Gear Review / Nelson Rigg Hurricane 30L Backpack/Tail Bag

The Nelson Rigg Hurricane 2.0 tailbag/backpack on tour in Newfoundland. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

If you’re commuting on your motorcycle, a good backpack is very helpful. If you’re touring on your motorcycle a good tail bag is very helpful. So, when I saw Nelson Rigg's new 30-liter Hurricane bag, which can fill both roles, I thought—"Let's see how that idea works out." I sent the company a note, they shipped me a test unit free of charge—and here we are now, almost at the end of the Canadian riding season. I used this bag for most of the year; here's how it worked out.

The Hurricane is part of Nelson Rigg's revamped lineup, made of UV-treated 24-ounce PVC tarpaulin-style fabric. Unlike the older textiles that Nelson Rigg and most other companies used, this fabric is completely waterproof, which is obviously a helpful feature in moto equipment.

The main compartment features roll-top closure, with a buckle on each side of the opening as well as one in the middle. These are large, tough buckles; I suppose they could break if you abused them, but they look and feel ready to hold up to years of regular use.

On one side of the pack, there's a bottle holster that's perfectly-sized for an MSR fuel bottle, including some retention straps to keep said bottle in place. Both sides of the bag have carry handles built-in, along with a few MOLLE-style loops. The front of the pack (or is it the back?) has two backpack straps with a sternum strap; the back of the pack (or is it the front?) has a flap that the rolltop buckles into. This flap has built-in MOLLE-style loops, and internal pockets.

There's an air purge valve built into the bag, and inside, there's a sleeve that can hold laptops up to roughly 15 inches in size.

To use the Hurricane as a tail bag, Nelson Rigg includes four pieces of its Rigg Strap webbing. Using the loops at the end of the webbing, you can attach the Rigg Straps to your bike; then, you can attach the hooked cambuckles at the end of the Rigg Straps to the bag's MOLLE loops.

The flap on top of the bag made a convenient spot for bottle storage (in this case, a bottle of octane booster). Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Every once in a while, I test a piece of moto gear that shines as an obviously well-thought out, well-built piece of kit. The Hurricane bag is one of those pieces of gear. However, I think it is best used as a tailbag, with the backpack capability less useful.

I thought the Hurricane was a good tailbag for three reasons: It's waterproof, it's much quicker to attach than a lot of other soft luggage, and it's reasonably quick to access for items as needed on the road.

The secret to the quick attachment is the Rigg Strap system. It doesn't take long to install them around slots or holes cut into a rack; I suppose many motorcycles would offer other hard points for tying down as well. Once they’re secured to your bike, strapping down the bag is as easy as placing it on your rack, sliding the hooked cambuckles into the MOLLE loops, tightening all four straps with a good tug, and tucking the ends away. You’re done the task in about the same time as it takes to read this paragraph.

While some soft luggage systems offer similarly quick attachment, most don't. With most duffel bags or tail bags, you’ve got to route bungee cords carefully around, or otherwise fuss and fidget with straps to get everything right. With the Hurricane, it's set-it-and-forget it. And since I had this tailbag on a KTM 690 Enduro R, with the fuel fill cap behind the seat, I was always loosening and tightening the tailbag. Unlike previous trips on bikes with a similar layout, this was easy-peasy every time, with nothing loosening between stops. #gallery-2 { margin: auto; } #gallery-2 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-2 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-2 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

I will say that adding a BMW cam strap around the middle of the bag made things even more tight and tidy, but I left that home on the last tour I used this bag on, and didn't miss it.

So, the bag is quick to attach, almost as quick as hard luggage. But the other advantage hard luggage has over soft luggage is that it's often quicker to access your gear with a plastic or metal topbox; most soft bags are annoying to root around in.

The Hurricane needed a bit more faffing about than a topbox from Givi, etc., but again–it was pretty quick to access the internals and be on your way. Soft luggage usually takes extra attention after you’ve been rummaging about inside. Shifting the bag's contents usually means you have to tighten straps and possibly adjust the load a bit. Not so with the Hurricane design; simply unsnap the buckles, pull out whatever you need from the bag, and snap the rolltop buckles closed again. All the bag needs is a quick tug on all four Rigg Straps, and you’re back on the road.

On the road in Burgeo, Newfoundland. I rode all over Atlantic Canada with this tailbag and would recommend it highly, based on my experience. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

I put thousands of kilometers down with this bag, to almost every corner of Atlantic Canada, and found it to be the most convenient tailbag I’ve ever used. I will say that if I was going to be doing harder off-road riding, I would want a different arrangement, something that carried weight lower and allowed a bit more movement backwards on the seat. But for my purposes this summer—street riding with the odd gravel road and bumpy radio tower trail thrown in—this was perfect.

I will also say that the backpack function was a nice feature, but I don't think I’d use it as a backpack unless I needed to. Most larger rolltop bags do not work well as backpacks due to their shape, and while the Hurricane comes with comfortable straps (including a sternum strap), it isn't as tight to your body as most riders would want—although I know some riders are perfectly happy with a loose fit, leaving their backpack to sit on the seat behind them. If that's you, then this bag will work fine for you.

I do think that if I was traveling light, and traveling in a place where I was reluctant to leave my luggage unattended on the bike, the backpack feature would be welcome. It would be a very quick job to remove the Hurricane from its tailbag position and wear it around as a backpack, so nobody could steal it off the bike when you’re not looking. In summary: The backpack straps weren't a feature I personally used, but I do think other ADVers would.

The Hurricane 2.0 bag will hold just about enough camping gear for a weekend trip; it stays planted on the bike, and it's very waterproof. It comes with a $169.95 US MSRP, and a lifetime warranty. If you’re truly skint, then by all means, keep on using a canoe dry bag—but if you’ve got the money to invest in some functional and practical gear, I can say this is something I would spend my own cash on. More details at Nelson Rigg's website.