Quest for the perfect pannier

For some weeks now I have been trying to decide what sort of panniers to buy for my new (but, not yet delivered) Gazelle. Seems like the Basil range of panniers are recommended by Gazelle so, having time on my hands, I have researched Basil bags to death!

Should I get pretty ones? Are they easily removed? Are they heavy? Do they do up easily?

Do they get wet?  etc.

I have slowly narrowed in on the bags I like. Firstly, I liked this, the Basil Blossom Twig.

(http://www.gazellebicycles.com.au/component/content/article/111.html)

But in the end, I decided that:

• It seemed like it only had one pocket a side so they would be a bit deep and cavernous (35 L capacity for the double pannier). I decided it would make it hard to find things. 
• My husband, Mr Aggy, was unlikely to take the bike down to the shops as they were too girly.
• I read  a couple of  reviews on these that mentioned than these was that they can also cause you to hit your heels when cycling.

So next I looked at bags that had the slightly rounded edge on the side towards the heel.

I decided I really liked this one - the Basil Jada Tour:

But, it is ENORMOUS. It has the following dimensions 34 cm x 17 cm x 34 cm (LxWxH) and carries 40 L. Too big L.  

Further research revealed that there is a smaller version 32x12x32 (LxWxH) 26 L, which would be great,- but the only site that seemed to sell it was in the Netherlands and the shipping costs were horrendous.

So back to the internet.  I had really decided a few things by now:

• I liked the look of the Basil Jada style in Marble Grey. Not too floral, but girly enough.
• The bag had to be hard to remove, as I wanted them to stay on the bike permanently. This ruled out the Basil shopper - it attached by hooks and is supposed to be taken into the shops. (Good review here: http://modalmom.com/pedal-pefect-the-basil-jada-shopper-xl/ ) 
•  I did not want a bag with a single opening, I wanted pockets.
•  I didn't want a really big bag.

I found a good review, with pic, on the Basil Jada double pannier.(http://raveandreview.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/04/basil-stylish-bicycle-bags-review-and-giveaway.html )

and I decided that this was it!

Lots of pockets, dimensions 36cm x 15 cm x 30 cm (35 L). (I'm a little bit worried about the 15 cm dimension - will it stick out too far?)

Anyway, a quick look around and Pushy's had a good price $75.99 plus $15 shipping. A quick ask if Mr Aggy needed anything, and voila, we are over $100 and free shipping.

Ordered.