Test: Vaude has been represented on the bicycle market for several years now with a large number of products - in addition to the core area of clothing, the company from the Allgäu also offers all kinds of accessories. For example, the versatile Vaude Newport II bag, which wants to be a messenger bag and bicycle bag in one. Our test shows whether this works.
application
The Newport II consists of a very solid, haptically extremely successful plastic. It is similar to the material from which, for example, truck tarpaulins are made and makes a really hard-wearing and weather-resistant impression. The Newport does not show any weaknesses when it comes to the seams, buckles and straps either: the workmanship is consistently successful and looks much more elegant than the low price would have led us to believe. Vaude goes its own way with the closure for the lid: while most manufacturers use a combination of Velcro and buckles, the Newport II can be closed with a zipper. This is unusual at first and takes a little longer, but the lid then holds really tight. The many reflective seams, inserts and elements that significantly increase visibility in the dark are also nice.
Seat
Before we turn to the seat of the Vaude Newport II, we should go into the special character of the bag. It is not only a shoulder bag or messenger bag, but also offers the possibility of being attached to almost any luggage rack by means of a removable rail on the back. So the Newport II can also be used as a bike/travel bag, which significantly increases the range of uses.
The mechanism is kept simple and can be understood without having to study the operating instructions for a long time. The upper hooks can be adjusted in many ways and adjusted to almost any conceivable luggage rack size. In practice, this works very well and the bag sits very securely on the luggage rack. A great extra is the included rain cover for use as a pannier. The bag itself is waterproof, but it also keeps the outside clean and dry. If the luggage carrier rail is not needed and the bag is used as a messenger bag, it can be removed in a matter of seconds with a flick of the wrist. Only the two plastic inserts remain. The official video from Vaude shows how the mechanism works in detail:
So much for mounting the luggage rack – but how does the bag fare as a messenger bag? First of all, we notice the missing waist or additional belt. The bag can only be fixed using the shoulder strap. If you tighten the bag properly, it stays reasonably firmly in place thanks to the non-slip underside of the shoulder pad - but active cyclists in particular who like to get out of the saddle in city traffic will miss the additional strap sorely - because it slips and wobbles unfortunately the Newport II does quite a bit. We were surprised that the two plastic inserts for the luggage rack rails hardly have a negative effect in terms of comfort - the lack of padding in the back area is more noticeable here. Sharp-edged objects press quite unpleasantly, especially on longer journeys.
Organization
As in each of our bag tests, the Vaude Newport II has to swallow our Velomotion test package:
- A 15″ laptop
- A Tupperware
- A notebook
- Two pens
- A full 1l bottle
We tested the Large version of the Newport II, which holds up to 22 liters - so our few items are not a big challenge. We stow everything in the Vaude bag without any problems. Our notebook fits like a glove in the padded inner pocket provided. The lack of an organizer is a bit negative: there is a compartment with a zip on the inside, but we didn't find any dedicated slots for pens. A few tabs on the inside provide a remedy. We really liked the small mesh compartment under the lid. It's perfect for quickly pocketing smaller items.
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