump, sunscreen, and a jacket.

You could fit a change of clothes in here, and I separately managed to slot in an 11in tablet, making lightweight cafe commuting a possibility.

Bikepackers will more likely stuff it with small essentials: I managed to fill it with a lightweight mat and sleeping bag, plus a compressed insulated jacket. There are probably tents that would fit into this size bag, but I can’t afford them.

There are no internal dividers or elasticated pockets here, so your stuff will bounce about a bit if it’s not secured, but you can roll up the top to reduce size and increase compression. The outside features some handy loops though, which I used to carry a lightweight lock, and they’ll also accommodate a rear light.

Attachment and usage

The Cluster 13 Adventure attaches via two chunky velcro straps around your seat tube. There’s plenty of leeway here for bigger tubes, including aero ones, and there are also extended velcro panels on the bag itself to keep the loose ends from flapping about on lower-diameter seat posts. Two buckled nylon straps secure the bag to your saddle rails, and again there are rubber loops to prevent loose ends twirling in the wind.

In use, the Cluster 13 Adventure is barely noticeable. If it’s done up tight enough, it doesn’t bob or sway, even on rough terrain. The only very minor issue I experienced was that I felt a very small amount of pressure on my inner thighs when I was further back on the saddle, but it’s no deal-breaker.

Conclusion

The Cluster 13 Adventure ticks all the boxes, and it’s one of the larger saddlebags of this style — although its £165 price tag is similarly massive.

It’s got competition in the shape of the Oxford Aqua Evo Adventure. Josh had issues with some of the stitching and the lack of a light loop, and its 11-litre capacity is a little lower, but I prefer the design (particularly in black) and at £54.99, it’s less than half the price.

The other alternative — and the bag of choice for seasoned Audaxers — is a Carradice, such as the Odyssey Saddlebag 26L (£124.95). These versatile and hardy bags fit in with the more utilitarian nature of Audaxing, and they offer a lot more storage.

However, Carradices require a little more investment than standalone bags: they work best with saddles with bag loops (such as Brooks Cambium C17) and an additional support to prevent swaying. They can also look like something you’d use to transport grenades to the front line in WWI.

This is exactly where the Cluster 13 Adventure fits in. It’s perfect for bikepackers who don’t want to invest in the Carradice ecosystem, but who still want a nigh-on indestructible and versatile bag they can trust for longer trips, such as ultra-endurance and transcontinental rides. For everyone else, the Oxford Aqua Evo Adventure will suffice.

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