Flatfish, What bags that under the seat?

After last Friday's relatively sleepless bivi on Dartmoor I'd reccommend plenty of insect repellent…

And don't forget to take adequate coffee making facilities ;-)…

im sure its a revelate designs saddlepack and gas tank iirc he waited a while for em 😉

on the subject of bivying – i want to buy a new bivy bag , i want it to be a zip up bag similar to the rab storm that obi-twa has , with with the ability to have the zip open and have a fly screen in its place – or a wirehooded mesh vent. Im a bug o phobic and really would prefer to sleep with my head in the bag – although i do MTFU and sleep in my rab survival with little bother id prefer a fly screen – esp for foreign climes where spiders and snakes all exist to my detriment !

i saw the item im looking for in the states but they had no stock when i was in store 🙁 i didnt take the name of it cause im stupid !

ten points to trail_rat for observation

http://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.catalog&CategoryID=4&ProductID=1

I'm all packed for mine tomorrow.

Bivy bag
Some clothes
Some bike spares and tools
Some toilet roll
Some money
Some food

My bivvy bag should be arriving in the post today

Ive looked at those bags before they look great but cost a bit I think, I was also checking out the Altura Fusion Day pack, Anyone had one of these?

Anyone made a tarp from an old tent? We have an old 2 man ridge tent knocking about that look ripe for some 'customising'…

Anyone made a tarp from an old tent

No, but our tarp is a spare tent groundsheet that was purchased for about a fiver. Relatively heavy, but it seems to do the trick.

its a fraction of the cost but has pish fixtures and its pretty small.

look at ortlieb or carradice`s offerings of similar – far superior – the revelate designs one is another step up again

This one look good, Linky

http://www.carradice.co.uk/index.php?page_id=product&under=range&product_id=40

better … or the sqr trax , athough beware – 2 of the roadie guys in ABC have had SQR brackets break on them and they also trash carbon posts …. much prefer the saddle loops/saddle mounted bracket systems

i have a longflap camper and long support bracket mounted on a brooks saddle – 24 litres space.

I use a Carradice Super C saddle bag for longer / winter trips and a barly for summer / one night trips … had no problems with either.

trail_rat take a look at a snugpak stratosphere bivvy bag. It's an aluminium hooped job but you can ditch the hoops and use it as a normal bag. You can zip yourself up in it or leave the storm flaps open and just zip up the midge netting. The std pegs weigh more than flatfish's bike but they're easy and cheap enough to change.

Is that really waterproof the Super C?? Looks a great I wouldnt really need a backpack with that much space under the seat..

my carradice is certainly waterproof , ridden through some of the wildest rain ive ever seen on the snow roads in the cairngorms , we were riding past cars crawling along due to the rain just completely flooding the road instantly ….

contents of my bag were bone dry – i too was sceptical. 100% trust it now. some of the guys i was riding with were in there 60s and have bags (and brooks) from 30/40 years ago ! still waterproof – repaired a few times but waterproof….

Cheers for the advise think Im going to order the Super C…

MrSparkle – give it a go.

I bought 2.5m of ripstop PU Nylon (from Point North) and made my own. Simply cut it to size, hem the edges and sew on loops of webbing for fixing points. I also reinforced the fixing points to make sure they didn't tear.

It cost about £10, is 1.4 x 2.4m and weighs 220grms.

Next project is to try and convert a dry bag into on of those Revelate seat post bags. I've used a dry bag bungeed beneath the saddle but would prefer something a tailored so it doesn't hit my legs when I pedal.

Anyone tried to make something similar?

I need to see some Bivi location pictures…. Kit pictures, you know the sort of one's that make you feel like packing you stuff and going on an adventure?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8308384@N06/sets/72157624055262824/

You got hollow legs slugwash ? How long that do you for ? I swear stoner and mrs stoner took less for 3 months in france ! 😉

You got hollow legs slugwash ? How long that do you for ? I swear stoner and mrs stoner took less for 3 months in france !

It was wet, cold and windy and I had the smallest pack by a long way 😉 I did bring half the food back though.

The others….

SLUG YGM

Bigface0_0 – Member

Cheers for the advise think Im going to order the Super C…

I have a variation on the super C camper (an old one) an it's excellent however the larger saddlebags such as the super c camper need support in my opinion. I've used it without support and find it swings. You can get small racks from nitto (http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=872) and loads of other options too such as the bag man support and SQR from carradice or I've seen something like this attached to the rear http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Unbranded-Alloy-Front-Carrier–Cantilever-Boss-Mounting–Black-Alloy-14021.htm. all depends on your bike and what the best options are. I'm using a cheap rack on my commuter.

http://www.lfgss.com/picture.php?albumid=904&pictureid=8277

Carradice duck cotton products are excellent and tough though. I've also go a pair of their super C front p[panniers which I use on the rear for other trips and they are tough as hell too.

http://www.wallbike.com/content/carradicehacks.html

worth a look

Cheers for all the advise, I want to stay away from the racks really Im not over keen on them on my bike, its a carbon frame and Im not massive keen on having to attached brackets to it..
The super C, with a Topeak beam rack for some extra storage..??

the carradice support rack attatches under your saddle if thats what scares you.

You don't have to use a rack, that's just what I use. It was more a post to warn you that the large saddlebags require more than just slap it on and go, it's not terribly well conveyed on the carradice website. They are solid setups though with whatever choice of support you go for.

I go for a rack because it's cheap and the load on my commuter bike can be heavyish. In that photo I had, bike tools (quite extensive, I'm paranoid!), u-lock, pump, shoes, work top, packed lunch, biscuits, gillet, arwarmers, map, phone, wallet, engineers square, rule, selection of files, selection of flat drill bits, all heavy dense stuff. Basically far more weight than you would have for a bivi trip, that's why I like the rack. A few good pics in this thread using the sqr system

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/large-saddlebags-any-good

My Alpkit Hunka and drybag arrived today. My sleeping bag and the bivvy fit, just, in the 13l bag:

(Turned through 90*, there's better clearance for the tyre.)

Need to sort some straps out now. Looking forward to first trip.

Bigface0_0 – look at the Freeload, i have been using mine on my carbon tallboy for ages with absolutely no issues at all, it uses a cam system and soft foot pads. Has been monstered over very very rough ground for long sessions.

Anyone wanting a cheap tarp could do a lot worse than one of these
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/tarp-3243880/

sweepy – nice one! I was looking at tarps the other day as I am looking for an extension on my tent!

is that the new ragley sticker kit mike ?

anyone used down for multiday bivy tours ? – currently use a marmot tundra which is nice – but bulky for its comfort rating. Cant really see past down at the moment for bulk – bulk is more of an issue for me than weight !

and i guess the ultimate question to save buying more than one bag is – what sleeping bag would you guys take if you were going on the tour divide ? – will probably be fine for the uk conditions and thus save me buying more bags than i really need !

is that the new ragley sticker kit mike ?

They used to have shedfire written on in marker pen, but it rubbed off 🙂

Need to pick somewhere for a first trip now. Thinking of Swaledale as I can ride there in three hours, so can leave after the kids are bathed and be home for breakfast.

This is an interesting way of carrying your kit, in what appears to be a nicked dog sh1t bin strapped to your frame. Hope you cleaned it beforehand

The decathlon tarp is great, was going to hack up an old tent flysheet but didnt bother coz the decathlon one was so cheap.

Poles and pegs are heavy, so I'd ditch those if bivvying, but you could get 3 under it comfortably.

Taped seams on it too.

Down Go-Lite bag here, packs down to nowt and weighs nowt (570g) and has pertex at the head and feet to help with any dampness.

s8tan – the go-lite ultra 20 backless ?

got a thermarest neoair so meant to be warm from below. – will have to get a new bivy as above though – my rab survival zone wont take a mat inside. Save me buying the missus an alpkit hunka though hand her down the rab !

rab quantum 200 down bag weighing in at a hefty 450g

looks good but id prefer the -7 rating of the go-lite than the +2 of the rab – having tried sleeping in the cold in a +7 – never again – rather carry a bit of weight and be too warm than carry not enough and be cold !

I did the OMM a few weeks ago and got everything into a 20l sack and weight was a fraction under 6 kg – some of the top elites had 12l rucksacks with a bum bag totalling 4kgs!!! This is for overnight kit as well.