Wotancraft Lightning Rider Review

Wotancraft, a bag company based in Taiwan (where my parents immigrated from, woot 🇹🇼), recently released a v2 series of their “Rider” line, bags which can be worn cross body while riding a bike or motorcycle. While I certainly do not ride motorcycles and only occasionally ride bikes, I still wanted to test the series out as an everyday carry sling that features a 3-point strap system for stabilization, the flagship feature of this series. There are three bags of varying sizes in the Rider series and I opted to try the largest one that can fit a laptop, dubbed the Lightning Rider ⚡️. This is probably the largest bag I’ve tested that can be called a sling so I was really curious to try it out as an office/work bag and of course as a dad bag.

Disclaimer: the Lightning Rider was provided by Wotancraft as a sample for review, and we strive to share our honest thoughts, positive and critical. We do not have any affiliate links with Wotancraft but this post may have Amazon affiliate links.

Overview

• Expandable volume up to 13 L
• Zippered main compartment with internal laptop sleeve, phone-sized slip pocket, and larger but flat zippered pocket
• Exterior front zipper pocket (somewhat hidden)
• Two compression straps with Fidlock sliders that control the amount of space in the main compartment
• 4 grab handles: top, sides, and front
• Padded shoulder strap with optional stabilization strap to form a 3 point attachment
• 500 D nylon canvas, YKK zippers, leather accents which all coordinate together to form a distinct and cohesive aesthetic that is unique to Wotancraft
• Optional structured insert with dividers for camera gear or just to provide additional compartmentalization and structure
• Optional Armor modules or MOLLE pouches that can be mounted on the front of the bag

The Lightning Rider is a wide sling, if you can call it a sling (dimensions here). Its size is closer to that of a messenger shoulder bag. At this size it can fit a laptop making it a suitable bag for working in the office or cafe. With the 3-point strap system, you can ensure the bag stays behind you and doesn’t slide like slings sometimes do when you’re moving around or bending down to tie your shoes. But more on the issues on this strap later.

What I Liked

Construction

In general what I really appreciate about Wotancraft bags is that they’re unique in design and combine classy aesthetics with quality materials and construction you can feel. The Lightning Rider is a great example. As soon as I took it out of the box and dust cover, my first reaction was, “Oh yeah, this feels nice.”

The 500 D nylon canvas has a heritage look and feel, and the lining, though not ripstop, feels thin and soft without feeling cheap and generic. The choice of webbing, YKK zippers, Fidlock buckles, and leather accents all feel robust. Regardless of whether you like the design, one can’t deny that the bag feels high quality.

The Lightning Rider strikes a good balance of structure and flexibility. It has padding on the back and bottom, and a thin strip of a frame sheet along the front upper portion of the opening that is subtle but ensures a degree of structure without feeling rigid.

Aesthetics

In terms of aesthetics, I think the bag well reflects a vintage/army/rugged kind of vibe without looking tactical at all. While carrying the bag to work or church, people have actually given unsolicited comments indicating positive sentiment towards the bag’s appearance. I’ve only really carried it with the armor modules attached to the front so without them you would see two rows of webbing down the front, but even then it just looks like a utility brief bag rather than a tactical bag.

Functionality

The upper compression straps do provide meaningful expansion/compression of the main compartment space, while also enabling exterior carry of a jacket or umbrella. I like these better than bottom carry straps which I feel just get in the way of setting the bag down and are hard to work with unless you’re looking directly at the bottom of the bag. I will note however that the straps are not long enough to hold thicker things like a yoga mat.

The top handle is really useful and probably the most used grab handle on the bag. There are simple webbing sides handles that I used only occasionally, but I don’t even notice them when I’m not looking for them. As for the front leather handle, I’ve never used it though the leather accent is a nice aesthetic.

The organization is simple and you don’t need to think too much about it. Big stuff goes in the main compartment. Smaller things in the front zipper pocket. Flat documents in the rear zippered pocket.

More compartmentalization can be added via the insert and dividers, plus armor modules on the front. Even though there isn’t a water bottle pocket, because the bag is so long, when you use the foam insert, it naturally creates a divider to stash a water bottle pocket on the side, albeit still inside the bag.

What I Didn’t Like

The Strap

All right — my main critique of this bag is the shoulder strap/three point system.

• With the stabilization strap attached and tightened, it pulls the bag to one side which causes the load to feel unbalanced on my back.

• The padding on the shoulder strap is fixed/not movable, so it limits how much you can tighten the shoulder strap — this means you can’t really pull the bag high and tight on your back, and shorter people wouldn’t really be able to carry this as a sling at all. On the other hand, if you lengthen the strap so that it sits more like a messenger, the padding doesn’t end up resting on your shoulder.

• The stabilization strap can be adjusted to different positions on the shoulder strap, but unless I’m mistaken, only the last one or two positions make any practical sense. Even when the shoulder strap is pulled as tight as possible, I would still keep the female end of the side-release buckle on the last lash point.

• Speaking of the side release buckle, because it has somewhat of a flat profile, it takes some precise dexterity to line up the male and female ends exactly. I challenge anyone to attach the buckle while on the move or by feel alone.
• The other end of the stabilization strap uses a small gatekeeper to attach to the bottom corner of the bag. This particular component is made such that the gate springs open when pressure is applied to the plastic bar. This can result in the gate accidentally opening when the bag is squished or pressed in just the right direction (e.g. could happen when sitting down with the bag) and eventually the gatekeeper slides off the lash point. This actually happened to me in the library and someone had to tell me that a piece of webbing fell from my bag.

• Lastly, a more minor thing, is that the larger gatekeeper that attaches the main shoulder strap to the bag is on a swivel and is sometimes in a position where the end pokes into my body.

Other Quirks

The front zipper pocket opening goes across the whole width of the bag, but the zipper itself is slightly impeded by the compression straps. It takes a little more effort to fully open and fully close the zipper without undoing the compression straps. In practice, I ended up just keeping the zipper tab in between the compression straps, which means the pocket is never fully open or fully closed.

The main compartment is spacious but the zipper opening is only along the rear of the bag. That means to get at the front of the main compartment you kinda have to pull the front “panel” out and open. In practice it’s not an annoyance, and it’s really only noticeable when stuffing something large inside, like the padded insert. I do wonder if the experience would be better had the opening been in more of a U-shape that angled towards the front of the bag.

While the #10 YKK zippers for the main compartment are awesome and generally very smooth, I noticed that when the bag is loaded and on-body, it can be a little hard for the zippers to smoothly close up around the corners given the pretty sharp rectangular shape. This is especially noticeable without the foam insert that gives the bag more structure. To reiterate, this is only an issue while wearing the bag. When the bag is set down on a flat surface, opening and closing the main compartment is just fine.

Other Thoughts

• For a sling this large, sometimes I wished for a detachable buckle for donning the bag off. With the current strap you have to lift it over your head to take it on and off.
• Although the 3 point attachment didn’t seem great when tightened, it also occurred to me that I don’t have to actually tighten it for it to prevent the bag from sliding to the front. Keeping it loose still allows the bag to be in a balanced position.
• Wotancraft says they are designing a new shoulder strap that addresses some of the feedback on the stock one. So we’ll try to update this review when it becomes available
• The bag can definitely handle light rain but under downpour you should expect the zipper seams and holes to leak some moisture. No Aquaguards on this bag. That being said, the exterior fabric and lining do a good job of preventing water soaking through.

Summary

The Lightning Rider is a functional and good-looking bag that rides the line between a sling and a messenger brief. It’s got solid materials and construction but the shoulder strap and 3-point harness is just OK.

The organization for the base bag itself without any mods or accessories can feel bare but is very flexible. The padded insert and armor modules definitely enhance the functionality and should you decide to get the bag, I would recommend the accessories even if you’re not planning to hold camera gear.

At $269, it’s a higher-end priced bag. I understand that it’s very well built at Wotancraft’s in-house factory in Taiwan, but I would’ve wanted the harness system to be better at that price point. You could always opt for the smaller bags in the Rider series, but those won’t be able to carry a laptop.

Thanks for reading this review. Check out our other reviews on Wotancraft bags! As always, follow us on Instagram to see what other bags we’re testing.