[Closed] Need cheap bikepacking kit

Decathlon do a cheaper tarp. Its a decent size (2 people can fit under it).

In the past I've use pound shop ground sheets as they pack up nice and small.

Hijack - any recommendations on mats?

For cheap, one night, just a foam mat.

I sewed my own tarps.

to begin with I bought a big camo one off ebay and chopped it up. I have a rectangular one & a 5 or 6 sided micro tarp. witt some press fit eyelets. £15 all in.

I then progressed to sil nylon. (rectangular) £25ish. Stayed with a simple rectangle; more versatile and offers more protection than the microtarp shape.

alpkit hunka is still the go to bivi. good compromise of £/g

I have a Thermarest Prolite clone from Go Outdoors which is pretty small and was cheap.

Thomthumb - interested to hear about your experiences sewing a tarp - we're looking at making a canpoy awning for the caravan...

Lots of "army surplus" bivis on ebay - anyone tried this route?

Not sure what your timescale is, but the for sale section at http://www.ukclimbing.com/ can sometimes throw up decent bargains.

All my bikepacking gear is from Alpkit, good, cheap and reliable.

I have this bivi and when married up with a tarp, they make a good pair.

[url] https://www.alpkit.com/products/hunka [/url]

I got a cheap bivvy bag which was fairly quickly replaced by a nice one. Crap bivvy bags are crap, sweat makes everything damp. Eugh.

But if you want to try it I'll send it to you for £5.

A tarp from the builders yard is cheap ..

If the tarp provides enough coverage then you won't need bivy ..

I agree that cheap bivys are terrible .

A space blanket / Mylar sheet is a good cheap groundsheet ..

molgrips - am i right in thinking you are in Cardiff? If so I have a tarp I'm thinking about selling - a lightweight job that'll sleep 2 (just) and weighs @250gms. I've also a Rab survival zone bivi bag that I've been thinking about selling and some other bikepacking kit including a, Ti mug, saddle pack, dry bags etc

Yes, Cardiff. How much for the tarp and bivi? Possibly too posh for me, you'd have to make it cheap 🙂 what tarp is it?

Survival zone bivvy bag is a sleeping bag cover. Not waterproof.i have one it's better than just a bag - but not waterproof. Got soaked last Sunday night :@

If it's overnight, in summer, don't do a stove. Do cold food.
Charity shops and Gumtree are full of DofE kit at the moment round here.

Back in the day...

I'm not a novice, btw, I just don't own a tarp or bivi bag 🙂

That Rab bag cover says its made from Hyperlite Storm fabric. Other bags made from same are claimed to be waterproof...

Hang on. Army Gore-tex ones £27 on ebay...?

Personally I'd call the Rab bivi waterproof having used it in some pretty damp conditions but each to their own!

Army bivi bags are great if you dont mind the weight though you can cut them down to save some weight and bulk (plans are on the net somewhere)

I'm just off out for a ride - will get back to you a bit later

It's camping on bikes.
Fun.
People have been doing it since the weekend after the bike was invented.

Strap whatever you like to whatever bike you own.

Go and do whatever the **** you like.
Have fun.
Burn beans.
Open your mind.

Depends on the age.

New ones this year are hyperlight storm.

If its blue it's the older survival which is the same as this year's survival lite.

Which is pertex.

Mines being retired. Knees down outside the tarp were soaked. Under tarp stayed dry.

Seriously, what's wrong with the tent you own?
You're not a novice, you're an adult.

This bike packing nonsense is an affectation.
If you know the outdoors, you know what's needed to have fun and stay safe.

For tarp I have a DDHammock's 4x4. Many will say it's overkill, and it probably is, but it fits 2 plus kit underneath with ease and takes 2 minutes to put up with a couple of Decathlon £5 walking poles. With spare plastic as a ground sheet you've got a big pretty lightweight shelter for about fifty quid and no need for a bivi.

Decathlon self inflating mat is good, fairly light, comfy and £23 if memory serves.

HTH

@Rusty Spanner - true to some extent but things move on. Yes, it's basically camping and biking combined but that doesn't mean that all camping gear is suitable. Cutting edge kit I used for climbing in the Alps and in Scotland in winter during the 1980s is no match for much of the basic stuff you can get today for the same or less price as back then. My down summer sleeping bag bought last year is lighter than a down vest that I bought in 1985 for example.

@core - if you don't have a sleeping mat then the inflatable ones are fine. My wife has one similar to this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multimat-Superlite-Inflatable-Sleeping-Mattress/dp/B008H2M97U?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0 but sold under a different brand at £20 - there's no insulation but it packs down to about a litre. Fine for summer. If you are heading out in winter then an insulating mat is more than worth it - have a look at the Exped Synmats, not cheap but well worth the outlay.

@molgrips Tarps vs. Bivy, not an easy choice as both have their benefits. A tarp gives you more room to move around under should it rain but because it's basically just a roof will be cooler in any given condition than a bivy. A bivy with a bug net will keep the winged death away whereas you've no chance with a tarp. In true non-committal fashion we've two tarps and five bivy bags between us!

You don't need the bikepacking specific bags/harnesses to begin with (or indeed at all) - the Alpkit Airlok dry bags are sturdy enough to fasten directly to the bike. Our first bikepacking trip we just used small rucksacks. Weight and bulk are your enemies so do whatever you can to reduce both, if you are packing something "just in case" then the chances are you don't really need it.

Seriously, what's wrong with the tent you own?
You're not a novice, you're an adult.

It's still under consideration.

It weighs 2.7kg, and it means I'm sleeping *inside* rather than outside; but otoh I already own it.

If you know the outdoors, you know what's needed to have fun and stay safe

I do indeed. This isn't a 'what should I use' thread, it's a 'where can I get a cheap bivi and tarp' thread. If I could get something cheap I fancy trying it; otherwise I'll use the tent or it's outer.

Interesting discussion.

'm sleeping *inside* rather than outside;

Thanks for the thought Scotroutes. I'll probably end up using what I have though anyway, not sure the wife will want me buying kit...

Thinking about my tent outer - there might be a way to use the guys to pitch it without having to stake out the front (it's a slug/tunnel design). That way I could have an open front at least.

Actually - such a thing would be a pretty useful piece of kit anyway. Like one of those beach shelters, but bigger.

Semi-hijack, anyone using a hooped bivvy or similar type solo affair instead of a bivvy/tarp combo? The idea sort of appeals to me but I'm not sure of the drawbacks...

Not used one - main drawback would be the extreme curvature of the poles and how/where to carry them. Looking at [url= http://thenextchallenge.org/comparison-best-bivi-bags/ ]this site[/url] (hooped bivis are at the bottom of the table) only one is significantly lighter than my two (just) man Terra Nova Lasercomp tent which is 900g

A lot depends on conditions you're expecting. A wet night in a bivy alone will likely be a bit grim. And if it's raining when you bed down it'll be even grimmer. A tarp gives you somewhere to undress and faff out of the worst of the weather. On a low budget I'd get a Hunka and rig up a cheap emergency tarp from plastic sheeting (and practise putting it up a few times before setting off).

As a counterpoint - I had an Alpkit Hunka (5 years ago maybe?) and found it pretty poor - condensation and/or letting rain through meant that I quickly didn't use it with a down sleeping bag, as it just turned the latter into a bag of wet feathers. Changed it for a Rab Storm bivi bag, which is much better. Made a single pole lightweight tarp (using plans from a site I can't remember the name of), and that seems to be a good combo.
For winter bivis, me and my brother use a bivi bag each, under the outer of his terra nova lasercomp.

yep the storms a good bivy bag.

Waterproof, breathable Hyperlite Storm fabric
1200mm H/H laminated nylon waterproof bathtub base

makes a big difference to it - hopw ever its 650 vs survival zones 350.

I have also got a hunka - wouldnt like to spend a wet night with just that for shelter but as a bivy with a tarp covering head so that head is out of the bivy it works fine.

i agree it condensates like mad with head in the bag.

Alpkit were developing a hoop bivvy that looked good (until they found the current material didn't let enough ait in or rather CO out) - hopefully that will make it to reality.

Decathlon do a cheaper tarp. Its [s]a decent size[/s][b] absolutely flippin enormous[/b] ([s]2 people[/s][b] a whole family can fit under it and play twister[/b]).

Lots of "army surplus" bivis on ebay - anyone tried this route?

I have one, slept in a puddle and woke up dry.

Downside, it's not as light or as full of features as some. It's essentially an 8ft long bag of heavy duty gore-tex material with a draw string pillow/lid. No pocket for the carry mat, no hoop, no liner, no zip, no pockets, nothing fancy, just what you need to stay dry.

Yeap its massive. I never used the poles and just attach it to trees.

Downside, it's not as light or as full of features as some. It's essentially an 8ft long bag of heavy duty gore-tex material with a draw string pillow/lid. No pocket for the carry mat, no hoop, no liner, no zip, no pockets, nothing fancy, just what you need to stay dry.

Worth a punt for Goretex and cheapness, and it's not that heavy really...

Something like 800g. Then a tarp is what, 400g and poles might be 300g. Still comes to the weight of a light tent but cheaper and au plein aire.

Yea, I never thought it was heavy/bulky, until I picked up a 'proper' one in a shop and it was half the weight and size.

It just depends on what you want to do with it.

Racing the HT550 or TD then I'd spend the extra and accept it will probably pick up holes and tares. Doing the occasional bivi and the army one will probably outlive the expensive ones 10x over.

It's not "Gore-tex" it's whatever fabric the army specify, which is apparently made by Gore, and probably even more expensive knowing MOD procurement. It is a proper 3 layer breathable material whatever it is.

Alpkit Rig3.5 is 300g. Poles would be 100g - I made mine from a set of old poles from a Wild Country tent that had gone to the campsite in the sky and cut so they fit in to my frame bag. Add a bit for cord/line, say 50g and the same for half a dozen pegs.

Oex bush tarp could be worth a punt at 35 quid and sub kilo including poles

It just depends on what you want to do with it.

No, it really depends on how much money you have 🙂

I'd make my own poles from carbon fibre tubes off ebay.

"I'd make my own poles from carbon fibre tubes off ebay."

Id be very careful.

the cheap ones are too flexy and dont hold under tension - which is critical to a tarp pitch.

the cheap ones sold as X thickness are not when you get them.

the expensive ones are expensive - compared to buying premade ones

BE better off just getting a couple of cheapy fibreglass premades - cheap , light and rigid. - repurposing old tent poles by far the cheapest way.

[img] [/img]

fords of avon last monday after 4 nights on the road. - rig 3.5 , polabear poles , pipe dream 250 and a rab survival bag.

[img] [/img]

Set up evolved to this - from ....

[img] [/img]

which was heavy and made the bike handle like a pig in the rough and techie. the much lighter loaded bike in the top picture is MUCH more managable when it comes to riding on tech which makes many more rides open up. Also makes HAB more managable as well.