Last May when I did a weekend trip to Cedar Key, I ended up carrying a lot of stuff in a backpack, because my tank bag and tail bag didn't quite hold everything I wanted to bring. Well that was kind of pain and took a little of the enjoyment out of the trip. So since then I have been looking for some smallish saddlebags to make weekend trips easier.

Newenough had these Nelson Rigg mini saddlebags on sale for $69, so I picked them up.

In typical Newenough style, they arrived almost before I could close the browser from ordering them.  Upon trying them on for size however, I realized that while they could strap to the tag bracket in the back, I had nothing to secure them to in the front. I removed my passenger pegs long ago.

I dragged the passenger pegs back out and my husband spray painted them black so they wouldn't stand out like a sore thumb against the rest of the bike. Two coats of paint and one of clear later, we remounted them, and the bags could now be strapped down.

Got the bags on, now what can they hold? Here is all the stuff I tried to get in them, and succeeded (note - this isn't necessarily what I would carry, just using easily recognized items to show the space available in the bags).

Knox Cross Guard Knee Guards in their tote bag
DSLR bag
Skinnys Balaclava sweater
pair of jeans
hat
wallet
cosmetic bag
Garmin Satnav
Phone
glasses case

With the rain covers on:

And as the finishing touch, I added my Bag Connections "Reverse" tail bag to the mix. This wonderful little bag doubles as a tank bag. I found it was easy enough to just tie it down to the same points the saddlebags are tied to. Then I rode to my friend Lauren's house (across the county) and back to test out my new set up. They stuck like glue.

I am fairly pleased with this set up, so far. The real test will be when I am able to go on a road trip. Hopefully soon!