The Lazy Rig…
My bikepacking setup has proven to be versatile and capable for my Vancouver Island adventures. I’m using Porcelain Rocket softbags attached to the bike plus a backpack on my body. Some people prefer to ride without a backpack, but I find it adds a lot of flexibility to the mix and if you don’t overload it there isn’t much comfort penalty.
Frame Bag
I use the frame bag for as much of the heavy stuff as I can. This keeps the weight centred and low on the bike in the bag that is most securely attached to the frame.
- bike tools
- pump
- spare tube
- paper maps
- TP + hand sanitizer + lighter
- F/A kit
- pot + stove + fuel + spork + windscreen + stove stand
Top Tube Bag
I use little TT bag for small items I want easy access to and items that would get lost in the bigger frame bag.
- chap stick
- eye drops
- water purification drops
- power bar
- headlamp
- mini-leatherman
Bar Roll
The main bar roll carries light and bulky items.
- sleeping bag inside a 10L OR dry bag
- spare clothes stuffed on either side [items I don’t generally want to access while riding]
Front Pouch
The front pouch is a where I put snacks I want to eat while riding and other items I want to get at during the day that would get lost or damaged in the frame bag.
- cell phone [or in pack]
- spare GPS batteries
- snacks [nuts, dried fruit, energy bars, etc…]
- tent poles carried between front pouch and bar roll
Seat Bag
The seat bag is also for bulky light items and I tend to stuff a jacket in there that I might use on and off during the day since I find accessing this bag pretty easy at a stop.
- sleeping pad
- tent pegs
- tent body & fly
- jacket [soft shell, puffy jacket or rain jacket depending what’s going on]
Getting ready to camp…
Backpack
I use my backpack for carrying food primarily. I also use it for holding extra water on a particularly hot day or stretch where resupply is not easy. I’ll either carry a 2L folded up water bag for that purpose if I know it’s going to happen a bunch or I’ll just buy a plastic water bottle of the needed size at a gas station, used it and then get rid of it if the extra water is just needed for a portion of the trip.
Generally my backpack is not full and I try to keep the weight down for comfort. This means I have extra capacity if something happens or I need to haul more than I planned on for a bit. Since I carry food in the pack and sometimes extra water I know that this bag will usually get lighter and lighter on a trip.
When I camp I transfer all my food items from the frame bags to the backpack for the night and then do whatever is needed with respect to animal food safety. A backpack is great for this purpose.
If I end up in a town or want to go for an off bike hike I can transfer items from the backpack to the bike and vice versa so I have a daypack to use.
I carry my camera either in the pack [DSLR] and/or a point-and-shoot on the waist belt in a pouch which is uber convenient and keeps the camera insulated from a lot of the vibration a camera on the bike would experience. I also keep my money, cell phone, credit cards and ID in my pack. That way I can jump off the bike and not leave anything too valuable on it. I will sometimes pop off my GPS and stash it in my pack on these occassions.
I size the pack for the trip based on how much food/water I’ll need. If I’m carrying the DSLR I’ll upsize for that as well.
- food [besides snacks for day]
- extra water in water bag or recyclable plastic bottle
- ID, cash, credit cards
- cell phone if not using it for something during ride
- extra stove fuel if needed
- tooth paste + brush
- any other toiletries [usually none]
Two benefits of carry food/extra water in a backpack are:
- your bike bags aren’t always over stuffed which makes accessing them and pulling out what you need easy. This is also kind to the zippers and other attachment points.
- when you have to hike-a-bike carrying some of the weight on your back is nice when the terrain is loose/steep/challenging.
Water
Running out of water is no fun, but carrying too much water is a heavy tiring mistake as well. Ideally I a carry just what I need between resupply opportunities plus a bit extra as a safety margin. I always ride with a water bottle on the stem. That is very easy to access so I drink when needed as I ride. I’ve got a 1.5L bottle attached to the dowtube which I decant into the stem bottle as needed. I will carry a water bag in my backpack or a plastic water bottle depending on what the specifics of the tour are.
I always have water purification drops with me and refill bottles as they empty and I pass a water source – usually a fast flowing creek. Cycling through my bottles allows the purification process to happen while I ride and I always have water that’s ready to go.
If I really need a ton of water on a tour I can attach water bottle cages to each fork leg and throw a 2nd water bag into the pack. At the moment I can’t imagine needing more than 7.6L of water between resupply stops.
- stem mounted bottle [0.7L]
- DT mounted bottle [1.5L]
- water bag in pack [2L]
- 2nd water bag in pack [2L]
- 2 water bottles on fork [1.4L]
Of course I always use the water in my backpack to replenish the stem mounted bottle so the weight on my back decreases as fast as possible.
I haven’t toured with a hydration bladder in my pack. On a really hot tour I would consider doing so and using the bladder instead of one of the water bags.
OMM rack on my Krampus…
Rear Rack and Panniers
I’ve got a trip planned for this summer that requires I carry food and stove fuel for a long stretch for myself and a few other people. My backpack strategy is fine for a solo effort, but doesn’t work so well when the load gets heavy. So for those situations I attach a rear rack and panniers.
There are downsides to using a rear rack and panniers, but the benefit is you can haul a lot of stuff on the bike easily. Since this extra weight is mostly food and stove fuel it will get lighter as the trip progresses mitigating a lot of the negatives of running with a rack.
In the picture above I’m test fitting an Old Man Mountain Cold Springs rear rack to my Krampus. I didn’t bother attaching the front struts, but they will go on no problem using p-clips on the seatstays. I’ll be using Ortlieb panniers with the OMM rack.
I don’t expect to use a rear rack much for bikepacking trips, but it’s good to know it works and is available when needed.
The Lazy Rando Blog... 
I’m digging the stem mounted bottle — I’d toyed with putting one of those bar0 mounted water bottles with straws that the tri guys use, but I was afraid of impaling myself on the aero straw.
Reblogged this on Le Blog à Lolo and commented:
Il n’y a pas que les sacoches et les portes bagages dans la vie ! Je vous invite à découvrir la méthode chargement de Vik, l’auteur du blog “Lazy Rando”…
It’s great to read your packing list. I’m buying myself some bike packing bags in July / August to go on my first bike packing trip later this year. Never having used frame bags etc, it’s great to see how you pack to get ideas and learn.
Thanks for posting this. It gives me a framework to work with as I gear up my Pugsley for a few short trips coming soon. I need to get my water system figured out, but other than that I’m good to go.
How has the Krampus been for bikepacking so far?
@Andy – By water system do you mean how to carry it or treat it or both?
The Krampus has been great. The big tires provide some comfort benefit over the 2.4″ 29er tires I was using before without the mass of a fat tire. The slacker steering geo and great traction mean confidence bombing gravel logging roads at high speed.
For water, I’m weighing many options. As for treating, I’ve used iodine, but don’t much like the flavor. I’m considering a filter, maybe gravity activated. For carrying, I prefer bottles to Camelbak-type things. I’ve got a stem mounted cage and two fork mounted cages, but I probably need a bit more capacity, such as a bladder in my frame pack. A downtube mount would be good. Too bad the Pugsley (or Krampus for that matter) doesn’t have all the braze-ons of the Ogre.
Thanks for your Krampus feedback. I’m weighing a future 29er camping bike, and the Krampus is on the short list. Yet, a more standard model, like the Karate Monkey, is more readily found used and is less expensive. I don’t yet know which way I’ll go, and I have several more bikes to sell before I pull the trigger, so I’m just gathering impressions.
For Andy D. (Big Dummy Daddy)
Surly actually makes a black, Krampus fork, with the same bottle braze-ons you’ll find on the Moonlander/Necromancer…and likely what’s also on the Salsa Fargo. (Three in a row down each leg, slightly back of center.) It can be found in the QBP catalog, listed as a Krampus fork, but there’s no picture. Works like a champ.
Hope that helps.
You can attach water bottle cages to the stock Krampus fork with $4 of hose clamps. I’ve used them offroad and they are secure and can be removed if you don’t need them for your shorter rides around home.
Let’s you keep the matching paint on the stock fork and saves you $100.
Kurt and Vik, thanks for the info. I probably should have made it clear that I have the Necro variety of Pugsley, so I have the Moonlander fork, which I like a lot. I suppose my comment was more about futzing with the best way to carry water and in what quantity. The black Krampus fork or a Salsa Enabler/Fargo seem like they could be good options for mixing things up depending on fork axle to crown height and front hub O.L.D. I plan to use the hose clamp technique for my wife and daughter’s bikes.
Since I left the above comment, I’ve gotten things a bit more sorted out. I’ve also hooked up with a used 29er single speed rear wheel that I’ll use on the front, and am close to getting a used 29er freehub geared rear wheel so that I can have a 29er Pugsley wheelset for fun or a change of pace. I plan to run the rear wheel non-offset, following Joe Cruz’s experimentation doing so on his Pug. There seems to be plenty of clearance; it’s just that without the offset, the rear wheel won’t track down the centerline. Don’t know if that’ll be a big issue, but it’s worth a shot. After all, I had a Soviet made bike a couple of decades ago that had wildly misaligned wheels, and although it had no shortage of deficiencies in build quality, it seemed to roll well enough.
Cool post – thanks Vik! Your gear list is helpful!
I’ve actually been thinking of doing an offroad solo bike trip on my Mukluk this summer. Seems like a good use for the old Larry tires! Saw the photos on Flickr and wondered what bags your riding partner is using on the fork legs and what he carries in those?
I have the Anything cages, Relevate Designs frame bag and a Timbuk2 fuel tank. My LBS has one of those long seat bags like yours in stock that I may pick up next.
Anyway – cool post!
@Sean – those bags are made by Scott at Porcelain Rocket:
http://www.porcelainrocket.com/
I’m not 100% what Doug had in them. I’ll see if he can reply with a comment.
@Sean Due to the many reports of failures of the anything cages, I try not to overload them too badly. The right one had my clothes: rain jacket, long pants, long sleeve shirt, socks, and bike shorts.
The left one had a 2L water bottle and a spare tube. Next time out, the water is getting moved into the frame bag and the downtube cage. I will put my sweater or one of the kids things into the anything cage bag.
I ended up moving my food to the handlebar bag, and just used my backpack for my sleeping bag and wallet.
[…] of us set out on this ride. Me and my Surly Krampus equipped with Porcelain Rocket bags coming from Victoria plus Doug Dunlop aka Coldbike on his Ti Salsa Mukluk also with Porcelain […]