We had bought some very simple and basic cloth panniers from Mountain Equipment Coop. These are the same panniers that we took on our first few tours to Seattle, Oregon and the very same ones that accompanied us all the way to Mexico. 
Up until the 2011 I used these bags every day. By that admission I’d have to say they did their job. That means I used them for over 5 years and over 4000 KM. They served their purpose.
The pros of the pannier is they were incredibly durable. They’ve been through rain; a lot of rain. We live in Vancouver which is Canada’s third most rainy city with over 161 rainy days per year. They’ve fallen off my bike, been thrown around, stuffed until they can’t be stuffed anymore, and they’ve never torn. The reflective strip has also stood the test of time. Sure it’s faded a bit, but it’s still on there. The buckles, straps, zipper and draw string for the top have also never failed. I put a hole in the back of one of them and it has remained just that; a little hole. It hasn’t torn or compromised the rest of the pannier.
The cons of the pannier are they are on the smaller side. While I can’t remember the official capacity of them, they are a bit smaller than newer ones. Also not having small compartments in them can sometimes make it difficult to find things. They end up just being a big open pit. And the biggest downfall with living in Vancouver and all, is they are not waterproof. Living in Vancouver that is pretty important. I always got around it by putting my stuff inside a plastic bag first and put that in my pannier. It worked for me for years but in really heavy rain it ends up that my pannier is heavier because it is now soaking wet.
They don’t sell these panniers anymore but if they did, I would recommend them to someone starting out.
After riding for a few years and getting ready to embark on a longer trip overseas we decided it was time to upgrade our panniers. While our original MEC panniers were still working, we wanted to get some with more pockets and a bit more room, so we got the touring edition. And
rew got a set of red ones and I got a set of blue ones, kind of his and hers. They had some immediate improvements from the first ones.
The pros of these panniers were immediate more room. These were a larger capacity than we had before and more pocket options. There is a handy mesh pocket in the front that we use regularly to hold things like sunscreen and insect repellent. The straps on these upgraded ones come with reflective strips on them and I’m a big fan of being seen. And just like our original MEC panniers, the durability of the fabric and construction is wonderful. We’ve never had any issues with the fabric tearing or zippers failing.
I have run into a challenge with these panniers that I hadn’t experienced with my last panniers. These panniers have little tabs on the back side so that when you’re not riding you can clip each side together and carry them more easily. 
When these tabs are not in use I found that they just flap in the wind and hit my spokes. I’m sure that if you have a wider rack you may not have the problem, but I have a pretty standard rack and have wondered if others have the same challenge. I also never came across a time when I used those tabs.
Another challenge I found was when you totally stuff the panniers the backside of the pannier curves to accommodate your tightly packed goods. When the back of the pannier bends, it moves it closer to the wheel. 
On a few occasions I’ve had to stop riding and repack my good to ensure the pannier isn’t curving inward toward my wheel and in one windy instance the pannier went right into my spoke and stopped my rear wheel from turning. Fortunately I wasn’t going overly fast and was able to stop without crashing. The pannier surprisingly made out quite well too. It was the side pocket that ended up getting the worst of it and it just tore the reflective strip. All in all not the worst situation. Unfortunately though I would not recommend these panniers. The back panel isn’t firm enough to prevent the pannier bending toward the wheels.
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