corrado33

Ortlieb bags aren't known for their interior organization. At least not here in the states. And by "not known for it" I mean "they often have none."

A separator for such a small bag would have been stupid. It would have made the bag useless for carrying anything bigger (in any dimension) than the biggest compartment. Since the bag is already small, that would have cut down on the usefulness a lot. Could you stick a notepad in there if it had a stiff separator? What about a passport? Could you even stick your wallet in there if it had a seperator down the middle?

The bag is essentially a mini version of their waterproof rolltop panniers. No features, just a heavy fabric with a bombproof attachment mechanism.

That's why I bought a different brand.

gauvins

Thanks for your input. As a matter of fact our use is split between grabbing a banana/gorp/granola bar during a short break, and carrying essentials to the nearest cafe/shop. So the around-town concept is what we are looking for.

If your wife felt like sharing her packing tricks, I'm all ears. (One big pile ? A wallet + couple of smallish bags?)

I

mm718

Should you find yourself needing more carrying capacity, the traditional larger Ortlieb handlebar bag has that same "around-town" function with a supplied shoulder strap. It's also easier to use on the bike, as the lid flips out of the way. The map case is nice too.

Also, the compact looks narrow and deep, whereas the traditional bag is longer and easier to locate items.

Philly Tandem

No tricks, really. She just puts a few things in there (phone, wallet, snacks, etc.). It's small enough that it's not really hard to find things in it.

To mm718's comment, the standard Ortlieb h-bar bags do have the same "around-town function," but not really a nice style. I use my Ultimate full-size handlebar bag all the time off-bike when touring, but it still looks like a big, square handlebar bag rather than a nice(ish)-looking shoulder bag.

By the way, we got our Compact from Sierra Trading Post (Ortlieb Ultimate 6 Compact Handlebar Bag - Save 33%) with one of their common 30-35% off coupon, for a pretty low price. The base price at STP is $50 right now, at 30% off that's only $35. We also just bought an Ortlieb Racktime "Shoulderit" handlebar bag from STP for around $25 (Ortlieb Racktime Shoulderit Front Bike Bag - Save 57%). Basically I bought it just for the mount. The bag itself is very nice, but it's BIG. Really designed for commuting use, where off-bike use as a regular shoulder bag is prioritized over touring use.

djb

I imagine you have more important things to do, but some cutout cardboard and some tape could make a divider set up. I guess it really comes down to the actual size available, and for me, the most important thing would be to have a slightly more secure/separate area for passport/wallet type stuff that could tip out or get pulled out by mistake when taking out a camera or snacks.
I'm used to improvising dividers in camera bags over the decades, but that generally is easier because the sides of camera and studio flash lights cases tend to be set up easier for Velcro dividers to be positioned how you want them. I imagine if you get an idea of what and where you want a "section" to be, you could glue some Velcro to the interior sides, allowing you to use dividers with the other bit of Velcro on it (standard procedure for setting up dividers in photo stuff)

A used camera store would have some ratty old shoulder bags with dividers, of you could improvise with foam sections or something.

Quick and easy would be bits from an old blue roll up camp mat and some duct tape, although with heat, duct or gaffer tape can become sticky.

fietsbob

IDK what color you Got.. But..


An Ortlieb Compact Bar Bag in white, would let more light through to see whats In there , than black..

Customer Reviews of Ortlieb Ultimate 6 Compact Handlebar Bag

gauvins

Given the bag's shape (narrow and deep) dividers would exacerbate the problem.

FWIW, the bag is a made of a soft shell riveted to a plastic frame. As you have noted, the critical items to store are bank cards (and lock key). I use a card size stuff sack that I nudge between the frame and the shell. Not first best but beats having everything in a pile... I do the same on the other side of the bag for my Swiss army knife.

I'll eventually write to the manufacturer to suggest an "improved design" with sleeves on several sides (lid, left, right, back, front).

Will possibly try Velcro. But my experience is that glued Velcro patches tend to come off.

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Overall the plusses are winning. I wouldn't want a larger bag and the mount works much better than the previous (decathlon) model.

djb

Well, in any case, being ortlieb, you won't have to worry about things getting wet even in a " mouille a boire deboutte!" situation.