Archives: Testimonials

The panpack’s just passed the 4k mile and 25-year mark. They have been to the Philippines, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Ireland plus to all over the continental US. We used both the front and rear packs as our backpacks on the 10-day backcountry Dusky Track hike in the Fjiordlands of New Zealand and they rocked it! Fantastic gear chunks!!!

“hey sorry for the late response. did a 10,000km tour over 161 days last year, up to the Arctic ocean and all over bc hitting up hot springs.  your bag really helped me hike comfortably up into Dewar Hot Springs and Portage Brûlé Rapids Hot Springs.  very versatile and massive capacity.  ortlieb bags are overrated in my opinion… can’t sew patches on them!….keep up the good work!  every cyclist i meet is blown away by the world tour panpack“

Hey Phil, 7 weeks into my trip and all thumbs up for PanPacks! Met Eric & Joan of S.F. rolling out of Tibet (I was heading for the border) and they were sporting some nice panpacks as well.

Good biking out here, they have a couple of hills and some little creeks. I went rafting last week and spent most of the rapid’s swimming.

Thanks for all your help with my panier / departure fiasco!

Spinning in Nepal, Chris of Philly.”

hi phil & co.! i got my world tour pan pack on tuesday, took it on the road on thursday! this was the perfect occasion….kennicott, alaska…..an old copper mining town.

we parked our car on one side of the river, and (since the bridge across is too small for cars) rode our bikes across and into the towns of mccarthy and kennicott…..a fabulous weekend, and i was the only one with panniers, let alone the pan pack! i laughed (to myself) as my friends rode with backpacks……never again for me!

the backpack part didn’t get used too much, but the shoulder strap was very helpful for lugging the pack into our cabin when i went out for a fun ride….. next week, denali park and the backpack portion of the pan pack! postcard is in the mail! thank you!

Colleen, Anchorage, Alaska

Hey Phil,

Well actually by the time I got your E-Mail I had already spent two weeks biking from Nice to Spain with my Brule pannier/backpack and was very pleased. You make a wonderful product and I would recommend it to anyone. I took some shots of the gear in action. I’ll send you some when I have a moment to sort through my stuff.

Thanks again for making a truly innovative and much needed product. I hope to be back on the road with it soon. Take care Tony

Letter from 2000

“Hey Phil, You may not remember me, but I bought 2 of your panpacks with the day packs back in April of last year. Well we just got back after a year on the road and I thought I would drop a line telling you how great the packs worked out. We had no serious problems and both packs hardly have a scratch on them. The covers you made for us were perfect. Not a single problem with any airline.

Our trip started in Amsterdam on May 14, and after 4 months and 4500 km, we were back in Eng. in Sept. We then took a truck trip for 4 months ending up in Nepal. Then a month in Bali and then 2 months in New Zealand where we started cycling again. We traveled about 1500 km in NZ, then returned to the US. On the bikes and off, the packs worked exactly as designed. Many people we met were very impressed, especially in NZ. They do a lot of hiking there (they call it tramping), and the other cyclists we met either had backpacks as part of their normal gear or rented backpacks. When they saw the panpack, they realized how perfect they are for that environment.

I passed your cards out around the world so I hope you get some responses. There are a couple of things I would like to suggest. If you have already thought of these, could you let me know how you’ve worked them out. 1. This is just a quality control issue. On my panpack, the strap that connects to the bottom of the rack was just barely long enough to clip on. I often had trouble clipping and unclipping that strap. Both sides were much shorter on mine than on my girl friends. Her’s were long enough to clip on then easily cinch down. Make sure these straps are long enough on future shipments. (this item is watched very closely now thanks to Bruce!) 2. Could the opening to the middle compartment, the one that sits on the back rack, be turned around to face the back? We would keep our rain gear in the compartment. To open it, we would have to work under the seat. If the opening faced the other way, it would be much easier. (We haven’t implemented this suggestion as we are concerned with water penetration at the compartment opening) 3.

The day pack which goes on the front rack has a tendency to slip off when the bike is on a kick stand. We bought little bungi cords to secure the front pack. If you let the front wheel turn extremely, then tension on the straps isn’t always enough to hold it on (We now provide a strap on both the day panpack and Weekender (formerly commuter) panpack models, thanks again Bruce!). I don’t think I’m explaining myself very well, but if you would like to discuss this further, just let me know.

One last thing, When we arrived in Bali, we noticed two other cyclists assembling their bikes and I was amazed to see that they also had panpacks. They had just arrived from NZ. We talked for awhile about your product, exchanged phone numbers and said good bye. But we were not able to reach them after that. They said they were from Colorado and I think their names were Jim and Sarah. Something like that anyway. They said they had bought their panpacks in May of 97. Thanks for making our trip what it was. We might have some great promotional photos. If you would like to see them let me know.

Bruce “

“I purchased a commuter panpack from you a while back and just wanted to let you know that I love your product. My wife and I went travelling in Washington, USA and did extensive hiking and biking and used the panpack for both and it was especially useful on days when we combined hiking and biking. I currently use the panpack daily for my bike commutes. I can carry everything I need safely and securely in the PanPack. I just wanted to let you know that I think your Panpack is wonderful and I tell all my friends about your company. Keep up the good work. I know where I plan to by my next set of panniers.”

Phil, I completed my first trip with my new Brule Mountain World Tour and low-rider panniers. They were fully loaded as I was camping and cooking along the way. As expected they were wonderful. I traveled from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo for a riding distance of 275 miles in 3-1/2 days along the rugged Pacific coast. Thank you for your great design and especially for your response in introducing the new low-rider panniers. I look forward to another great trip soon and eventually a cross-America trip after retirement in about three years and perhaps a European trip after that. I wish you an enjoyable and successful 2001.

Best regards, …Norm

Dear Phil,

First, I want to thank you for the excellent customer service I received while considering what panniers I needed. Your expert advice helped in my decision making process and turned out to be 100% correct. Second, I want to thank you for an outstanding product. The Panpacks are unquestionably one of the best purchases I have ever made.

I finally made it to United Kingdom and Ireland. After several weeks of heavy use on and off my bike, including torrential winds and rain, the World Tour Panpack and the Day Pack Panpack performed flawlessly. I could not have been happier with the performance of these outstanding packs. My wife an I flew into Manchester, we used the Day Panpacks as carry-ons, retrieved our bikes and Panpacks, assembled our bikes, quickly loaded our bikes with the Panpacks and pedaled off to the beautiful Lakes District. We continued on our journey to Scotland, and after a few days stay in Dunkeld we made our way to the Scottish Highlands.

I carried the World Tour Panpack on our ascent of Ben Nevis. Afterwards, upon converting the Panpacks back into panniers, we mounted our bikes headed to the coast. We took a ferry to Northern Ireland and again on our bikes we found Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast. This area was enjoyable riding and breathtaking. We took our time and eventually made it to Ireland. We found the cliffs of Slieve League in Donegal as awe-inspiring as the Scottish Highlands.

All in all it was a wonderful adventure. Your Panpacks made it all the more enjoyable. In October, I took the Panpacks on Cycle North Carolina’s( http://www.cyclenorthcarolina.org ) ride from Boone to Wilmington, North Carolina. On this 7 day adventure I had extra room in the packs! Just recently, I took a self-supported bike tour trip of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Again, your Panpacks performed above expectations.

My wife and I have found that your Panpacks have gotten a great deal of attention during our travels. In fact, we have had people stop just to ask us about them. Hope this sent some business your way:) Thanks again!!!

D. Ivan, Charlotte, North Carolina