Blackburn Outpost Top Tube bag | Review

UPDATE2: NEW BAG ARRIVED: I forgot to tell them mine was camo. No big deal except I think the nylon on the black one might be lighter weight (i.e. 500-600? denier). It also came with  smaller set of straps, which might alleviate the need for my inner tube "adapter" mentioned below. More to come...

UPDATE: After 9 months of hard use, the main zipper failed. Kind of disappointing but shit happens. What happened next, doesn't normally happen. I called customer service and they said it had a lifetime warranty (I thought, yeah right!). They asked me for my name and address and said a replacement bag would be on its way shortly. YGTFKM! That is the way to keep loyal customers. Thanks Blackburn

I know, if you've seen one top tube bag, you've seen them all. Not really.  

First of all, what is a top tube bag? Roadies abhor them, Mountain bikers giggle when they see one on the trail. But gravel bikers worship them. You won't see many gravel bikes without some form of a top tube bag. Sometime called a "tank bag". They can be used for any number of storage needs while on a lonely gravel ride. And to reiterate my earlier statement, they most certainly are not all the same.

There are MANY great tank bags out there and I have not tried them all. This is only a review of the Blackburn Outpost Top Tube Bag. First of all, Blackburn makes other top tube bags. Don't get them. Get this one. The "Outpost" line of bags is the higher quality offering from Blackburn. and much larger than the one they brand as "Local"

Now that we have cleared up what it is and which one you should buy, let's get to the good stuff, The bag attaches to the top tube (Hey, that's where the name comes from) by way of 2 Velcro straps. They are rubberized on the back so they grip the top tube better and don't slip around. There is also a nylon strap on the front to secure to the stem, also to keep it from flopping around. The stem strap utilizes a plastic "clamp" buckle that works, but I would have rather seen Velcro. The front of the bag has two slots for the strap so you can use the one that fits your stem configuration better. I tried both and the upper one provided a  more stable platform and the bad doesn't move around at all.

The frame of my Salsa Vaya is steel and has a smaller diameter top tube than aluminum bikes so the straps had a lot of extra "strap". I wrapped a little piece of inner tube around my frame where the straps went around and it made the diameter a little larger, protected by frame and also provided a better rubbery grip. It does not budge when I am riding down rough Oklahoma B-roads.

The bag is constructed of a heavy gauge "rip-stop" nylon. I don't know the denier, but feels like at least 1000. Inside the bag there is a removable/adjustable padded divider to keep smaller things from bouncing around inside. Take it out and throw it in your toolbox. It just makes the inside of the bag smaller. No one ever said "I wish the inside of this bag was smaller". Joking aside if you weren't carrying larger items like a tube and phone etc., the divider might be handy, just not for me. As the kids say, YMMV...or IMO

The bag itself is padded on all sides and has pretty good structure and holds up well to rough treatment. The 2 way zipper opens from the front or the back depending on your ambidextrous-ness. There are two little slots on the sides that seemed pretty useless, but I found it to be a pretty good place for a folded up $20 bill or a couple of quick links. So I apologize to Blackburn for calling them useless. One of them has a zipper

Cockpit view

What can you carry in it? Just about anything, depending on your bike setup. I have a feed bag on my bars (later review) so in my tank bag, I have a spare tube, a multi-tool, tire levers and my phone (Strava) when I am riding. You can see from the pictures that there is also a mesh pocket on the top which is actually the main reason I chose this bag over some of the other higher priced bags like Revelate or Cedaero

Let me explain something, I HATE DOGS. Actually, that's not really true.  I love dogs. I hate people who let their dogs run wild in the country. But in any case, gravel riders have to deal with dogs. Do I want to shoot them? No. Do I want them to be harmed? No. But the reality is they need to be dealt with. The mesh pocket on top is a perfect holster for a can of Halt Dog Repellent. Sure it could go inside the bag or in a Camelbak, but when you need it, you need it FAST!. This mesh pocket is exactly in the right spot. No fumbling with a zipper or digging in a pocket while you're burning down a stretch of gravel at 20mph. Only thing worse than a dog bite is crashing while burning down a stretch of gravel at 20mph. 

Every gravel rider has a different set up and different bags. If you don't have a feed bag, you can use this for snacks. I think it would even hold a beer if needed. If you have a seat bag for your tubes and flat gear, you can make use of this bag for glasses, batteries, phones, etc. I have it for the mesh dog spray holster on top.

The bag isn't small and gets in the way just a little bit when I stand over the top tube but that is not very often. After all we ride, not stand.

Blackburn makes quality gear, especially the Outpost line of their products. It comes in ubiquitous black or cool camo like mine. I give the Outpost Top Tube Bag a 4.75 hollowpoint rating. (a 1-5 rating system I carried over from my gun gear reviews). If you don't like guns, you might not like my other blog posts. But that's OK

Salsa Cycles Vaya