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Hot take: panniers are overkill for a 4 mile commute, and I got soaked proving it
Everyone on here keeps saying you need panniers and a rack the second you start riding to work, and I think that is overblown for short trips. Last week I got caught in a downpour on my 4 mile ride home from the office in Portland, and my backpack with a $20 rain cover kept my laptop and clothes totally dry the whole way. The pannier crowd acts like a backpack will wreck your back, but I barely noticed it after the first mile, even with a change of clothes and my lunch in there. I get that a 15 mile haul with groceries is a different story, but for a quick commute, strapping a bag to a rack just feels like extra stuff to buy and bolt on. Maybe I am just cheap, but the $60 I did not spend on a rack and bags went toward better lights and a decent jacket. Anyone here actually switched from a backpack to panniers and felt it was worth it for a ride under 5 miles?
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