Ortlieb Velocity 17 Litre Backpack

The Ortlieb Velocity 17L backpack is a durable and practical roll top bag that is big enough to fit most kit in, and comfortable to carry. 

During 'normal' times, the bulk of my review of a bag would be based on how it performed day-to-day on my commute. Given that my commute doesn't currently exist, my usual cargo of shoes, shirts, and trousers has been replaced by groceries, hand sanitiser and the like.

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While most of my commuting kit is pretty small and flat, the same can't be said of groceries, so it's given me an opportunity to test other aspects of a roll top, like how flexible they are – the reason they have become so successful among bike messengers as they allow for a huge range of loads.

For instance, I once sold an old turbo trainer and when the guy turned up to collect it he managed to fit the 20kg awkwardly shaped unit in a roll top bag and cycled home. However, as I am sure he discovered, the downside to this flexibility can be that you lose rigidity, which helps with comfort.

Carrying groceries was a good test for this, and unlike many roll tops the Velocity does well thanks to a semi-rigid back with pads. This means you get a certain degree of comfort and airflow on the back, without oddly shaped items sticking into you. The five back pads are fairly simple, with large gaps between them to allow for airflow and for them to mould around your back. Airflow was pretty good, although not as effective as something with even more rigidity.

Aside from the semi-rigid back, the rest of the bag is largely flexible, which meant that I could fit a large variety of stuff in it without needing to worry too much about their shape. Although I couldn't fit a full week's worth of shopping in it, it was certainly good for a few days' worth.

Inside the bag there's a removable zippable pocket and laptop pocket section, which attaches to the inside of the bag with Velcro. This is a nice addition as it gives you the option of more organisation, whereas traditional roll tops tend to just have a large main compartment and nothing else. Here, you can safely put your small items or items you need quick access to in one easy-to-find compartment. I found this particularly useful for keys and locks when I had to make a couple of stops.

The bag is held closed with a Velcro strap that runs over the top of the rolled top and fixes to a central strip on the front of the bag. This setup – as with most roll top bags – allows you to vary the size of the bag to suit differing loads. The only slight – and it is very slight – issue with this is that you can't just put the strap over a fully unrolled top. In the past I have needed to ride with things sticking out of the top, like poster tubes and wallpaper rolls, and not being able to do that is a bit of a shame.

The straps on the bag are wide, well padded, and offer airflow through a mesh liner. At one point I carried around 20kg on my back and didn't find them to be particularly uncomfortable, plus with some of my longer rides I didn't notice any excessive sweating under the straps, which can sometimes happen.

A chest strap and waist strap help with stability and weight distribution, and both are easy to remove if necessary.

In terms of weather protection the bag does a really good job of keeping everything out. I didn't have the chance to test it in anything more than a drizzle outside – which I was particularly pleased about from a riding perspective, less so in terms of reviewing – so I chucked a few pairs of socks inside, did it up and sprayed it with the hose for a few minutes. Nothing got through. It's classified as IP64, which means it's protected from dust ingress and water spray from any direction, but like Patrick reviewing Ortlieb's similarly classified Commuter Daypack, I'm confident that it would withstand rain.

Another thing I particularly like about this bag is that it's repairable. Normally, if something were to break you would probably just chuck it out and get another; here, even though it is clearly built to last with high-quality components and materials used throughout, you can easily replace elements. Ortlieb offers a huge range of spare parts that are easy to fit, with just a simple screw and plate design. This means the bag could last for as long as the company offers these spares.

That helps justify the cost which, at £90 RRP, is relatively high compared to other roll top bags, although it does also have features like the semi-rigid back and organising pockets.

For instance, the Altura Thunderstorm City 30 backpack comes in £10 cheaper while offering 13 litres more storage, and the Craft Cadence IPX5 Waterproof 30 Litre Roll Top Backpack that Tony looked at is £20 cheaper, and again offers an additional 13 litres of storage, and an external pocket.

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It is £15 cheaper than the Braasi Industries 18-litre backpack that Vecchiojo reviewed last year, and a lot less than the 22-litre Chrome Barrage at £175.

Conclusion

Although it is more expensive than some rivals, and it would be nice to be able to use the strap while the bag is unrolled, the Ortlieb Velocity 17L is a very good rucksack that carries a variety of loads while offering effective protection from the weather and still being comfortable to wear. It should also last a very long time.

Verdict

Practical, comfortable and repairable roll top backpack