Nobody gets a handlebar roll for practical reasons (if they did they’d get a top tube or frame bag), they get them because they want to look cool on their local group ride or at the coffee shop.
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My knees hit top tube bags when OOS. Both top tube and frame bags can scratch your frame. Handlebar bags solve those problems. The downside of handlebar bags is that they get in the way of where I put my hands on the tops.
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Nah, I started using one this year for a puffy down jacket to have at coffee stops, copying a friend, game changer. Good luck carrying that in a back pocket. And as @firemunki said, snacks!!
It maybe on trend but it’s more practical than my top tube bag which interferes with bottles cos I’m pretty short, nicer than rammed pockets and carries more stuff conveniently than the saddle bag such as a usb battery to deal with my Wahoo’s dead battery.
If I do use the saddle bag I’ve got everything I could need for an adventure without loading myself up.
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Well that and they are butt-ass ugly and an aerodynamic nightmare…
but other than that, they are great! 
Well that just isn’t true…while I certainly don’t like them for most rides, I have used them occasionally (The Rift, SBT GRVL and Big Sugar). It is a great place to stuff my ShakeDry jacket and even a battery to charge my Hammerhead or GoPro for long rides.
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Definitely not aero! But then 40mm tyres a/aren’t either.
Probably wouldn’t use it for a fast blast with only a couple bits in pockets but it has its place.
Horses for courses and all that jazz.
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Not currently using a saddle bag on either road or MTB.
On MTB I use a One Up EDC in their small frame pump. I have it configured with tire plug on one side and tool on the other and I tape a Tubilito on the underside of my saddle which is pretty much invisible. That said, the aesthetics are less important to me on MTB, more about not having extra mass swinging from the saddle for handling:
On road I carry tubilto, lever, small multi tool etc in jersey pocket. I’d probably prefer to have it under the saddle but so far I haven’t been able to find any saddle bag compact enough. Seems like every manufacturer is designing assuming butyl tube spares and I want probably 1/3rd that volume to carry a TPU spare.
Maybe it’s part of it, but I also run tubeless on and off road so step 1 to a minimal kit is to just never flat in the first place. MTB is its own animal, but I haven’t gotten a road flat in years.
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I still carry a tube even though I’m tubeless. Thankfully I don’t need to use it often but I have used it
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My bike is so UGLY!
Are you a cyclist or a fashionista? Are you riding to the milk bar or a 4+ hour ride?
SADDLE BAG + HANDLE BAR BAG + FULL POCKETS 
Silca Saddle bag
Tube
Levers
Co2 cartridge
ID
Tweezers
Apple tag
Handle bar bag
Sun block
Lens cloth
Mini Microfibre towel
2 x AirPods
3-5 gels
Multi tool
Ibuprofen
2 x 60g ziplocks with malto carb mix
House key
Spare electrolytes sachet
Back pockets
Mini pump
2-4 gels
Phone
Space for arm warmers or gillet
Bottle cages
2 x 1000ml bottles
Save Minimal baggage for races or PR attempts.
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Ah, a debate as old as time. A topic as old as rhyme 
This is a quintessential cycling argument … one with no right or wrong answer, but passionate opinions on both sides. It is more polarizing than a polarized plan.
Of course there is a correct answer: a saddle bag, or tool roll.
Next time you stuff your rear pockets to the gills with tubes, levers, pumps and multi-tool, have a friend take a picture of you from behind. You look like an inverted kangaroo 
I submit that without the Velominati’s tongue-in-cheek rules, this would never be a debate.
The fact that some on this thread are/were sacrificing hydration and nutrition for the “clean” aesthetic of and unencumbered saddle chassis is instructive.
I’ve said this on different threads before … (arguably) the fastest amateur rider in Chicago showed up to a group ride with a mini-handlebar bag with his essentials, and then dropped the rest of us mutts every chance he got. It was such a boss, alpha move💪 lol
I don’t have the nerve or the legs to do that, but a tool roll out of the wind and a 25g, 14cm pump (link below) mounted unobtrusively behind my seat tube bottle cage not only looks smart, it is smart💡
But such is the case with dogmatic issues of tradition … the unenlightened will disagree. Let the debate rage on 
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Wisdom 
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I agree with saddle bag folks. I’d rather have a saddle bag than burn through jerseys because the pockets are all worn out.
One exception, I keep my pump in my jersey because I carry a slightly larger one. The mini pumps are so stinking hard get the tire to a high enough PSI. I got a slightly larger one and it slips into the jersey just fine, along with my phone.
One rule about jersey pocket storage: No rigid objects in the center pocket. Only soft stuff like gels and bars. I’ve heard too many horror stories about broken backs because someone fell and had rigid objects too close to the spine. So, having my phone in a side pocket doesn’t look as good, but I consider that a small price to pay if my back doesn’t get broken.
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Heagney? Lanyon?
The only time I have had injury from my pump was when it was in my side pocket and it gouged into my side. I quite like jerseys whch have loops in the centre pocket for them to keep them still but touchwood Ive never had a problem when they’re not there.
Thank you for all the answers. I have learned a lot from you passionate folks. I have asked more serious questions in the past, but you all love any chance to nerd out on anything gear +. Here’s a few back of the envelope stats: Total about 75 replies, but not all declared allegiance to their favorite way to haul their supplies. There were about 45 declarations of which 73% used saddle bags. Of those saddlebag users, about 13% also use their jersey pocket. About 42% declared use of jersey pocket. There were also mentions of KEGs, top tube, handle bar bags, and downtube storage. Of course, many different types of riding disciplines represented. Thank you for the links to some cool new bags, pumps etc that I never knew about. Lots of other useful tidbits were here too, but I need to get back to my day job. Happy riding and happy holidays!!!
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Downtube mount
https://www.syncros.com/us/en/product/syncros-is-accessory-mount?article=2754820001222
This thread is useless without a graph…
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I have a butyl tube, patch kit, tyre lever, and Silca multi tool in there. There’s perhaps room at the top for those small items you mentioned. Maybe 1x1.5x3.5” of space still left. Hope that helps.
Looks like there are plenty of other pump suggestions here. The Silca Impero Mini is defo more expensive but it seems to routinely win the mini pump comparisons so I waited until I had no other bike expenses since it wasn’t a must-have item, which was about 6 months, and I finally got it.
Cheers
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You’d look more of a t#£t if you were under hydrated (and consequently ill) or underprepared and stranded.
Safety trumps looks everytime. Personally it is a saddle bag everytime.
I’ve got a saddle bag that rotates around all my bikes that I always ride with. Holds a spare tube, patch kit, bank notes that double as tire boots, small segment of duct tape, and a tire lever or two.
For shorter rides <40 miles, I carry the rest in my back pockets. Mini pump and mini tool roll (Dynaplug, hex bits, chain breaker), wallet, phone, and nutrition.
For longer rides, I throw all that into a handlebar bag along with more substantial nutrition.