As pretty seasoned backpackers, we tend to be very minimal with our gear. When your are carrying everything on your back, every gram truly matters, and we’ve gotten rid of all the little extras that we don’t need. Now that we are doing a journey on a bike though, it’s a little different. An extra ounce on a bike isn’t as rough as an extra ounce on your back (Except of course those times you have to push your bike). We’ve got a lot more clothes, a warmer sleep setup, and a few more luxury items than usual for this trip. Still, I watch videos of bikepackers online and I think to myself: “should I be carrying more stuff?”
The answer is no. Like I said, we’ve got everything we need and even some extra luxuries. I couldn’t possibly justify a heavier load than this, no matter what other people are doing. Lighter is easier, and easier is more enjoyable. I still think we’ve got too much stuff, but at least for now, this is what we’re starting with! Let’s dive in.
I’ve sorted our gear by category, and for the sake of simplicity I am listing all of our combined gear together, noting who will be carrying what. We’ve split up our base weight fairly evenly, Paul is coming out roughly a pound heavier overall. I’ll list our clothes separately, as we’ve both got a lot of clothes. This list isn’t totally perfect, we might tweak a thing or two, and I moved an item to a different category here or there, so if the math doesn’t math totally perfectly, that is why. In the end, we’ll both have about 25 lbs of gear on the bikes. The bikes themselves weight about 33 pounds, and we’re both wearing a few pounds of clothes.
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Contents
Bike Bags
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION | MEGAN’S WEIGHT | PAUL’S WEIGHT |
| Frame Bag | Homemade | 12.8 oz | 11.0 oz |
| Rear Dry Bags | Sea to Summit Big River 20L | 8.4 oz | 8.4 oz |
| Stem Bags (2 each) | Homemade – weight is for 2 | 4.6 oz | 4.6 oz |
| Handlebar Bag | Swift Zeitgeist | 24.8 oz | 25.9 oz |
| Panniers (2 each) | Ortlieb fork bags 5.8L – weight is for 2 | 16.8 oz | 16.8 oz |
| Top Tube Bag | Homemade | NA | 2.7 oz |
| Straps | Viole Straps, ROK Straps | 4.2 oz | 4.2 oz |
| TOTAL | 4.47 lb | 4.88 lb |
Paul’s Clothes
| Hat | Sunday Afternoons Vantage Point Hat (closest current version) | 2.1 oz |
| Bug Net | Sea to Summit | 0.7 oz |
| Buff | Wool | 1.5 oz |
| Wool gloves | DeFeet | 2.2 oz |
| Wind Jacket | Patagonia 1/2 zip Houdini stash | 3.3 oz |
| Puffy Jacket | Montbell Superior Down Parka 850 | 8.8 oz |
| Rain Jacket | Patagonia Torrenshell | 13.3 oz |
| Rain Pants | OR Helium | 5.3 oz |
| Rain Mitts | REI GTX | 1.4 oz |
| Boxers | ExOfficio 9 inch, REI Wool | 5.5 oz |
| Socks | Darn Tough, 2 pair | 4.6 oz |
| Wool Hoody | Ridge Merino | 8.3 oz |
| Light Hoody | Patagonia Ultra Cool | 3.9 oz |
| SS Riding Shirt | Patagonia Capilene | 4.1 oz |
| Riding Shorts | REI Trailmade Shorts | 6.6 oz |
| Riding Pants | OR Ferrosi Joggers | 11.1 oz |
| Long Johns | Patagonia Capilene | 5.2 oz |
| Town Shirt | Patagonia Wool Capilene | 4.3 oz |
| Town Pants | Patagonia Terrabone | 5.9 oz |
| Sandals | Bedrock Cairn Pro | 16.2 oz |
| Safety Vest | Orange Mesh | 2.1 oz |
| Shoes | Altra Lone Peaks | 22.7 oz |
| Sweat Band | Bondi Band | 0.3 oz |
| TOTAL | 8.99 lb |
Megan’s Clothes
Camping/Sleep
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION | MEGAN’S WEIGHT | PAUL’S WEIGHT |
| Tent | Durston X-mid Pro 2 | 18.7 oz | |
| Footprint | Durston groundsheet | 4.9 oz | |
| Tent Poles | Durston Z-Flick Poles | 6.5 oz | |
| Tent Stakes | 12 stakes | 3.7 oz | |
| Quilt | Enlightened Equipment Accomplice 10 degree | 39.9 oz | |
| Bag Liners | Nemo Tracer | 8.8 oz | 8.8 oz |
| Pillows | Exped UL | 1.7 oz | 1.7 oz |
| Sleeping Pad | Exped Ultra Duo 3R | 28.85 oz | |
| TOTAL | 3.55 lb | 4.18 lb |
Cooking/Water
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION | MEGAN’S WEIGHT | PAUL’S WEIGHT |
| Water Filter | Platypus QuickDraw / Lifestraw Peak Solo | 2.1 oz | 2.8 oz |
| Bladder | Platypus Bags | 0.8 oz | 1.4 oz |
| Mugs | Toaks Titanium Mugs | 1.8 oz | 1.7 oz |
| Pot | Evernew 1.3L | 3.3 oz | |
| Pot Lid | Evernew Lid | 1.5 oz | |
| Bowl | MSR DeepDish Bowl | 2.1 oz | |
| Stove | MSR Pocket Rocket 2 | 2.5 oz | |
| Sponge | cut segment | 0.2 oz | |
| Cook Set Bag | mesh bag | 0.4 oz | |
| Fuel | large canister | 9.1 oz | |
| Bear-Proof Bag | Ursack Major XL | 7.9 oz | 8.8 oz |
| Smell-Proof Bags | Loksak Opsak | 2 oz | 2 oz |
| Oil Bottle | Nalgene 8oz narrow mouth | 1 oz | |
| Squeeze bottles | Gatorade | 2.5 oz | 2.5 oz |
| Nalgene Bottles | Nalgene 1.5 L – weight for 3 | 1 lb | 15.9 oz |
| Knife | Victorinox Folding Picnic straight edge | 1.5 oz | |
| Sporks | Snowpeak Titanium | 0.4 oz | |
| Sharpening Stone | DMT Pocket Stone | 0.8 oz | |
| Lighter | Bic | 0.7 oz | |
| TOTAL | 2.01 lb | 3.69 lb |
Hygiene
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION | MEGAN’S WEIGHT | PAUL’S WEIGHT |
| First Aid/Repair Kit | Ibuprofen, AD, Benadryl, Tea Tree oil, Lidocaine cream, bandages, needle and thread, patches, Leukotape | 8.7 oz | |
| Hygiene Kit | SPF, daily pills, tweezers, clippers, lip balm, comb | 10.2 oz | |
| Bathroom Kit | TP, trowel, diva cup, soap, bidet | 8.2 oz | |
| Tooth Kit | toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, mouth guard | 6.2oz | |
| tiny towel | REI | 0.5 oz | 0.5 oz |
| TOTAL | 2.16 lb | 0.03 lb |
Electronics
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION | MEGAN’S WEIGHT | PAUL’S WEIGHT |
| Headlamps | NiteCore NU25 | 1.1 oz | 1.1 oz |
| Battery Packs | Nitecore NB20000 | 10.5 oz | 10.5 oz |
| Cords/Adapters | 2-3 each | 1.4 oz | 1.2 oz |
| Pump | Pad Pal and Exped adapter | 0.3 oz | |
| Headphones | wired | 0.5 oz | 0.5 oz |
| Chargers | 45W dual USB-C | 2.9 oz | 2.9 oz |
| Bike Computers | Edge 840 / Edge 1040 | 5.3 oz | 3.5 oz |
| Satellite Communicator | InReach mini 3 | 4.3 oz | |
| Front Light | NiteRider Lumina Pro 1200 | 5.2 oz | 5.2 oz |
| Rear Light | NiteRider Vmax+ 150 | 1.2 oz | 1.2 oz |
| Phone | Pixel 10 w case | 8.5 oz | 8.5 oz |
| Camera | GoPro Hero w/ handlebar mount | 5.9 oz | |
| Spare GoPro battery | 1.1 oz | ||
| Mini Tripod | gorilla pod (out of stock) | 1.2 oz | |
| TOTAL | 2.45 lb | 2.45 lb |
Spare Parts/Tools
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION | MEGAN’S WEIGHT | PAUL’S WEIGHT |
| tools | tire levers, sealant, multitool, mini bike ratchet, pump, zip ties, bike locks, chain lube, fiber fix | ||
| spare parts | spare tube, chain links, brake pads, cable | ||
| TOTAL | 1.39 lb | 2.19 lb |
Miscellaneous
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION | MEGAN’S WEIGHT | PAUL’S WEIGHT |
| bear spray | will purchase in Deadhorse | 11.1 oz | 11.1 oz |
| binoculars | Nikon Trailblazer | 10.6 oz | 5.8 oz |
| journal | Rite in the Rain | 2.6 oz | 2.5 oz |
| helmet with visor | Giro Register mips | 14 oz | 13.7 oz |
| glasses | Tifosi Moab Lite, 2 each | 2.5 oz | 1.9 oz |
| fanny packs | REI Fanny Pack | 3.7 oz | 3.7 oz |
| backpacks | Osprey Stuff Pack (most similar) | 4 oz | 3 oz |
| pad | Thermarest | 3 oz | 6.1 oz |
| fishing reel | EZ Reel | 4.9 oz | |
| wallet | homemade | 2 oz | 1 oz |
| TOTAL | 3.34 lb | 3.14 lb |