Packing tent poles

[Sweep]

To me this is all a revelation - poles in tent pole bag - tent pole bag in tent bag with tent

Yes, tend to agree - just shows how reading forums, along with all the wonderful and well-meant expertise, can sometimes maybe cause unecessary complications

One thing I may change is packing inner seperately sometimes to keep everything nice and dry inside the tent - never been an issue so far as I've never had much of a problem with packing in the rain. Lucky, but not a long-time tourer as folks can maybe tell.

[Helen]

I agree with last 2 posts. Poles ALWAYS go in their own bag before going near anything else. My tents and bivvy bag are small enough to fit into Carradice rack bag.

With a friend and using campsites, however, I would carry 2-man inner and pegs in this top bag, and he would wrap long poles in cheapo camping mat in bin bag on pannier rack. Flysheet stuffed in his pannier.

WARNING! This Carradice bag was raided in July outside a library in Switzerland, and my Terra Nova bivvy bag was stolen. I didn't notice at first, as the thieves had emptied my shopping bag of food (which was bungeed on top of Carradice bag) and replaced it.

How did I cope? I crossed the border to France, bought a €30 cheapo 2-man in a ski shop and lugged it all over the Alps.

[foxyrider]

'This Carradice bag was raided in July outside a library in Switzerland, and my Terra Nova bivvy bag was stolen'

I didn't think there was any crime in Switzerland! Does this mean i need to take a lock next year? I've hardly ever even seen a policeman there.

To have stuff stolen like that you must have attracted some bad juju!

[ian5spot]

My concern with putting a tent on the rack is that you could end up with the rack rubbing holes through the tent, so wrapping it up in a mat or something els that is tough sounds like a good idea. Having said that, last cycling tour I did, I strapped a supermarket re-usable bag to the rack and used it to carry food and anything else I needed easy access to during the day; it seemed cheaper than buying an Ortleib stuffsack!

[jrs665]

'This Carradice bag was raided in July outside a library in Switzerland, and my Terra Nova bivvy bag was stolen'

I didn't think there was any crime in Switzerland!

Perhaphs nobody told the tourists

[Cowsham]

All this is giving me ideas -- is putting the poles down your trousers with the joints at the knees a bad idea?

[Jdsk]

[Cowsham]

Whoops

[Bmblbzzz]

I put the poles in their own bag, around which I wrap the tent. This then goes, with pegs in their own little bag, into the tent's stuffsack, which I put in a pannier. It doesn't matter too much if the tent is wet, because it will be in its stuffsack and delicate items, eg sleeping bag, will be in a drybag. If it's just a summer overnighter or weekender and I'm using a saddlebag, then the tent gets lashed to the top of the saddlebag; sleeping bag inside the saddlebag, mat on the bars. This doesn't leave much room for food, let alone clothes, so has to be assured of fine weather.

However, if one were travelling light and fast with bikepacking bags, then it tent poles might well be too long to fit in the bags, so strapping them to the top tube makes sense. This is why some manufacturers eg Big Agnes make bikepacking models of some tents, with poles in shorter sections, suitable to be put in a bar roll.

[pjclinch]

My concern with putting a tent on the rack is that you could end up with the rack rubbing holes through the tent, so wrapping it up in a mat or something els that is tough sounds like a good idea. Having said that, last cycling tour I did, I strapped a supermarket re-usable bag to the rack and used it to carry food and anything else I needed easy access to during the day; it seemed cheaper than buying an Ortleib stuffsack!

It would be cheaper than an Ort drybag, but as we have one anyway from our paddling exploits we use that bungeed to the rack with the tent (and T-Rest chair kits) in it, and that works fine.
Here it is (piloted by my wife) in the back of beyond on an MTB tour somewhere near Cairn o' Mount

Pete.

[Thehairs1970]

My concern with putting a tent on the rack is that you could end up with the rack rubbing holes through the tent, so wrapping it up in a mat or something els that is tough sounds like a good idea. Having said that, last cycling tour I did, I strapped a supermarket re-usable bag to the rack and used it to carry food and anything else I needed easy access to during the day; it seemed cheaper than buying an Ortleib stuffsack!

Quick solution to this would be to put a ‘base ‘on your rack. I used a bit of codex (corrugated plastic) that I fixed with a few small cable ties. Also worked well to keep mud from being flung up onto kit.