Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

I've got one of these. It's OK and the straps are excellent, but it doesn't close down as closely as the old chalkbag that I've been using for ages.
This is my current cockpit set up and it works really well.
Chalkbag ziptied in between the tribar extensions is the perfect place to stash snacks.
I added the decathlon bag alongside the chalkbag on the left hand side and it adds just enough extra capacity to be useful without being annoying.

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Soon. Mighty impressed with the Burra Burra handlebar harness, not tested it yet.

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Awesome. Just needs a danglemug...

No cooking equipment, just water and snacks.

I do have this dangling on the top tube pack tho.

That looks great @edscoble
It made pull out all my bikepacking gear and mount my new bars

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Well what stopping you? mount them all!

Get some Voile straps too for extra security and stablity.

They look nice and the added friction from the rubber might be good, but my current strap solution is working flawlessly. They are mega heavy duty

Test fit of the planet X podsac stuff. I'm new to all this so I can't compare it to anything similar. Seems pretty well made and can't grumble at the price.
My sleeping bag didn't fit in the handlebar drysack supplied (it's pretty narrow and my sleeping bag isn't the smallest).
They only had the smaller frame bag in stock too which seems like a waste of potential space,
but considering the frame bag, handle bar bag and the saddle pack came in at £40 I'm sure it will do me fine.
I'm going to do a test run on the commute tomorrow to see how I get on.

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I need to find an adaptor to drop the bottle cages down lower. Any suggestions?

Wolftooth B-RAD is the only one I've managed to find.

Side entry bottle cage might be a good alternative, doesn't look like you'll have much space to move it down with the other bottle in place.

This might do it

I've used one King Cage usb clamp to lower my bottle cage by one bottle cage mount distance. The bottom bottle cage mount screw hole has been repurposed as the top one and the pretend screw hole is attached close to the bottom bracket
Other strap on screw holes are available

Shimano Di2 battery mount adapter does that job

Probably should have checked back here first but jumped the gun and ordered one of these
https://www.charliethebikemonger.com/passport-cage-mover-13545-p.asp
I may drop one and then go side mount on the other

Might order some of these . Whic of the front bar bags is it ?

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CCPODHBB/podsacs-waterproof-handlebar-barrel-bag

This is the one I got. The dry bag that comes with it is quite good as it attaches with Velcro (just a bit too small for my sleeping bag)

CHeers. You can’t knock the price .

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. It seems like a cheap way of testing out different systems before buying Apidura or similar.

I had a trial run on the commute and it all seems ok so far. I guess with cheaper stuff, longevity is the main worry.
I think with the big seat packs careful packing is the key to make the most of the space. It did sway a bit but not so much that I found it annoying.
I'd go with a tentative "so far so good" although it hasn't had a proper test (about 30 miles).

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I just bought the cheap plastic side entry cages from PX at the same time.

i'm stuck between these two 1 2 . Have never bike packed, is no 2 a better fixing option?

they both look pretty crap, but 1 won't be as bad

yeah, I'm not expecting wanders for £10.

buy cheap buy twice, not much point buying something like that

1 is ok. Few people I was riding with used them on the gravel dash. Seemed happy.