Camping Setup

With all of the blogging about touring and camping, I really haven’t broken down in much detail how everything gets loaded up in the bags.  Believe it or not, there actually is a logic to how all of this fits together.  Keep in mind at this point that this is my camping configuration, intended for wilderness camping trips of a few days at most.  I’ve yet to go on any extended tour, and while quite similar, I would expect some changes/additions.

My approach to gear is that bike camping doesn’t require the lightest weight kit that is made, so you can both save a little money and put a bit more focus on comfort.  I’m not an experienced outdoorsman and I wouldn’t last too long on one of those survivalist shows, so my choice in gear reflects a balance between comfort, cost, weight, and size.  I am starting to acquire some lighter gear, but that is more related to my wife and I planning some backpacking hikes in the summer.

As best as I could, I’ve tried to compartmentalize things.  Behind the saddle is a Carradice Pendle bag. This bag stays on the bike most of the time, and is just perfect for day trips, or as my “go to” bag.  I typically end up stuffing any extra clothes, gloves, snacks, a rain poncho, an LED headlamp or whatever into the main pocket.  On longer rides, a dry pair of shorts really come in handy.  Depending on the weather, I might also carry/wear tights, wind pants, a wool sweater, a windbreaker, balaclava, wool knit cap, and wool gloves.

After a wilderness S24O in 2011, I picked up an REI inflatable seat pad.  If you’re set up in a campground, there is usually a picnic table to sit at, but being out in the woods, I ended up sitting on a not so stable rock to make dinner, and rolled off more than once.  The pad packs up super small, and I find myself using it a lot for sporting events or any other time when I’m planning to sit on a hard surface for several hours.

The right pocket is my toolbox with a spare tube, a bike tool, a Leatherman, and some zip ties.  The left pocket is for a patch kit, spare batteries, a length of clothes line and a box with some band-aids and loose change.

I’ve got a choice with tents between a Kelty Gunnison 2 person and a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1.  Both tents have rainflies and groundcloths, and I purchased them used.

 The Kelty weighs about twice as much as the Seedhouse, but going with a two person tent can be a good move, because that extra space comes in handy and it’s a lot easier to move around inside for setting up and changing clothes.  It’s made for two people, although admittedly it’s tight. The rainfly also creates two vestibules, which are handy for getting the panniers and other gear out of the weather overnight.  The whole works sets up really fast and only requires four small stakes.   When using this tent, it all packs up along with groundcloth in a compression sack that I carry on the front rack.

The Big Agnes is one of the pieces of “ultralight gear” that I have.  I had been lusting over an Integral Designs Unishelter bivy, and even had one picked out, when the Seedhouse popped up on Ebay with a BIN price roughly one third of the cost new, and way below the Unishelter.  It’s actually lighter than the bivy and packs down just a little smaller, even though it has enough room to sit upright and change clothes.  The only downside is that it is not completely free standing, and you need to plant several stakes to set it up.  That can be a problem on rocky ground.  When using this tent, it also fits into a compression sack and gets mounted on the front rack.

 The panniers are “semi-custom” made by Swift Industries in Seattle.  All that semi-custom means is that you get to pick the fabric, colors, and a few options.  I like the oiled canvas both for the weather protection and the classic look similar to the Carradice bag.  I was looking at several options for panniers as well as size, and these pretty much fit the bill for everything I wanted; but I paid way more than what I was originally planning.  Now granted, they are extremely well made and worth every penny, but I found that good panniers with multi-pockets are expensive.

The right pannier is the bedroom.   I use a Montbell Ultralight Super Spiral 30F bag.  This is another piece of ultralight high end gear, but, true to form, it was one of those situations where I got a really good deal on it and the bag comes highly recommended.  I got turned on to Montbell after reading Kent Peterson’s blog and his minimalist camping techniques, and then started doing some research of my own.  The bags are very well made, incredibly light weight, pack down to the size of a football, and most importantly; they are accurately rated for their temperatures.   In a nut shell, this bag has 800 power down in elastic baffles – so while it lofts up really well, the elastic also keeps the bag close to the body.  This allows for plenty of room, yet it eliminates the need to warm dead air space.  Since I haven’t planned any longer trips, I think using a down bag, and not worrying about excessive moisture, is prudent.   I’ve also used a Big Agnes Lost Ranger, a down bag rated for 15F, and a  BA Skinny Fish, which is the synthetic equivalent.  Both are great bags for bike camping, and quite affordable.

Top Row: BA Seedhouse SL1 tent, Montbell UL SuperSpiral bag, BA insulated pad, REI Polartech bag liner. Bottom row: Exped pillow, second pillow and case, REI seat pad, Outdoor Research Peru cap, MSR pack towel.

For a pad, I have two options, both from Big Agnes.  If it looks like the nighttime temperatures are going to drop into the 40′s or below, I pull out a Big Agnes Dual Core insulated mattress pad.  It’s inflatable, but also has a layer of closed cell foam for warmth. I’m a cold sleeper, and this pad has done it’s job wonderfully.  Despite being a tad heavy and packing large, its warm, its comfortable, and its easy to use.   Anything warmer, and I use the Sand Mountain insulated pad, which is a special model produced for REI that’s very similar to the regular BA model.  It packs a lot smaller and is just as comfortable.  Blowing up these 2.5″ inch thick inflatables can be a head numbing experience, so I’m toying with the thought of getting a Camptek pump.  Sure it’s overkill, but life is short.

NOTE:  I think it’s a fairly common issue, but my slick surfaced Montbell bag slides around on my slick surfaced BA pad.  This can be an inconvenience if you don’t have perfectly flat ground to set up on. So recently I took the Sand Mountain and applied stripes of diluted silicone adhesive that creates a tacky feel. 

Depending on the forecast, I might also take along an REI fleece liner.  It adds a couple of degrees to the temperature rating of the bag, it has plenty of room, and it helps keep the bag clean.  On two ocassions, I’ve used just the liner without a bag.  That usually goes in its own stuff sack.

I use an Exped inflatable pillow and a second inexpensive inflatable pillow tucked inside an old case.    Being a side-sleeper, I find this really comfortable; and both pillows are light and compact.  They get tucked in a plastic baggy, and get tucked in with the bag and pad.  I stick my toiletries in the outside pocket, an MSR pack towel in the top pocket, and the tent poles and stakes slide into the rear pocket.

If it looks like the evenings and/or mornings are going to be cold, I have a Patagonia Down Sweater that stuffs down quite small.  It’s an ultralight, rain resistant, 800 down full zip ”jacket” made to either wear around camp or as a layer under a shell.  It can also be pressed into service at night if the temperature really drops below the rating of the bag.

Top row: Primus Eta Packlite stove, Primus Litech pot, plastic tub and fuel cannister, stainless cup, Nalgene w/ Steripen filter. Second row: Steripen UV lamp, folding cathole shovel, paper towels, cooking supplies, utensils and fire starter, butane lighter. Third row: sponge, dishsoap, Tasco field glasses.

The left pannier is the kitchen.  Again, I have two options for cooking:  For a lighter weight kit where all I need is to heat water for coffee and/or dehydrated pasta, an ultralight Esbit stove nested in a Primus LiTech pot and frypan combination, along with a home-made wind screen, fits the bill.  For actual cooking, I use a Primus Eta Packlite cannister stove.  The Packlite is probably a little much for just one person, especially for backpacking or an S24O, but it’s very convenient.  

I use the bottom half of a milk jug for cleaning, eating, scooping water, etc…  The rest of the main area is reserved for food, and a small baggy of salt, pepper, creamer, and sweetener.  That still leaves a lot of room for any extra clothes I might need.

The top pocket has a bag of baggies, some folded up foil, and some more paper towels.  The rear pocket holds the coffee press.   All I’m going to say is that camping is an activity to be enjoyed, and coffee, made in a press, is one of those luxuries that make camping an enjoyable thing.

The side pocket has hand sanitizer, dish soap, a sponge, and a Steripen ultraviolet filter lamp for water purification.

Let’s talk about that briefly.  I know that some people advocate using the lightweight filtration units only, and maybe some iodine tablets, with the claim that they adequately remove bacteria.  However, I live near a lake that periodically has e-colli issues, and I figure I don’t want to take any chances if I’m out in the woods and need to rely on “wild” water.  Further, I hear of a lot of campers getting the trots due to unsanitary conditions.  I was also turned on to the Steripen after reading about it in Kent Peterson’s blog.

For camping, I normally carry two water b0ttles in cages: one 16 oz. bike b0ttle and one 32 oz. Nalgene bottle with a Steripen filter cap.  The cap gets assembled so that you can pour in water, like from the milk jug, and larger particles get filtered out.  If it  gets clogged, you can unscrew the cap and shake it out.   Once the water is strained into the Nalgene bottle, the lamp is inserted and used to kill any bacteria.  It works off of four Nimh batteries, and is pretty quick.

Topeak makes a cool bottle cage that can be adjusted for different diameters, so I can go from “normal” to Nalgene with the twist of a screw.

The Trucker also has a third bottle cage, and that is where I’ll either add another water bottle, or carry a flask of cheap wine to enjoy with dinner.

Finally, I have a small camera bag strapped above the headset.  I’m not much of a photographer, but having it handy for my cheap old Nikon works well.

Here is a link to my pack list:Bike Packlist

Now if…I manage to get out for a multi-day tour, I can bolt on the low-riders and I have a set of REI panniers that fit on the fork, giving me an additional 34 liters of storage for clothes and food.  There is also room on the rear rack behind the Pendle for an additional compression sack filled with clothes, so I could probably go “off the grid” for some time.

All set!