What weight for your bikepacking kit?

I’m preparing for a Summer full of loads of Bikepacking trips and in the process buying some lighter kit – I’m aiming for > 500g each for Sleeping Mat / Bag and Tarp plus an ultralight pack – Down Hoody and long johns and a groundsheet – should all come in under 5kg maybe less – Snow peak Ti cookset I’ve already got .. What’s a good minimum but achievable weight for your full kit list fellow bike packers ?

500g for a sleeping bag good luck with that 😯

If you’re as serious about minimal weight as your specs on sleeping bag etc. suggest, then dump the ti cookset and take some of these instead:

Used those successfully on several Polaris and OMM events along with a solid fuel stove – what are you using for a stove?

Oh and bubble wrap or a balloon bed for a sleeping mat.

I’ve never got round to weighing all my “summer” kit. I did once do a blog entry showing all my winter gear and it came out just under 8Kg (the bag alone weigted 1.7Kg, the tent 1.5Kg))

http://www.blog.scotroutes.com/2013/05/bikepacking-kit-list.html

Some of the stuff has since been replaced/upgraded so I should really do a wee update.

As the blog says, you really need to get onto the Bearbones Bikepacking forum if you’re looking for ultralight ideas.

Last summer I did a week trip in the alps, came in at about 11kg in kit, including food and 1/2 a camelback of water. 750g sleeping bag, 450g roll mat, 1150g tarp tent/ground sheet combo, decent sized cooking kit, off bike clothes plus a spare set of on bike clothes. Also took a few luxuries but don’t think I would want to go less stuff for an extended trip and might even take slightly more this summer for my 20 day alpine trip. For one nighters I’ve got sub 5kg but I’ve not taken cooking kit and relied on good weather to stay dry!

edit: I should probably meantion most of the weight was in clothes as I didn’t have a down jacket and packed for the cold!

There’s a decent selection of 1 season down bags sub 500g to choose from so luck isn’t an issue – Thermarest Neo air xlite 350g already purchased too ..

I got my lejog camping kit under 14lbs including proper tent, spare riding kit, off-bike clothes, shoes and 5 sets of socks and pants… In retrospect I took far too much.

Cumulus 150 quilt, Thermarest Neoair x-lite mat, Alpkit Rig 3.5 or Rab Siltarp 1 are all good, sensible lightweight choices. I think you need to order from the U.S. to get a substantially lighter bivy bag than, say, a Hunka.

If the weather’s looking good and you don’t mind tramping it up, you can get your kit well under 5kg.

Just under 3.5 tonnes

I don’t use a bivy if I tarp – last summer I used alot of my hiking kit such as my exped down mat which is a whopping 900g! – Yep > 5kg is pretty manageable – I’m looking at the PHD k series Minim which is is under 400g – with today’s ultralight kit I think one can manage to live ridiculously comfortable on the trails with hardly any pack weight .. During summer I won’t bother with a waterproof – but I’m looking for a 300g(ish) softshell – for those who like to bivy I guess you can do away with a ground sheet ..

Where are you going to be riding/bivvying?

My cumulus 200 bag, miltimat, Alpkit double bivy, tyvek groundsheet, Esbit cookset and merino thermals come to 3.5kg. 1.2kg of that is the Bivy, so 5kg is easily doable.

I think you need to order from the U.S. to get a substantially lighter bivy bag than, say, a Hunka.

Cumulus do a Pertex Endurance bivy that’s under 200g and perfect for use under a tarp, or a Pertex Shield one that’s not a lot heavier and would be fine on it’s own.

The Belgian army bivy bags come in at around 350g with the thick canvas bedroll bit trimmed off and are less than £10. They are only water resistant though so best used under a tarp.

There are lots of other options on European websites and UK postage is normally pretty cheap.

My buddy and I prefer not to plan too far in advance – My best trips last Summer involved taking the GPS out and just riding out from the house for 2 or 3 days and getting the train home .. So it’s mainly been stringing footpaths together .. It’s nice not having to set off after a long car journey ..

It’s all about your perception of comfort. I could go lighter than my kit and be miserable.
I have a SMD Lunar Solo with carbon pole and ti pegs, cumulus 150 quilt for summer and enlightened equipment quilt for anything else. Neoair xlite, an exped pillow, Bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk 8g or 22g meths stove with Alpkit ti mytimug or a Kovea spider stove for longer trips. With this setup,i’m happy almost anywhere in any condition. For warm, dry overnights where I’m prepared to suffer more, I can take a bivvy bag and perhaps ditch the cooking stuff.
All depends whether you’re racing or touring.

Lots of variables: summer/winter; racing/touring; eating in pub/cooking yourself.

Sub 500g sleeping bag is easy: PHD Minimus weighs 375g and is good to 5C though I’ve used it at freezing, for me it’s fine for 6 months of the year. I can then have a Cumulus 150g quilt as cover to extend usage but if it’s full on winter and well below zero then my Rab 1200 is more than enough but it weighs 1800g!

Summer racing/ultralight weight (without food or water) is 2.4Kg and it’s not too hard to get to that weight, it’s not “comfortable” but you’ll survive, the only “outrageous” bit of kit in there would be the 85g PHD down vest. Going for comfort (again summer) would add about 2Kg to that, again without food and water. (note that these are real weights of my own kit not manufacturers weights, i.e. the Alpkit Rig3.5 is given as 300g but with the lines I have permanently attached it is 375g)

Winter kit adds a lot of weight and bulk: the Klymit x-frame sleeping mat is 260g but it’s summer only, my Exped Synmat Winterlite is 470g.

Mostly you need to think about what you *need* rather than what you want. Previous posters have provided lots of clues as well.

@whitestone how do you get on with your Klymit? – those ‘loft pockets’ I’ve always wondered how well a down bag would cope under damp conditions – do you have any issues with wetting out? Also what ground sheet are folk using ? PhD 1000 fill looks ace there’s a YouTube video on the PHD channel showing how much a handful of the stuff expands – it’s pretty amazing ..

The Klymit is fine during summer but it’s basically a Lilo with bits missing so if it goes flat then it’s got the insulating properties of a bit of rubber! Hence using something a bit more substantial for winter. I use a bivvy bag with it so there’s no direct contact between my down bag and the ground. Don’t bother with a groundsheet – extra weight and bulk.

Mostly done overnighters so no real feedback on how everything copes with multi-day/night trips but if you take care then I can’t see any problems arising. We did The Sandstone Way over the summer bank holiday weekend – afternoon, full day, morning and the bag didn’t get unduly damp, we did have good weather though.

Don’t get too hung up on gear – figure out what you need then start looking at reducing weight & bulk. There’s a list of processes to follow on how to cut weight at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultralight_backpacking that can be applied to bikepacking as well. After each trip go through the kit you took, note whether you used it or not and how it could be improved. You’ll never get it right all the time but knowing what works and what doesn’t will help guide you in modifying, making or buying replacement kit.

At a guess 4kg

custom quilt (by some random off Ebay but to my spec) – 400g
Klymit Static V – 500g
MLD Speedmid – 650g
Luxe Minipeak inner – 600g
8 MSR Groundhog pegs – 100g
Homemade groundsheet – 30g
600ml pot, homemade stove & stand – 250g
Vaude pack – 800g
Leki ti pole – 250g
first aid kit – 300g

plus a few bits and bobs like water, headtorch, knife, clothes depending on weather. My down jacket is 400g btw. My axe is 1.3kg but I don’t often take it with me. 🙂

The speedmid is very spacious and very stable. I’ve slept under it without the inner in the summer, but having the inner makes it more comfortable in the winter. I also find that the mat could do with a space blanker or some similar insulation underneath it in the winter as that seems to be where I lose heat from.

Put the insulating layer on top of the Klymit not under it. When it’s cold the open nature of the Klymit’s baffles means that air will circulate because of convection currents this will draw heat from you to the insulating layer. By putting the insulating layer on top the thermal gradient across the Klymit is lower so there are fewer convection currents. You get the benefits of the cushion of air without the disadvantages.

From your kit list, do you really need a 300g first aid kit? I used to carry one that weighed 200g or so until I thought about it rationally about my skill level and what I could use instead of the items in it (shirt in place of a triangular bandage, etc) and ended up with 10g of plasters and blister covers.

I definitely prefer a groundsheet as I don’t use a Bivy – I’ve not enjoyed putting inflatable mat directly on ground – I’ve got an integral designs eVent bivy but I never use it I prefer a tarp – been looking at the Gram Counter ground sheets as listed on Ultralight.Com – I always get hung up on gear – it’s part of the fun! – As I generally use a two person Tarp other person carries stove ..Also when one goes lightweight I feel it negates the need for strapping bike packing specific bags to frame and bars – I’m happy with just a pack .. Roll on long hot Summer days and dusty trails !!

It’s just what lies in the bottom of my bag when we go out for family walks and things. I’ve not weighed it, so I guessed at the weight. Might be worth revisiting though.

The Klymit is not the holey one, which is why I figured on putting the insulation under it. As I have a quilt there’s nothing under me when I’m on it and it’s not an insulated mat.

That pack weight is fine with me. It’s comfortable and nothing cost a fortune. As long as you’re happy with your gear and get the use out of it, that’s the best thing IMO.

I don’t think any of the Klymit mats use internal insulation, they are just open air, so the comment about convection currents applies to all of them. The Static V has an R-value of 1.3 which is only slightly better than snow!

Keep the insulating layers close to you and the Klymit’s comfy layer underneath that.

I’ll try that next time I’m out. Won’t be this week as I’m not keen on getting blown off the top of a fell.

I don’t worry about, not since I got Bob Yak. 8)

I reckon it’s about 5.5kg ish, but that’s to be comfortable (e.g chair kit for my mat, spare clothes to sleep in, nice quilt)

I could drop down under that with some hardship

forget weight its comfort and practicability for me!!

Rich

The WRT ‘weigh-in’ usually makes for interesting viewing. I think the lowest recorded weight (bike, kit, food, water) was just under 32lb and the heaviest somewhere over 120lb but to be fair, that did include a trailer.

if you want light check out Jesse Carlsons’ (the winner of the TransAmerica race last year) setup I think minimalist just about covers it – not bad for 18 days !

Are you also including a tool kit in the weight? Pump, tubes, etc?

In my case yes. The above 2.4Kg includes

Front light (C&B Seen) 200g
Moon Comet Rear light (legal and safety reasons) 50g
Garmin 510 GPS 80g
Anker backup battery 80g
iphone 125g
Various leads to connect above 50g
Leyzine pump 90g
Multi-tool + power link + tyre boots 185g
Spare inner tube (29er) 190g

Sol Escape Bivvy 240g
PHD down vest 85g

FA kit (plasters + blister patches) 10g
Cash + debit card 10g
Small pot of chamois cream 20g

Wildcat Ocelot frame bag (XL) 300g
Alpkit tapered Airlock bag 150g

That’s 1855g, add in 500g of clothes: spare top, buff and you are just under 2.4Kg There’s no sleeping mat but it’s possible in summer to do without for a night, if push comes to shove then a cut down CCF mat comes to 100g. The above wouldn’t be comfortable but for an ITT it would be enough.

For summer touring add:

Klymit x-frame 260g
PHD minimus sleeping bag 375g
Mytimug + alcohol stove + fuel (100ml) 280g
Wildcat Lion harness 140g

Of course there’s food and water to add to the above lists but for an overnighter the food might only come to 500g.

I’ve just bought a thermartex reflective blanket and sewn the sides to make a sleeping bag that goes over my lightweight bag to add warmth. Only weighs 200g. It’s a great bit of kit to have. It’s also water resistant

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/practical/XA107.html

Just take a good knife with you. Should be able to fashion a suitable shelter and a nice warm fire in no time. If you’re lucky you will stumble upon a fresh roadkill carcass for dinner, if not just guddle a trout from the nearest burn.

You would think you lot were going away for a year or two with all that kit.

6kg for 2 weeks round the Alps. look

6kg. 1bag 1 bike #transalp nearly ready. #mountainbike #mtb #alps pic.twitter.com/1LaOSXPrw9

— Chris Ellison (@highbark) July 11, 2015

Perhaps this is the thread for my own musings… (not really about bikepacking now – mainly kayak and walking).

I’d like to improve my warm & cheap but massive & heavy xxl sleeping bag & replace my warm, cheap and waterproof but massive & heavy jacket.

Sleeping bag: I want an XXL light summer sleeping bag preferably a ‘top bag’. Preferably zipless. This needs to be big enough for a 6’2 bloke, wearing neck warmer/hat/coat/thermals the lot. I take clothes warm enough to sit still at night anyway – I figure I might as well wear the warm kit I need in a lighter bag. Top bag seems to me to be superior to a quilt or sleeping bag.

Light Warm Coat that packs down: Down jacket works but I can’t help but think waterproof is essential. What do other people do? Wear a down jacket but have a waterproof over jacket?

What do STWers think about my thoughts, and can anyone suggest a suitable massive/summer/zipless/cheap top bag that meets my spec. I’m prepared to compromise a fair bit – even on the all important “cheap”!

For the sleeping bag look at http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/sleeping-bags you will need to compromise a good bit on cheap but they will do you everything you ask for.

What about the Montane Prism for a jacket? Synthetic insulation, lightweight and packs down nice and small. Will hold up to a shower or two.

@outofbreath

For decent camping kit and clothing have a look at Alpkit , if you want top notch stuff then have a look at PHD. £130 for an Alpkit down jacket is great value (both my wife and I have one) for lounging around at camp.