[Closed] Sick as a dog so, show me you Bivi / Bikepacking / Adventure racing gear.....

@Vortexracing I'm in email conversation with buggybags.co.uk at the moment about a framebag. Will keep you posted what happens.

I've warned Jon at Buggybags that he might get a few more orders in the near future.

@ slugwash looks like the same alpkit one strapped to my bars upthread. The rubber loops make them excellent for strapping to bars. And only a fiver!

http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16469&category_id=295

@Vortexracing keep your eyes open for 'Wildcat bags' in the next few months if you're after a UK made version of the stuff from the US. I'll be putting a dead simple, making meths stoves step by step up on the Welsh Ride Thing blog next week too, you might find it handy.

@Slugwash, dry bags with loops like in the pic are from AlpKit.

@Slugwash, dry bags with loops like in the pic are from AlpKit

@ slugwash looks like the same alpkit one strapped to my bars upthread

Cheers guys! And how could I not know that. I thought I thought I had an encylopedic knowledge of all their current products 😉

what size Alpkit drybag is recommended for the bars??

8 Litres @ most or it's too big really.

ok cheers Andrew off I go shopping again 😉

8 Litres @ most or it's too big really.

Pah! 13 litres is a mans size

[url= http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/5236655672_d26ba9f1ce.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/5236655672_d26ba9f1ce.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/47300508@N05/5236655672/ ]Winter Welsh Bivvy Trip[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/47300508@N05/ ]fantasticmrmatt[/url], on Flickr

13 for winter
8 for summer

yep I use a 13L on the handlebars too. Amazing what you can cram in there. Entire sleep system, bag, full length matress, tent or bivy+tarp. Need to compress it nice & tight so it doesn't foul on the wheel when the suspension compresses, but all good.

Mine's 13 litre as well, but not used in anger yet. Should fit 660mm bars, have some 715mm Fleegles on there at the moment so no issues. 600mm might require going down to the 8 litre.

13l here most of the time. Fits winter bag, mat and bivvy bag inside. In France last year (100 degrees) I carried stuff that was much more compact so got away with a much smaller dry bag.

I find that Alpkit dry bags are about the best shape for bar use. I tried a POD bag at weekend, same capacity but fatter/shorter which made it more difficult to get in my harness.

Oh, I find a 13l just fits between the drops (WTB mountain drops) on my 29er ... nice and snug and out of the way.

Stu - I think that's why Eric at Revelate does a long thin dry bag so that it doesn't get in the way of the front wheel. I'll measure it when I get a home/back from here and see if I can find an alternative that's similar off the peg in the UK.
I'm sure from my sea kayaking days I can/could find an alternative longer, thin one - I know there used to be tapered dry bag for getting right into the bows of sea boats.
I have an Alpkit tent bag with straps around too - we'll see how that does on the bars too.

EDIT - FROM REVELATEDESIGNS.COM
ATACAMA DRY BAG
The first dry bag out there designed for handle bar mounting
6" diameter fits nice and tight under your handle bars with lots of tire clearance
Lightweight urethane coated ripstop fabric with waterproof, RF welded seams and a minimalist buckle closure.
Use it with either the sling, harness, or take it backpacking.
Weight:3.5 oz
Volume: Approx 12 L Max

Uh-huh, its an 13 litre alpkit, the 8 litre on the back has my pipedream bag in it. The alpkit bags are ace for the money, but they are much thinner than the PVC ortlieb drybags I have - this means I get a bit worried about them wearing through if they can shift about against brake levers etc. A bit of duck tape helps allay my paranoia.

For a fiver a go, why not buy two 13 litre alpkit bags, put kit in one, put that one in the other and strap to the bars. I bet you can wear holes in quite a few alpkit bags before you reach the price of an ortlieb one. 😉

That'll be great consolation when I'm miles from anywhere, knackered from riding through stairrod rain all day, and wondering why my kit is wet.

Or I could be a bit more careful with them ...

Ah, but the point is you'd wear a hole through one drybag, but not the inner bag! So kit stays dry, and when you get home and find the outer bag is holed, you spend a fiver on a new one. QED!

I don't think wear, if it occured, would stop at one bag. So it would be better not wear a hole in either in the first place. Plus its less faff.

Why am I wasting time argueing about this? Its a retarded suggestion.

ok cool I'll get a 13L I guess I can just roll it up to make it smaller 😉 but knowing me I'll fill it all 😀

These tarps look cheap and cheerful: http://www.denbigharmysurplus.co.uk/army-stores/Tarpaulin-Pegs-Cord-British-Army-IPK.html

ok cool I'll get a 13L I guess I can just roll it up to make it smaller but knowing me I'll fill it all

Those army tarps look good but heavy - 980g seems like quite a lot...

well, I've ordered a 13l as there are no 8l ones available for the forseable future, I had an email from Alpkit stating "We didn't anticipate them selling out as fast as they have done, so we currently don't have any on order, but the guys are on it." so I couldn't get one if I wanted one 🙁

@Flatfish, I am trying to get as Uber light as possible but trying to keep to a budget (ish:wink:) I just need to sort my cooking apparatus out really, have a meths stove (ta Stu) and a gas stove but need the pan/mug etc anyone know of the cheapest place to get the Ti type??

A pot, with drinking lid, cosy, pot grabber and spork all for the princely sum of £25 and 52 whole pence.
Pan weighs pretty much the same as ti pans at twice the price, if i was in the market for one, i'd have it.
From Ellis Brigham.
[img] [/img]

OOOOOOoooooooo nice on ta 😉

will take a butchers now 😉

I use aluminium pots rather than Ti ... as flatfish says there's not much in it weight wise. I think the 2 pan set I use most often might be a Gelert one, I recall it was less than £15 for 900ml pan/mug, 450ml mug and a lid. It's had plenty of hammer 😉 and shows no signs of giving up.

Here you go just found a link

http://www.gelert.com/products/cooking_dining/cooking/ascent_i_cookset

awesome they've got a store in Bristol, I'll pop in there next week 😀

cheers Stu another good option I suppose having the 2 pots would be advantageous so I can have brew as my fodder cooks.

well, I've ordered a 13l as there are no 8l ones available

And I'd just like to add that I also ordered a 13L one today in chilli 🙂 I'm currently cobbling together the plans for a (on & off road) bike packing trip down to Lands End and back to test it out.

It's well 'ard being a bike bivi nerd 😉

Anything else you need sourced valley daddy?

I don't think I do thanks 😉

once this weeks purchases turns up and the above cook system is sourced I think I just need to load up and head to the forest and bear test everything --- a bear bell that's all 😉

Stu can help with bear bells.

Seriously!!!

pointers to a suitable mat wouldn't go a miss from the STW massive.

this Alpkit Wedge seems OK @ £32 or is it on the large size for Bivying?

[img] [/img]

[url] http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16535&category_id=253 [/url]

http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16532&category_id=289

this one maybe better

Previously used Exped bags, but just got some Lomo ones and they are good, very robust bags of a better proportion for strapping to your bars. L to R, 5l, 12l, 20l:

[img] [/img]

Does anybody know if anything came of that call for people wanting those saddle bags like the revelate /epic bags.

IIRC the thread was on about some guy in Britain making some?

That might be me. We're doing frame bags and working on some other stuff like handlebar harnesses and top tube packs.

Beth

Ian, have you got a link for those dry bags? Ta

Try this Stu,
http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/dry-bags-info_355.html

http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/Dry-Boxes-dry-bags-uk.html

Ta and Vortex if I were buying a mat from AlpKit I'd be buying this

http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16557&category_id=253

I'd find it very hard to go back to self inflating mat after discovering the new breed of insulated air beds.

is there a weight limit on those Stu?? 😳

can you get spare balloons easy enough??

Why do you want ballons?
You planning on supplying the entertainment?
Alpkit blow up bed that Stu mentioned doesn't need ballons.

😳 sorry I thought it was one of those model balloon types 😳

If anybody is after a very light packable insulating layer. Then this seems a proper bargain.

[url= http://www.theepicentre.co.uk/catalogue/mens-clothing/insulated/down-sweater-hoody ]Half price Patagonia Down Sweater[/url]

If you can live with the colour 🙂