Touring Equipment

Ed...How much proper touring have you actually done? Serious question.
How many miles have you actually put in on any of the equipment you recommend...how many centuries/double centuries/multi day rides/camping rides?

I'm not trying to be a dick here...but I haven't read any ride reports from you on any of the touring you've done.
It's one thing to tell people that you recommend this and that and that certain things are difficult to get or will break or are so comfortable or uncomfortable....but if those opinions are only formed by reading things on the internet or taking a certain product out of the box in evans, fitting it to you bike, and taking another photo of it, it's not experience....it's personal opinion.

The major tour I've done are generally credit card tour, a couple or days when I have time off work, mostly it's 200-250 miles stuff, nothing major, that's why I never had ride report - i just didn't think it's that important/necessary as it's just a weekend ride for me (well, weekend - 2 days free on a weekday)

The other thing is that in preparation for South America, I've done quite a lots of research in term of equipment and such, most especially reading diaries of other who done epic tour, such as Mark Beaumont whose book I highly recommended, the Travis (now divorced) who rode for 8 years and counting, whom gave me a great insight of South America, the Cranes brother who tour on epically lightweight touring bike a couple or so decades ago to the centre of the Earth, Jupiter Travels which is different as Ted use a motorbikes but still a tour regardless, currently I'm reading Miles from Nowhere by an American girl who decided to go round the world, also has been talking to several people whom has done epic tour and gain great insight/knowledge from them making it a lots easier for me to plan my tour properly without worrying about choosing the wrong equipment (going for says, a Phil Wood rear touring hubs instead of a Shimano MTB one as the Shimano isn't design for excessive weight).

As for equipment, you're completely right, the bike I have previously (and currently own) are perfect for it, but there's one thing you and I know is that the more bicycles we have, the more we notice a difference between each one.

for example the Thorn Sherpa I got right now is perfect, it's stiff in the right place (when fully laden won't flex like a noodle), long chainstay so my feet won't hit the panniers, low bottom bracket, etc.

trouble is, I can easily take my red utility bike once I modified it, but I know in my head that it'd be easier on the Thorn as when it was fully laden after hauling 120kg (trailer + panniers) worth of boxes from the missus' flat, it flex like a noodle, of which the thorn doesn't.

I have the unnecessary urge to be as helpful as possible and I do realise that it does come off patronising/snobbery (I think that's the right word), and I like to offer opinion/solution, I just need to work around how I come across.

this July, I'm riding with Stonehedge to the Lake District, and then later will do the DD with a friend, hopefully I'll be seeing you in this years DD, assuming if you're intended to go of course.