Ultralight Panniers?

[WarnerSpringsMonty]

I am brand new to all this, but I am an ultralight long distance backpacker. I live on the Sierra Cascade Route and the Pacific Crest Trail at Warner Springs, CA.
QUESTION: Right now total gear(similar to backpacking) minus food and water is under 10 pounds including gear to camp in freezing conditions. The Frontroller and Backroller Ortleib panniers I purchased weigh 7 pounds total! In normal weather conditions the bags will weigh as much as my gear! 
There must be someone making lighter bags? I calculate I could make a set of 4 waterproof, durable panniers of a similar size weighing a total of 2 pounds, BUT that would take me mega hours and the material costs of a bit of trial and error on expensive materials.
Any suggestions on lightening up a bit?
Is there another forum or source for "ultralight" touring or is this forum my best bet?

Thank you
Warner Springs Monty
The Fun goes Up when the Weight Goes Down ©warnerspringsmontytam

[John Nelson]

Panniers take a lot of abuse, so they usually have to be rugged, especially if you expect them to last a long time.

But you can buy a 44 liter Cuben Fiber backpack that weighs just over four ounces. I'll bet you could adapt this to bicycle touring, and it would easily hold all your gear. But these things are not designed to be long lasting.

http://www.zpacks.com/backpacks/zero.shtml

Also, this article might give you some good ideas:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/Ultralight

[staehpj1]

I stopped using panniers when I started going ultralight.  I have been using stuff sacks or dry bags and skipping the panniers.  You can see an article about my adventures in weight reduction at:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/Ultralight

Two other approaches folks use are a big Carradice saddle bag with all their gear and the rackless systems that bike packers favor.  Check out http://www.bikepacking.net/ for more on that.

If you are carrying much more than 20 pounds of stuff I'd just stick with panniers.

[WarnerSpringsMonty]

Pete and John
Wow. You both sent me Pete's article. I read it and got an introductory education. You both sound like experienced ultralight backpackers.

Z Packs!? Speaking of ultralight articles, the owner of Z Packs, "Samuri Joe" Valesco, took the photo in this article of mine when we finished the Pacific Crest Trail together. http://tinyurl.com/mkqd5mx .

My bike came with a rear rack.  The 7 pounds of Ortleibs are going back.  I have Z Packs as a direction to go. If I go without panniers, like Pete does, they have great stuff sacks.  They also sell the materials to make a set of panniers. I have Pete's article to refer back to while I make gear changes. This is amazing. Someone suggested this site this morning and I have all of this now from just one post!

Thank You
Monty

 

[RussSeaton]

I think staehpj1 already mentioned it, but you can sort of go without racks and panniers.  Adventure Cycling sells various bags that hold lots of gear.  Large saddlebags, bags that go in the main triangle, and handlebar bags.  Revelate Designs is the company that makes these.  And Carradice makes large saddlebags.  Jandd makes a large saddlebag too.  Pretty sure these bags are lighter than normal panniers.  And you are eliminating the rack weight.

http://www.adventurecycling.org/cyclosource-store/equipment/bikepacking/?P:Show=36
http://www.carradice.co.uk/index.php?page_id=product&under=range&product_id=33
http://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FMW3

[SlowAndSlower]

These Arkel DryLites http://www.adventurecycling.org/cyclosource-store/equipment/sp/arkel-dry-lites/ look interesting to me. A plus for me is that they work with rack packs.

[Nicolai Michel]

I ordered the Arkel Dry-Lites. Here's some info I got from the company:

The Dry-Lites seams are all sealed and the bags are completely waterproof. The Dry-Lites where design as rear saddle-bags but could be use up front if you use a front rack equipped with a plateform, such as the Old Man Mountain Sherpa front. The deck has to be at least 7 ½ inches long. These bags are designed to be extremely light, and as any piece of ultralight gear, they are definitely more fragile and they are mainly designed to carry “soft” gear like extra clothing, flip flops, jackets etc.. It is not recommended to carry heavy water bottles, mini stove, canned food etc.. These hard objects can cause wear and ultimately damage the bags.

[PAFARMBOY]

Was wondering how the zpack panniers worked out.  I, too, am a long distance backpacker trying to cut out any necessary weight needed for bike touring.  I'm a noob at bike touring.  Goal of 15 pounds gear max, including rack and panniers.  Plan to do 700 miles from Yorktown to Booneville, KY on the Trans Am in June.  Any insight would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[Nicolai Michel]

I used the Arkel Dry-Lites on the GDMBR. They are NOT designed for off-road use, and mine were from the first production run which was missing some critical reinforcement. I had to repair them after only a short distance and add straps through the D-rings to take some weight off the main velcro straps. The bungees were too long, so I tied a knot into each one to shorten them. This way they survived for the rest of the ride with a few abrasion holes (from hard objects inside rubbing where the pannier touches the rack,) and one bungee cord breaking. The stitching issue was corrected, and Arkel's customer service has been excellent.
I recommend the panniers for road use with light loads. Off-road with straps through the D-rings, but keep in mind they're ultralight and may fail. My Ortliebs are so much heavier I don't see myself using them again (except around town.) Main drawback of the Dry-Lites is that they're harder to install / remove from the rack.
Update: just noticed the fabric is now stronger, but the weight is also up considerably (from around 445g / pair to 520 g / pair.)

[Iowagriz]

If you haven't already, check out what the MTB guys are using for off-road BikePacking.  I know that one of those companies is creating panniers as well. 

http://revelatedesigns.com/
http://www.porcelainrocket.com/

[RonK]

Maybe these.
Micro Panniers

[Iowagriz]

Also just saw hashtags for the new Blackburn products.  I think that I saw a pannier on a pic.  Try searching #blackburnrangercamp.  Specifically, try user crc_hurl on Instagram, he had a post 2hrs ago (approx. 3pm CST) that shows a pannier.

[PAFARMBOY]

Thanks for the feedback.  Esp the dry-lites first hand experience.  Love how the internet has allowed home-grown cottage industry to fill the niches that are out there.  Never herd of porcelainrocket before.  Decided to go with two zero zpacks http://www.zpacks.com/backpacks/xs_zero.shtml and try to adapt the straps to serve as the tie downs.  I'll let you know how it turns out.