off-road.cc

The Zefal Z Adventure F10 is a useful bar-mounted bag that's fully waterproof, well-constructed and a good size with its 10 litres of storage. The attachment system seems a little overengineered, however, plus it's a bit fiddly to use and can interfere with cables and hoses. 

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With its cradle attachment for a simple roll-top waterproof bag, the Z Adventure fits fairly easily onto drop-bar bikes, and can fit mountain bikes too – though on flat bars I had issues with cables getting snagged and kinked.

The way the cradle sits can push cables and/or hoses into awkward angles. Other designs that use simple straps to attach don't have this issue.

Zefal-Z-Adventure-F10-Bar-bag-Review-3.jpg, by Jim Clarkson

The bag itself is made of a tough polyurethane (PU) that easily shrugs off both bad weather and the hosing down at the end of the ride, and offers a claimed 10L capacity and 4kg maximum load. It measures up at 390 mm x 180 mm x 180 mm, but note that with the mounting arrangement, it's slightly larger.

For reference I found a sleeping bag was a struggle to get in, unless very compressed, while a compact mat and a bivi bag slipped in with space left over for bits and bobs.

The cradle is a system of webbing stitched onto a firm wrap of a fabric, and allows many options for positioning. The waterproof bag then secures to it with two clips - these are removable and aren't the easiest to close, as the webbing doesn't have much slack. I also found them awkward to cinch down tight when the dry bag was full.

There's an area of velcro designed to stop the bag slipping out of the straps sideways. It seems like a good idea, but when you load the bag you need to slide it in with the straps already looped. The velcro grips the bag and makes that awkward.

On the other hand, the patch isn't strong enough to hold a 4kg bag alone, and help you load it with the straps undone. I’d rather have had longer straps and some sort of side webbing to stop it loosening.

Given that the three cradle-to-bike straps are tight and fiddly to fit into the webbing, and a little short, the overall feeling is one of overcomplication and unnecessary weight.

Zefal-Z-Adventure-F10-Bar-bag-Review-2.jpg, by Jim Clarkson

Once actually attached the bag is stable, with little to no bounce whatever the terrain does. Unfortunately, if the velcro isn't lined up perfectly the slippery waterproof fabric tends to let the bag creep off to one side or the other. It never happened on gravel or smooth surfaces, (and the drop bars of gravel bikes form natural end stops), but it was a frustrating issue on flat bars and long rough descents.

I like the whole solid feel of the Z Adventure F10, but the attachments and cradle could do with refinement. There seems to be a lot more material than necessary in places, and not enough on the straps – a little more time on in testing would surely improved it. For now, it's a tough and properly waterproof bar bag with more than a few flaws.

www.zefal.com

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