Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

I presumed they must be..?

read the restrap thread a few pages back.

tl;dr

tl;dr

Yes it's a collaboration.

No not all parties knew they were collaborating.

^ lol #rep

haha!

Brown Rainbow Project

....And yet they 're STILL adamant that they took absolutely no inspiration from my saddlebag!
Yeah...no similarities there at all. :)
Jokers!

https://youtu.be/IBH97ma9YiI

Anyway....Gabes...Did you use a Six Moon Lunar on the divide?
If so...what's your opinion of it?

Can anyone recommend where to get some large velcro straps? Been riding with this setup on weekend trips, feels solid, but just a little too much wobble.

Can't vouch for the UK, but any outdoor/camping shop should have them. Or try amazon.

Get to a haberdashery/sewing shop. If you're in a rush there's some thinner velcro from the stall outside tesco (under the escalator) in elephant and castle shopping centre. Maybe try Atlantis down brick lane though.

There were a fair few on Ebay last time I looked for straps.

Cheers, when the weather stops lashing it down I'll try the local sewing shop.

Gabes...Did you use a Six Moon Lunar on the divide?

Indeed I did. I only pitched it a few times, as I had a bivvy with me too, and the weather was amazing. I only pitched when there was a mosquito issue really, or a risk of rain. Got rained on one night I think. It kept the nasty nasty Montanan mozzies out perfectly.

I've used it loads here too, and it's served me very well. The floor is very thin, I pitched in accidentally on a baby gorse bush in Wales earlier in the year, now it has a few small holes in the floor. Not a problem though.

It's the Duo explorer version I'm looking at, so I think i'll give it a shot. It certainly seems like the most spacious two person shelter that doesn't weigh loads.

Im going away at the weekend, only for 2 nights but it requires I take a tent (as my partner is joining the next day).

I didnt have a tent so have a bargain terra nova Zephyros coming tomorrow, might be cosy but hopefully we both fit in it for the one night. (we are both short arses)

I reckon I should be able to fit clothes and tent in 13l saddle bag and 8l on the front. The 8l may end up more like 5l, it depends how it fits on the front of my bike.

Ideally Id like to take a sleeping bag, any suggestions how I might fit this? Dont want to purchase a framebag.

@ Alpkit Airlok Tapered crew...

How on earth do I fasten this bag to my bike!? Tried about ten different approaches and it just slips down / spins round as soon as the bike moves... Help...

13l Airlok on the bars is a dream though...

you should easily be able to fit a summer down sleeping bag, zephyros tent and a change of clothes in a 13 litre saddlebag. Strapping the poles to your toptube makes squishing things in a fair bit easier.

But if you have a massive sleeping bag strap it to the top of the saddlebag or the handlebars with bungees.

Its 1.1 k, which is light, and the space is huge, but you'll have to carry hiking poles, or get the poles made up.

I'd rather carry the extra 300g and get a double skin, freestanding tent with poles.

It is a crappy old sleeping bag, nothing special at all, broken zip and all and quite big. Didnt think of bungee cords, sounds like a plan!

What is the concensus on best summer sleeping bag - budget and higher end. For future..

this how i did it when i had a large sleeping bag

blimey, dont think my sleepingbag is that big, nearly half that?

I will go for a trial run before friday and see how everything fits on bike

hory sheet laner. that a chrysalis 4?

I was just going with the two six moon carbon poles.
It's the full width head space and non tapering floor that is the plus point for me. :)

yeah it looks humungous!