An honest review of Rynox's Hawk Tailbag

Review of Hawk Tail Bag

---- after a month of heavy duty use

This is an honest review of Rynox's Hawk tail bag after a month long use on a solo ride I did covering the Spiti region recently.

(Disclosure : The guys at Rynox, after reading the details about my proposed ride to Spiti chose me as their Iron Rider of the month and sent me the tail-bag to be used and reviewed.)

I already had a pair of saddlebags and I was in need of a tail bag which will last through the rigour of the challenging ride ahead in a region where extreme cold weather conditions prevail at High altitudes.

At first glance the bag looked sturdy and well designed. It was capacious with expandable main compartment as well as side pockets which came handy in packing those little extras you need to stuff somewhere. The total packing capacity when all the compartments are expanded is around 50 ltrs.
The material of the bag was of high quality coated PVC fabric and reflective tapes were strategically placed on the exterior of the bag. There is also a zippered pouch inside the main pocket to store your documents.

The zippers are of quality YKK make and comes with Pull-tabs which is a must have feature while travelling in cold weather conditions where the rider is usually wearing gloves.


The bag is fastened by means of pair straps with clips at the front and back which in turn also can be used compress the bag by tugging at the strap ends before locking them. The tail bag is secured to the rear seat by fastening a pair of straps to the bike's foot pegs.

To prevent forward sliding of the bag a tail strap is provided which can be hooked under the tail lamp. Additionally, to keep the bag snug and stationary two Bungee cords are provided which runs through a wide strap at the bottom of the bag. These cords can then be locked firmly on either sides of the bike by hooking it at appropriate points on the bike.
The bag also came with a removable shoulder strap and rain cover.

I used the tail bag to pack in a whole lots of things. My winterwear, rainwear, bike spares and emergency kit, first aid box, mobile accessories and also my DSLR . All these could be stuffed into the tailbag's compartments with a little bit of creative packing. The expandableness of the side pockets came in very handy to stuff that extra bit more.

The bag did get a bit heavy and bulky because of all the items I had packed into it. But for a month long solo ride these are essentials I needed to carry.

The bag took the weight comfortably whenever I off-loaded it at hotels and the shoulder strap was strong enough to bear the weight.

On the whole, I can confidently state that, after a full month's of use, the Hawk Tail bag is a trustworthy gear to be taken along your ride. It is also reasonably priced at just under INR 3000 so it doesn't hurt your purse.

The bag served me for whole month without any of the parts getting damaged or zippers failing. I found it easy to clean with a moist cloth after a long dusty ride.

What more? This bag itself is sufficient if you are going on a weekend ride. No need for additional saddlebags, it's that spacious.

I can't think of any CONS for this bag, its all PROS.

I would definitely recommend this bag whole heartedly to my fellow riders.