Anybody in the market for 411 Himalayan panniers basically ends up with those costly RE stock types. They are good but not very good, but they are very expensive.
One of their weak spots is the supply of spares - ZERO - . No kidding, if the lock fails you are on your own, if you lose the keys you are on your own, if you damage the top cover there is no replacement and if you damage one out of a pair - you get to buy a new PAIR.
In my experience they are also not 100% water tight, at least not when washed with a pressure hose or in monsoon rain.
I have been looking for alternatives for a while and nothing made in India could even remotely satisfy my quality standards. The do shitty work, which is accepted widely here it seems. Its cheap but cheap shit.
Now I have come across some very nice 44 liter Italian made cases. These are originally made for weapons transport. Very sturdy but also a bit elastic (probably wont break on medium impacts) and they are not only water tight but air tight (they have an air valve screw on top to allow air to get in or out if needed, e.g. during flights with significant air pressure changes).
I will adapt them to fit the OEM RE carrier (which will also be available soon for the 450 model) and I am also in the process of having compatible carriers made for the Meteor, Hunter and New Classic.
Here are some pics (the rear lower connectors are white only on the prototype, they are 3d printed)
![WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_4dec836e.jpg WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_4dec836e.jpg](https://forum.himalayan-tools.com/data/attachments/1/1710-ffb9257b1dca41c7f3c0b6a51b953609.jpg?hash=_7klex3KQc)
![WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_9d073b44.jpg WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_9d073b44.jpg](https://forum.himalayan-tools.com/data/attachments/1/1711-014ac356995738fbb9840b23a26b2eda.jpg?hash=AUrDVplXOP)
![WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.25_ece5f934.jpg WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.25_ece5f934.jpg](https://forum.himalayan-tools.com/data/attachments/1/1712-d3202574e589659c63093f0eb676fc64.jpg?hash=0yAldOWJZZ)
![WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.23_a075d44c.jpg WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.23_a075d44c.jpg](https://forum.himalayan-tools.com/data/attachments/1/1713-f381aed25e477c06519f54bec5aa70d6.jpg?hash=84Gu0l5HfA)
![WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_223a5ef1.jpg WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_223a5ef1.jpg](https://forum.himalayan-tools.com/data/attachments/1/1715-4bc1576f4c47e2b514d8659fb372d7e4.jpg?hash=S8FXb0xH4r)
One of their weak spots is the supply of spares - ZERO - . No kidding, if the lock fails you are on your own, if you lose the keys you are on your own, if you damage the top cover there is no replacement and if you damage one out of a pair - you get to buy a new PAIR.
In my experience they are also not 100% water tight, at least not when washed with a pressure hose or in monsoon rain.
I have been looking for alternatives for a while and nothing made in India could even remotely satisfy my quality standards. The do shitty work, which is accepted widely here it seems. Its cheap but cheap shit.
Now I have come across some very nice 44 liter Italian made cases. These are originally made for weapons transport. Very sturdy but also a bit elastic (probably wont break on medium impacts) and they are not only water tight but air tight (they have an air valve screw on top to allow air to get in or out if needed, e.g. during flights with significant air pressure changes).
I will adapt them to fit the OEM RE carrier (which will also be available soon for the 450 model) and I am also in the process of having compatible carriers made for the Meteor, Hunter and New Classic.
Here are some pics (the rear lower connectors are white only on the prototype, they are 3d printed)
![WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_4dec836e.jpg WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_4dec836e.jpg](https://forum.himalayan-tools.com/data/attachments/1/1710-ffb9257b1dca41c7f3c0b6a51b953609.jpg?hash=_7klex3KQc)
![WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_9d073b44.jpg WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_9d073b44.jpg](https://forum.himalayan-tools.com/data/attachments/1/1711-014ac356995738fbb9840b23a26b2eda.jpg?hash=AUrDVplXOP)
![WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.25_ece5f934.jpg WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.25_ece5f934.jpg](https://forum.himalayan-tools.com/data/attachments/1/1712-d3202574e589659c63093f0eb676fc64.jpg?hash=0yAldOWJZZ)
![WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.23_a075d44c.jpg WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.23_a075d44c.jpg](https://forum.himalayan-tools.com/data/attachments/1/1713-f381aed25e477c06519f54bec5aa70d6.jpg?hash=84Gu0l5HfA)
![WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_223a5ef1.jpg WhatsApp Image 2024-05-29 at 13.54.24_223a5ef1.jpg](https://forum.himalayan-tools.com/data/attachments/1/1715-4bc1576f4c47e2b514d8659fb372d7e4.jpg?hash=S8FXb0xH4r)
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