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I did my first touring with some Ortlieb classics. My experience:
They're durable. For the most part, they're just scuffed up. I did manage to put a through-hole in one during a wreck, with the bag being grated against the road surface.
Repaired it using seam grip & a patch of tough vinyl I got at a business that does canvas awnings, signs, that kind of stuff. It's not pretty, but it works.
They're waterproof. Clothes, sleep setup, and food stayed dry. I had to be careful about keeping dirty/wet things separate though. I consider a mesh pocket on the outside an essential feature, for airing out clothes/wet things when it's nice out.
There have been a few times where I've used them, off the bike, to haul water back to a group camp for cooking/washup/putting out the fire. Imagine a kung fu movie where the guy is carrying two buckets of water, using a broom across his shoulders. It was a quick way to haul 40 liters of water.
The original frame sheets were floppy. I replaced them with some coroplast, which turned out to be stiffer AND lighter.
My bags have an oler iteration of their hook system. The top part of the attachment system works well, but the bottom can 'bounce' away from the frame. I ended up buying extra sets of the hook hardware, and running two hooks on each pannier, to keep the bottom of the bag from flopping around as much.
At this point, I've replaced all of the original strap buckles. The male/forked part of the buckles break. Not all at once, but over a period of ~8 years. Usually in the winter. Finding & installing replacements was simple though.
They're heavy.
I don't use them for touring anymore & keep them adjusted for my commuter bike's rack, for getting groceries. Instead of four panniers, I switched to using a handlebar bag for snacks (the old flappy top style, not the newer burrito style), a full frame bag for the heavy stuff, and two rear panniers for clothes, sleep stuff, and most food.
