[Closed] So, this bikepacking malarkey then.....

plenty of good info in this thread

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/sick-as-a-dog-so-show-me-you-bivi-bikepacking-adventure-racing-gear

what little bits and pieces do you take to give you that little bit of luxury while under the stars

None. The luxury is carrying a superlight pack instead of 10kg+ of dead weight for 3 days. It's suprising what you can do without when you have the beautiful wild countryside to take your mind off things.

A £20 ballon bed is a good start for money spent vs weight saved. Yes they are a faff but then it's half the fun. And they sure are funny!! I find mine far more comfortable than the heavier and more expensive Thermarest prolite, and the Neoair costs 3 times as much and still weighs 3 times as much. I'll admit the neoair is a great mat though.

For example my summer sleeping bag, sleeping mat, stove and fuel for a weekend weighs under 500g.

Lots of Bike'n'Bivvy threads on here as STW is the celestial home of the 'Bikepacker'.

I get everything into a OMM 30 litre rucsac. If you need panniers and bar bags you've got to much kit. Between two of us, we have even carried a rope, harness and climbing kit as well - though I think I used a seat post bag for the bike tools.

A luxury? Sawn off toothbrush and tooth paste.In fact this is your starting point. Weighing out the tooth paste will get your head into the correct 'weight weenie' frame of mind.(Not that I'm obsessional, oh no).
Hth
Marko

A luxury? Sawn off toothbrush and tooth paste.In fact this is your starting point. Weighing out the tooth paste will get your head into the correct 'weight weenie' frame of mind.(Not that I'm obsessional, oh no).
Hth
Marko

Really? Does it get that obsessive? I've done a bit more research and a lot of this gear isn't that expensive really, I was thinking I'd need to tak out a 2nd mortgage to kit myself up.

What do you lot use to attach dry bags to the bars?
Do those hom made drinks can stoves really work?

Straps for holding drybag on,
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/gelert-60-inch-arno-straps-p142007
[img] [/img]

Homemade small pepsi can stove
[img] [/img]

Both those things will have cost less than £1.50 if you drink cans of pop anyway.

some ideas here

http://welshridething.blogspot.com/2011/01/dirty-deeds-done-dirt-cheap.html#comments

hey flatfish, what's the pot stand you're using there? home made?

i've got a fancy titanium pot like flatfish ^

but i've got an old alumiuium mug (from scouts) that is almost as big abd almost as good to use. i thought i'd get the ti one because it's sized to carry a gas can (for msr pocket rocket) however the gas can cannot be stopped from banging around in the pot so it doesn't get carried in there.

my advice would be to have a wander round a camp shop with no need to buy anything to get an idea of what is out there.

minimum i would say you need is a sleeping bag, a mat and a way to keep it dry (bivi or groundsheet & tarp) and a couple of extra layers. and some extra food.

give it a go locally over night first....

it's two peices of coat hanger with a metal tube/sleeve over the back vertical length to create a hinge, allowing it to stand up unaided.

cheers, looks "light" 🙂

@Marko - "I get everything into a OMM 30 litre rucsac. If you need panniers and bar bags you've got to much kit"

Some of us prefer not to have any weight on our back for any length of time if we can avoid it, and it may be for extended trips that you can't carry enough food or water in a backpack alone.

I've a very good neurological reason not to have anything pressing on my spine for any length of time (otherwise I temporarily lose the use of my arms) and so it's necessary for me to look at other solutions.

A luxury? Sawn off toothbrush and tooth

pah - half a pack of chewing gum.

Some of us prefer not to have any weight on our back for any length of time if we can avoid it

the amount of kit marko suggest is about right but i would like to have (yet to acheive it) only a spare layer or two and a bit of food/ water in my bag.

First part of how to make a pop can stove went on the WRT blog last night. Second/final part up tonight, fingers crossed.

http://welshridething.blogspot.com/

nice one. I tested one of those pop can stoves last night & it's surprisingly effective, and essentially weightless

'Really? Does it get that obsessive?'

Well it did. I knew it was time to seek help when I started counting the grains of couscous 😉

'Some of us prefer not to have any weight on our back for any length of time if we can avoid it'.

Fair enough. I don't have a problem with bike bags, I just like to keep the bike as light as possible.I assume it's also a bit of a pain getting over all the stiles 😉

Hth
Marko

This is all good advice guys, please keep it coming. I'm sitting here with 2 cans cut in half patiently waiting for what to do next! 🙄

Marko - I'm currently thinking along your lines re not cluttering the bike up to much. I'm thinking a small pack on the bars and a half decent sized seat post bag with a pack on my back. Those Gourdon 20 backpacks on alpkit look good and vfm, are they worth having?

Lightweight backpack discussion here: http://bit.ly/g3bUPZ

Also a great site for Bikepacking info (hence the name...).

Gourdon 20 ... can't fault them, love mine.

Be patient, I'll let you know what to do with your cans later ... up to my eyes in plaster just now 😉

"Be patient, I'll let you know what to do with your cans later"

Woo hoo! Just finished and it looks the nuts! Now where did I put that meths? 😕