Rynox Magnapod Tank and Tail Bag: Tested!

How Much Can It Carry?

It has a 21-litre capacity that can be expanded to 28-litre. But that probably wouldn’t give you much of an idea about its storage capacity. So, let’s talk about all the luggage that this bag can accommodate. I’ve stuffed this bag with about five t-shirts, a pair of jeans, a couple of shorts, a small bag (for cables, chargers, power bank, and a padlock), snacks and beverages, and a pair of shoes, and it happily accommodated all of those things.

The narrow opening of the lid, however, does make things challenging for certain items, for example a laptop. Now, this was for a three-day ride to Southern Maharashtra from last year and I pushed the storage capacity to the maximum but the Magnapod didn’t mind my unorganised packing skills.

During the ride, the Rynox Magnapod was mostly used as a tail bag. Sure, I did install it on the fuel tank to use its mobile pocket for navigation, but it felt too big when fully expanded. What was pleasantly surprising, though, was the fact that the bag never moved an inch from the installed position (magnetic or strap mounts) throughout the ride. Toggling between the positions isn’t very difficult right. Let me explain that in detail.

Is It Easy To Install?

I would be honest, it can be tricky the first time. You need to figure out a way to loop the three straps on your motorcycle. But once you do, it gets a lot easier. Sure, it isn’t as convenient as the quick-release mechanism that premium brands like Kriega offer or even some of the budget options from ViaTerra get. But the magnetic (thus the name, Magnapod) mechanism is foolproof and the most convenient way to install this bag on the tank with minimum effort. You would need a metal tank for this, which may be a problem for most of the modern motorcycles that use a fibre unit. So let’s talk about strapping this bag to the bike.

You have three installation points – two on the rear and one at the front. The straps at the back are buckle-type that lock on to each other. One half of the strap is installed on the bike while the other half occupies the space on the Magnapod. You loop the straps through the dedicated mounting points before clipping them to the units on the motorcycle. You can leave the motorcycle-mounted strap on the bike itself, but the convenience comes at the risk of the units getting stolen. The strap at the front can run under the front of the chassis when installed on the tank, or under the rear number plate when used as a tail bag. It uses a double-D ring mechanism so you wouldn’t need a rocket science degree to use it. The strap itself is sufficiently large to work on a wide range of motorcycles.

Once I figured out the way to install this bag on the bike, it was an easy process that would take me merely a couple of minutes. Still, a quick-release mechanism would’ve saved me those precious minutes too, but the dual-purpose installation option gives it an edge over something that can only be used as a tail bag.

So, does it deserve the Rs 3,575 price tag?

Conclusion

Absolutely! The Rynox Magnapod is an ideal companion for riders who do a lot of long weekend rides, the three-day type outings. It can pack a sufficient amount of your belongings and stick to the motorcycle like with superglue. The mobile pocket can be very useful for navigation purposes while the side and the top pockets give quick access. Sure, it’s slightly expensive than the relatively larger the ViaTerra Element or the ViaTerra Claw Mini that have impressed my colleague, Vikrant Singh. But the 28-litre Rynox Magnapod doubles up as a tank bag too, which increases its utility value and gives you more options to install in case you’re accompanied by a pillion.

Photography by Kaustubh Gandhi