REVIEW

On my last annual Southern Groadie pilgrimage , I loaded the GasGas up with the Kriega OS-Base , three Kriega road packs ( two of my old US-10 packs and a trusty US-20 pack that I ’ ve had for donkey ’ s years ) and bought one of Kriega ’ s new off-road OS-18 packs to carry the gear I needed for 10 days away back-country exploring and camping . It worked pretty well , but was a bit of a mix and match set-up using both road and dirt Kriega bags . The old bags mounted using the original straps , but they were not coming off easily , making overnight stops a faff . The newer bags have more mounting options with extra attachment loops that clip straight into the OS-base , which makes them easier to remove . My experience with the 18-litre OS-18 bag gave me the nudge to get a couple more of the OS bags to go alongside it . My first try-out with this setup was planned to be into the Denniston Plateau for a scouting ride up the Mt Frederick 4WD route . This was looking to be a pretty hard ride , so packing light was going to be key . So , I packed the OS-base with an OS-12 either side and the OS-18 on the top . This is enough to hold a small camping cooker , two-person tent , sleeping bag , air pillow , a bit of food , some civvies for when not on the bike and a hipflask of whisky . The OS bags are similar to the US bags but designed with adventure and off-road riding in mind . There ’ s the same removable waterproof inner bag and roll-top closure , but the material is heavier duty . Just getting to the Mt Frederick track from the Lyell Saddle end of the Denniston track is a decent adventure in its own right , involving steep gravel climbs and river crossings including the notoriously fickle Mackley River . Even when running lown the Mackley is normally around knee deep , with a few deeper pockets ready to catch out the unwary who wander . Aside from the rain , crossing the Mackley turned out to be a

KRIEGA

98 KIWI RIDER