$38 for a Grocery Bag? My Favorite Musette Cycling Bags for Groceries and Beyond!

The wonderful folks (I do love their performance cycling clothing!) at Ornot recently sent out a press release about $30-38 Musette Bags. I read the release, and I looked at the photos…they are nice, but $30 for a grocery bag, nice? Let’s dig into why this isn’t your typical grocery bag, what makes it special, and my goto musette bags and reusable grocery bags.

A true cycling musette bag is a “feed bag” designed for someone on the side of the road to hand to a cyclist passing by dooring a long road or gravel race. You grab it one hand and then rope it over your head and shoulder. It is one strap with a longer design and very durable to hold multiple bottles and food. At the height of road cycling rage, they were a cyclist’s dream to find on the side of the road after a major race or stage. This may still be happening but I haven’t been to a pro race in about 5 years!

I use “musette” style packable bags all day long. They are found in most of my bikes, the passenger seat of my car, and an extra one in my purse and saddle bag. They are great for carrying groceries, books, snacks, and those extra things you didn’t know you wanted to buy at the coffee shop. They need to be packable, yet strong, and easy to throw over your shoulder when wrangling a kid or riding your bike. Ideally, the top closes with a flap, drawstring, or zipper.

Let’s take a look at my favorite and how the Ornot options compare!

Here are my Favorite Musette Style Bags

Apidura Packable Musette 7L $44

Lightweight, packable, waterproof. Not cheap but this has been my favorite so far. I picked it up when in Germany two years ago, absolutely love it, but haven’t found them stocked in the US yet. Shop

Outer Shell Magic Musette $45

The Outer Shell is a good-looking bag. I haven’t owned one but have a friend who swears by it because it is lightweight and can hold a ton, can pack up super small, and has a small cross-body strap which is very nice to keep things stable on the bike. Shop

Road Runner Musette 4.2L $60

Handmade in LA with some nice features like the gigantic reflective strip and adjustable shoulder strap. Shop

PAS Normal Off-Race Musette $14

If you want a classic musette, these look wonderful and I love all the options. Shop

Ornot NeoShell $30

Reusing “dead stock” or fabric that isn’t big enough to use on other products. Doesn’t pack down as small as the micro listed below, but is weatherproof and classy to throw over your shoulder on or off the bike. Shop

Ornot Micro Musette $38

Packs down super small, ripstop material. I think you’ll be going in this direction because you want a super small size (perhaps to shove in a flat kit or saddle bag) but need it to be super strong. I also love the color options! Shop

Favorite Reusable Grocery Bags

I can hear my wife now saying I’m crazy for spending $30 for a bag to shove into my flat kit. That is UNTIL she is out with me and we want to bring back treats, a bag of coffee beans, or random road side fines from a road or gravel bike ride. If you feel the same way she does, let’s talk about my favorite reusable grocery bags.

Onya Shopping Tote Bags $13

This is my bread and butter bag. The amount I can shove in this is epic! Onya also makes bulk food and produce bags if you truly want to go low waste to skip the plastic bags. Shop

Ikea Frakta Shopping Bag $1

The iconic Ikea shopping bag! They don’t pack up very small, but you are paid in volumes, 19 gallons to be exact! $1 and I have 1-2 of these in each of my cargo bike panniers. You can use them to shop, you can use them to wrap around your backpack before it starts pouring, they are so amazing. Shop

Conclusion

Where do you land in reusable bags? Are you a stylish Musette user or buy whatever is at the checkout counter when you forget your bags? Let me know what you love and make sure to check out all the various bike bags I have covered over the years!