Cycling UK Forum

I have toured before for 2 weeks max, but never camped + toured (e. europe) for 4 months. So I'm trying to get my head around packing it all on my bike pannier setup- front + rear panniers... yes, I'm the mule

Seems to me that there are one too many rolls to fit on: 2 person tent, sleeping bag, sleeping matt and possibly a ground sheet. I presume the best place for one or all of these large, bulky, round, but relatively light items, is on the top of the rear rack? But they won't all fit, especially longitudely.
Hence my eyes lit up the other day in Cotswolds Outdoor when I spotted the Lifeventure sleeping bags (http://www.lifeventure.co.uk/htm/sleepgear/index.html) that come with a compression/vacuum waterproof bag whick packs FLAT. Strangely, Lifeventure's web site does not state this explicitly. But in the shop, it occured to me that this would sit nicely on the top of the rear rack and then either the sleeping matt and/or tent on top of the bag?

Any comments from members?

Thanks

For £10 ish from Argos you can get 3 plastic comression bags which have rubber bung at the bottom to let the air out. Just put items in, seal the opening with zipper thing and kneel on the bag till the air comes out. Put the rubber stop back in and its as flat as a pancake. I use it for clothes inside the trailer and for the bike bag on top of the trailer. If you already have a sleeping bag this is a much cheaper option and its waterproof. I have used the same set for 4 tours and only this coming trip will I need to replace them.

When I went round the shops looking for my touring sleeping bag I took a pannier along with me and checked that it could fit snuggly inside with room to spare. To me this was more important than weight. My mat goes in the same pannier normally with other things that I'll need straight away when un-packing or my camera bag. My tent then goes on the rack inside a large stuff sack (Carriadice roll top thing) which also holds the groundsheet and any other difficult items.

Have you tried rolling your bag & sleeping mat together to make one roll?

If you have front and rear panniers, you should be able to get everything bar the tent in the panniers (I get the tent in too ). If you are thinking of putting tent, sleeping bag and mat on top of the rack you are taking too much gear. Look at getting gear that's not too bulky.

Sleeping bag: This 500 down bag shouldn't use more than half a rear pannier.
Mat: a the 3/4 length thin (1") self-inflating mat will roll to about 25cm x 12cm - easy enough to fit inside. They are more comfortable than the karrimat type mats too. eg [url=the 3/4 length]Alpkit[/url], Karrimor, Vango

(with the emphasis being more towards cheapest than best)

Don't roll up a sleeping bag, stuff it in a compression sack for starters.

Well, the first time I toured I had a bulky synthetic bag that was so big it had to be strapped to the rack, along with a Karrimat, but it's not hard to find even a synthetic bag that will compress down to easily fit into a pannier. Though for 4 months I'd look to invest in a down bag.

As has been mentioned, a compact self inflating mat will also pack down much smaller. My 20 yr old Thermarest ultralie 3/4 folds and rolls down into a very compact package, which weighs a bout thesame as a Karrimat.

My tent will also fit in a pannier - they key thing here is the folded poles length - at the worst the need strapping to the rack, the rest can go in a pannier.

I've just bought a Thermarest Neo Air. Thermarest only released it a few weeks ago - it's inflatable, not self-inflating, but is insulated for warmth. The key thing is it packs down really small (size of a bike water bottle).

It's definitely comfy, seems to be warm, might not be very hard wearing, but it's too early to have a real verdict.

The reason I mention it is it might be worth looking at to help you with luggage space problems.