couple of pictures of my last bikepacking trips and equipment in Scotland

Trip up Glen Tilt on 26″ Cove hartail. Worked well for strapping most kit onto.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/AT9aTP]Untitled[/url] by matt kelly, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/oxWaPk]RIMG0002[/url] by matt kelly, on Flickr

Latest trip was on 26″ orange five, far harder to attach everything too so ended up with rucksack too which I had hoped to avoid.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/zWfjs8]Dalwhinnie[/url] by matt kelly, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Ahu5rk]Dalwhinnie[/url] by matt kelly, on Flickr

both trips have used a tent, I have recently bought a bivy bag and tarp to try, my biggest concern is midges though…

Planning more trips for next year, have purchased a 29″ On-one inbred to build into a rigid off road bikepacking machine. And also the Genesis Croix de fer below, for more road/canal path focused trip. N+1 right 🙄

[url=https://flic.kr/p/AQR8rm] [/url] by matt kelly, on Flickr

Hi there. Bit of a lurker on here but going to do some bike packing. Got all the gear I need. Just a few questions about actually packing. Onto he bars what do you carry? Just tried rolling my therma rest, sleeping bag and bivvy in one into a dry bag but it was huge. All your set ups look a lot smaller. Should I keep the mat out or keep everything separate and small as possible? Cheers.

I usually put sleeping bag, bivi, liner and down jacket in the bar bag.

Sleeping mat goes in either the frame bag or saddle bag.

Alternatively a tent in the frame bag, in which case a sleeping bag and mat will just about roll up on the bars.

This is all using quite a thin self inflating 3/4 mat

The usual setup is:

Sleeping kit in a bag mounted to the bars.
Spare clothing in the seat pack
Heavier stuff in the frame bag.

The trick is to take just enough to be comfortable and no more. As you’ve discovered, it’s not just about weight but also bulk. As an example I’ve got (thinks for a moment) four sleeping mats 😯 A closed cell Karrimat style mat; a full on Thermarest (I suspect that this is what you have); a Klymit Inertia X-frame and an Exped Synmat Winterlite. The first two are very bulky and they aren’t something I’d take bikepacking. The X-frame is a summer only mat, it packs down very small, less than a litre, but the gaps in it mean that it doesn’t have an R-value. The Exped is an insulated mat with an R-value of 6 which is more than the full Thermarest which is at least three times the packed volume of the Exped. Apart from the Karrimat the other three cost about the same amount – £80.

If you’ve a synthethic sleeping bag then that will be bulkier than its down equivalent. However the down bag will cost a lot more. Unless you go really lightweight, almost racing weight, then there is an associated bulk. My bivvy bag (can’t remember the make/model) weighs 450g but you can get a bivvy bag that weighs just 130g but it costs nearly $300!! It probably isn’t useful for heavy use.

You need to consider everything together as a system so a good sleeping mat can mean that you need a lighter bag than if you’d a poorer mat as you aren’t losing as much heat through the mat through conduction.

There’s no one right answer, you need to try different setups to find what works for you.

After a cheeky weekday one-nighter:

Liking this thread a lot.

[Columbo]But there’s still one thing I don’t understand…[/Columbo]

Why use a seatpost mounted rack, or strap-on contraptions on a hardtail? I can understand FS (where a conventional rack won’t work), and I can understand carbon frames (no bosses, etc.), but on a hardtail, surely the easiest/cheapest/most secure way of carrying something over the rear wheel is to bung a rack on?

Rack and panniers are wide and probably weigh as much as all the kit you’ll stick in a rear bag

Weight saving – though minimal
Frame choice – how many frames have rack mounts these days?
Reliability – rack breakages happen when loaded/off-road
Maneuverability – taking a be-panniered bike along some trails can be a nightmare. Think heather, bracken etc.

I use both approaches and reckon the soft bags are more useful off-road. Panniers can work well on wider, flatter, easier terrain though

Not panniers, just a flat-topped rack loaded similarly to Busta’s photo above. I can’t believe that it would be more prone to breakage than something cantilevered off the seat post. Weight is absolutely minimal compared to a loaded bike, surely?

im not drilling my frame for a rack (at the bottom – i know it has mounts at the top) nor spending loads of money on an AXLE mount rack to fit round 4 inch tires…….

nor am i drilling that frame – has no mounts at all- its a ti race frame that just so happens to be as comfy as hell !

on the left is my most recent purchase…. off here(wouldnt normally buy TNF kit as i feel mostly its over priced for the name) but for 125 quid im happy….. both those bags are near as damnit rated the same at comfort – the survival temp of the down bag is much lower in perfect conditions obviously the usual wet caveat applies ….. just got the mrs a hunka bivvy for her birthday – isnt she lucky so i guess ill get to use my snugpak synthetic alot more as im sure she will claim the lighter bag 🙁

@tillydog, I use the seatpost rack because it’s what I have, it works with the trunk bag and clips on in a couple of seconds. It’s an Arkel Randonneur rack, not one of these clamp on the post jobbies. There’s only a couple of kilos in the bag (stove, food, sleeping bag, tools) so it’s nice and stable.

I do understand where you are coming from though, some of the big seatpacks look more cumbersome than strapping your kit on-top of a normal rack. Horses for courses! The important bit is the adventure, not the kit.

Nice ride out on clear and cold Friday night to Claerddu (see pic – not mine, really great bothy) then a wild a wet cycle back on Saturday. Singular Peregrine on its fist bikepacking outing (rubbish phone pic) :-).

[url=https://flic.kr/p/C9SBWi]20151212_123349[/url] by jamesanderson2010, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/pKFscm]Claerddu Bothy (5)[/url] by Alan, on Flickr

Has anyone else got out yet this year?

We had an overnight doing part of the Southern Upland Way, to say it was cold and wet is a bit of an understatement!

Nice, good effort getting out. What section did you do? Was the riding any good?

Just about to ask the same as Tom, looks like the area around the Selkirk end?

overnighter in the Berwyns. Not been back too long, it’s taken all day to ride 70miles back home. I’m freezing!

Very impressive getting out in the middle of winter. Respect!

More impressive and a lot more scary is the fact this thread is 5 years old.! I looked at this this morning and though it was 2 years tops. Getting old.

AlexSimon – Member
Very impressive getting out in the middle of winter. Respect!

won’t be doing another in a hurry until it gets warmer 😆

Quite a few folk out last weekend on the Bear Bones ‘Bach to Bach’ … horrible conditions but plenty of tea, cake and toast to counter the effects of the weather.

We rode from St Mary’s Loch towards Moffat. Riding wise it was nothing special, the Yair to St Mary’s Loch section is much better.

If anyone is interested I have written a short post about it here:

http://bit.ly/SUW2016

(The website is very much in progress so pointing out any bugs/typos/general constructive criticism is welcome)

(The website is very much in progress so pointing out any bugs/typos/general constructive criticism is welcome)

Land Rover, bike and sail boat, whats not to like……… 😀

Hi

I’m want to start bikepacking this year and I’m looking for a bit of route advice/opinions. Are the Sustrans routes any good for someone looking to stay as off-road as possible or should I be planning my own routes from OS maps instead?

Cheers

Both – though in my experience Sustrans routes have a tendency to wander on and off road. Plus they tend to focus on going through habitations. My bikepacking tends to head away from these places.

@Scotroutes

Heading away from habitations is exactly what I’m looking for. Any tips for route resources?

Cheers

Use google/ask around.

Join the bearbonesbikepacking forum and ask there.

Find some good blogs.

Mostly, I just make mine up using the OS maps. It helps that I’m in Scotland and don’t have the Englandandwales access laws to contend with.

If you’re after some ideas up this way, I have a blog you could peruse.

quick question. not sure whether to buy the 13 or 20 litre airlock drybag for my handlebars. needs to be able to fit comfortably on the bars without hitting brakes etc. not sure if the 13 will fit in my sleeping bag, mat and bivi in? anyone got experience of how much stuff they can fit in a 13L bag?

cheers.

13L = Summer
20L = Winter

Both fit

You might find the 20L simply too deep to fit as the lower part of it could drag on your front wheel – especially if you have front suspension/are riding a 29er.

I can certainly fit a summer bag, mat and bivi in a 13L bag.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/oE5DrZ]DSC_0143[/url] by Colin Cadden, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/oE4xXC]P1010496[/url] by Colin Cadden, on Flickr

IMHO, a 20L bag would only make sense if it was the same overall diameter of the 13L but just longer

I’ve managed to squeeze an Alpkit Hunka XL, Decathlon 5 degree light sleeping bag (2/3 season bag) & Forclaz inflatable sleeping mat into the 13L airlok dry bag.

Thanks that answers it perfectly. 13 will be more than enough for the gear iv got. cheers.

@DTJC

I’ve a 13 litre Airlock dry bag and last weekend I got: An Alpkit Hunka XL; a PHD Minim Ultra sleeping bag; a Cumulus 150 quilt and an Exped Synmat winterlite sleeping mat (and inflator bag) into it and had room for a bit more, probably a thermal or two.

For information I’ve also an Alpkit tapered airlock for the seat post so 13 litre and a Wildcat Ocelot partial frame bag at 4.5 litres so that’s just over 30 litres in total. More than enough for summer but I tend to need a backpack for the extra bulk of winter kit.

cheers whitestone. very useful info.

I’ve only just found this thread. Full of epic.

I’m planning a short trip round the Chilterns to test out the equipment and see whether I enjoy it.

Have no luggage bags , but will look to buy, only a front handlebar and seat post one I think (only got a full sus) at a later date. Any good bargains out there at the moment?

For now ill take a 30 litre rucksack.Think i’m just taking a lightweigh hammock and tarp,bivi, lamina sleeping bag, jet boil, jacket, beanie, boil bag supplies and jelly babies as well as normal bike equipment.

If you are looking for bargains check out the classified forum on Bearbones http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=9 Ian from Wildcat had a sell-off of various stuff last week but there’s plenty of stuff appears on there. Also worth checking the MYOG forum.

Sure that I or someone else mentioned it on this thread but you can mount an Alpkit tapered Airlok directly to the seatpost/saddle rails as an ultra cheap way of getting a saddle bag. Maybe not as convenient as a dedicated harness but for £13 or whatever it is now you can’t really go wrong. You can also strap a dry bag directly to your bars though it’s worth protecting the bars and frame with tape.

Our first bikepacking trip (before we’d even heard the term) we just used 25 litre rucksacks and did a ride (Corrour to Roy Bridge) that we could have done in a day very easily but took it steady and stopped in Meanach bothy for the overnight bit.

Over time, if you get into it, you’ll figure out what works for you and what doesn’t and modify/buy accordingly. It’s worth trying to be flexible with kit: two two season sleeping bags or quilts are more use in the UK than a single 4 season bag for example.

gourdon 25l
Rab survival bivvy
pipe dream 250
rig 3.5 tarp with bearbones pole a bears and ti tykes
Hipflask
8gram stove – 400ml ti mug, lighter , fuel and coffee.
microlight down jacket , a buff , some gloves
Petzl e-lite and the cordillera

Put on my trainers and did something really odd…. left the bike at home as i was visiting family and wanted to leave late/back early – 5k out to a spot on the cliff top where i used to camp as a kid, bivy out and continue another 5k around the trails i did as a kid.

Ready for tomorrows overnighter

Packed in a very very similar way to JohnClimber on Monday night!

Went up to Higger Tor for my first ever bivy bag experience (I normally Hammock). As a limbs-out sleeper, I was worried, but the Hunka wasn’t too restricting. Although it was overkill on the hot night.

Managed to pack enough on the bike that my backpack was left at home – much nicer when on a road bike ime.

The climb up past Stanage

Glorious sunset

Bivy spot

Superb sunset and a lovely view to wake up to too.
Will definitely be back.

Tested quite a few things – first CX bivy, first bivy bag, first use of a little Alpkit stove, first use of the Wildcat Cheetah, first use of the new Wildcat tapered and double-ended dry bags.

Everything was rock solid as usual. The deep shape of the double-ended dry bag was perfect for the drop handlebars and rigid forks, but I’m dubious about it on my flat-barred FS bike.

That red glow from my water bottle isn’t some kind of blackcurrant energy drink, but peaty water from the stream nearby (Burbage Bridge) in my TravelTap filter 🙂

The morning ride is always a highlight – Stanage Pole is back!

Last Friday nights beach ride and bivi with 2 mates and a drone

[video]https://youtu.be/EfbnNXqwZNM[/video]