Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

Yeah I'm not saying it is actually waterproof. What I'm saying is, I've never had water leak through mine, even under brutal rain.

So still use a dry bag, because down is important. But just letting you know.

Give your Viscacha the shower test. Stuff it full with newspaper so that the seams are under a bit of strain and take it with you the next time you get in the shower. Just leave it there on the floor and when you're done, see if any of the paper is wet. If it is, drybag, if not, you'll be fine.

I think we've used the Lifeventure ones and they seem good. See what's on offer at Cotswold, Go Outdoors, Alpkit, they all do fairly good stuff.

sea to summit ones. From cotswold outdoor. The ultrasil

If I get a chance I'll have a look at them, ta.

The bag has a stuff sack I think, but it's not waterproof. The bivvy goes into a built in one.

Actually, I might have a drybag somewhere. I think I remember buying one ages ago. HMm.. need to ransack my camping kit.

My Pika did eventually leak, but that was 3 days mountain biking/tussock wrestling and sleeping out in the pouring rain in Wales...

Dry bag to be safe, only water that has got into the Pika on the roadbike is run-off from my jacket/gloves etc. when I've opened it up to swap layers.

Bivvying out in the Lakes on Friday and possibly somewhere between Troutbeck and Manchester on Saturday night too, looking forward to that... Schoolnight bivvy next week too after the Buxton adventure film fest thing!

Alpkit drybags seem reasonable. Coped with an accidental dunk in a river.

I do have a drybag. It's a M-sized pod sac. Says it's waterproof Cordura of some sort.
Looks big enough to hold the sleeping bag and bivvy I guess but I need to try it.
Obviously typing this shit out is my way of avoiding trying it, just in case they don't fit and I have to go looking for an alternative.

I got these last year.

Lightweight, good quality construction, 3 sizes... Simplz

http://www.worldofcamping.co.uk/vango-dry-bag-set-of-3?gclid=COfJ28CE08wCFXEz0wod0VAGiw#fo_c=273&fo_k=8e5b91c4e6fe1f25aeedd68922eb45ab&fo_s=gplauk

Slept out in Staveley on Friday night, not the most exciting spot, corner of a sports field beside the brewery we'd possibly had a few too many in...

It was a bit chilly overnight, woke at 4:30 with frost on the saddlebag and a chilly breeze.

New sleeping mat worked well, 200g sleeping bag was pushing it though. Had layered up but only taken thin/light stuff that works a lot better when moving.

Borrowed photo of me looking a little confused trying to put bib shorts on without getting out of the bag...

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200g bag? That's lighter than my new down jacket.

Probably closer to 240g without the stuff sack - PHD summer lightening thing from last year. Using it as a liner mostly with a 450g sleeping bag.

If you're still looking at sleeping mats, might be worth looking at the new Exped Hyperlite. I just picked up one of the Winterlite mats (synthetic insulation inside), it's relatively compact given the rating (-17c)... Imagine the Hyperlite would pack a bit smaller

Easier to inflate with one of the schnozzle things, bit of a PITA to blow it up. One of those silly 3/4 klymit things pictured for scale too...

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^ nice Ale.

Hawkshead had some nice beers on at the brewery, better than the standard Pale/Red etc. you tend to see around. Margarita Gose was especially nice - sour wheat with a hint of lime and salt as you'd expect from the name...

Food looked good but sadly not a lot on for veggies :(

Sounds cool, less so on the food side tho. Are you heading to Bearstock in July?

Unfortunately not, riding a rather long audax that weekend...

Equal fun, enjoy!

Can I just drink the beer and forget about this sleeping bullshit?

I'll have a look at these pads but it's another thing to carry and setup. I reckon next test will be sleeping bag and cover or bivvy and maybe jacket in a better location, that's not sub-zero.

Sounds like a good plan. I really got this for using in the tent and if I'd made it up to the cairngorms as the forecast was super shitty. Won't bother taking it if the weather improves at some point...

Made it to Berlin yesterday lunchtime. So that's half the trip done, gotta make my way back too (hint hint justgiving.com/swindonberlin ).

Got caught in the rain a couple times. Learnt my lesson about putting cold/wet weather spares in the bottom of the saddle bag. Also the ktm saddle bag isn't waterproof, and was lucky the pod stuff sacks just about resisted.

Using a pod climber's chalk bag as food bag between tri bars works very well. snugpak jungle bag is heavy compared to a 200g thing, but it's working fine.

Limited to couchsurfing without a tent or bivy, but quite happy with that on this trip. The cheap Trespass down jacket has been great. Because it doesnt pack too small I've used it as a pillow at least once so far, and it's warm enough to wear, and surely sleep in.

Certainly could do with a sleep mat, the egg carton one would work fine but I'm still not sure how it will work attached to the bike. Those super small inflatable ones start to look tempting.

Biggest problem so far is rear tyre losing pressure quickly - daily at least half or one whole bar. Maybe a bad tube but maybe all the weight.

So much empty space between villages, it would be possible to wild camp. So few bakeries, definitely a good idea to have emergency food. People have been okay when asked to fill up the water bottles too.

Oh, even fully loaded I think garmin said I beat a couple segments on the route, I guess people don't ride so hard here.

Just got back from four days cycling in France. I was credit card touring, but using Alpkit drybags instead of panniers, washing my kit at night and drying it in the hotel room.
I carried a change of clothes, including socks, a pair of shorts, converse-style trainers and a merino shirt and jumper for the evening.
Apart from phone and charger, some wet/warm weather gear and a minimal wash kit, that was it.
It all fitted easily into the two 8l bags and I used a small bar bag for daily essentials, a climbers chalkbag in front of the bars as a "dip" bag for snacks and a Carradice Barley for shopping and to stash the cold/wet gear.
I'm thinking about 3D printing a mount for my Garmin eTrex20 which will incorporate a dip bag on one side, a mount for my dynamo light at the front and a small waterproof wallet on the other side. That would replace the barbag and save me a fair bit of weight.

Sounds like you carried quite a lot for 4 days.. did you really need 2 dry bags, a bar bag, a huge saddle bag and another climbers bag? Done 6/7 day rides where I've had a small frame bag + a saddle bag and that was plenty of stuff

Times feature on bikepacking last weekend
That's it. Over. Find another trend.
I've started playing golf

Golf is the new trampolining, no?

Abandoned bivvy tonight, sad bike on train pic.

Ride setup was great though, although Sealskinz gloves don't fit where mits allow fingers easily.

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This is a good thing. More people = more kit, cheaper.

Good point, perhaps this should have been in the short touring section. However, we were with a group and were going out to eat in restaurants in the evening, so the civvies were needed.