Cycling UK Forum

Hi there i completed my 1st tour a few months,and i am getting geared up for my next one(only a year away!!!).I done the credit card thing in France and was thinking of camping next time.

What would a 2 mantent, mattress and sleeping bag weight?I there a big difference in distance with the extra weight?I am planning some time in the Pyrenees,do may people cycle tour through there camping etc?

How much it weighs depends on how much you want to spend. Off the top of my head my stuff is:

Sleeping Bag (PHD Minimus): 500g
Tent (Saunders Spacepacker plus): 2.2kg
Mat (Thermarest prolite 3 short): 370g

You could go lighter on the tent, depending if you are sharing, and on how cosy you are with your comapanion! Don't forget that you might also want a small stove.

I'd recommend camping though - a great way to tour.

barn wrote:Hi there i completed my 1st tour a few months,and i am getting geared up for my next one(only a year away!!!).I done the credit card thing in France and was thinking of camping next time.

What would a 2 mantent, mattress and sleeping bag weight?I there a big difference in distance with the extra weight?I am planning some time in the Pyrenees,do may people cycle tour through there camping etc?

My recent trip weighed 10kg in the panniers plus 5kg in the saddlebag.
Pannier contents:-
Hilleberg Akto tent.(one man)
North Face sleeping bag (Down 3 season)
Mini Trangia
Trangia kettle
MSR Titanium mug
2 empty Sigg bottles/ small radio
T-shirt/Rohan trousers/slippers (like socks)
Toiletries (mini items ie:-toothbrush with handle cut in half)
Thermarest sleeping mat.
Titanium fork/spoon.
Saddlebag essential tools/waterproof top/cycling food (Bananas etc)
Frame:- 2 x Water bottles and a 1 litre bottle of Fuel for trangia stove.
Bike, Thorn
Total weight heavy even with expensive items as shown above.
There is in my opinion no such thing as a list of what you need. Everyone is different. My list varies from trip to trip.
Enjoy,
John......

barn wrote:Hi there i completed my 1st tour a few months,and i am getting geared up for my next one(only a year away!!!).I done the credit card thing in France and was thinking of camping next time.

What would a 2 mantent, mattress and sleeping bag weight?I there a big difference in distance with the extra weight?I am planning some time in the Pyrenees,do may people cycle tour through there camping etc?

I've got my total camping kit down to 17kgs but putting in some extras for late Autumn. I'm not sure that they weight matters too much but the distribution, fore and aft, is important.
This guy has done over 4000 miles and 50 nights camping this year alone: http://www.bikepacker.co.uk/List.htm
He is a member of the Fell Club

I've done a bit of camping over the years and find it very cheap and flexible. I also found that cycle-camping is much easier than walking with a loaded ruck-sac on ones back, my knees tend to suffer from that.

My check-list is

Ortilieb Bike Packer Classic Panniers
Ortilieb Front Roller Classic Panniers
Norco Barbag
Terra Nova 2-Man Laser Tent
Stormlite Rolling Clouds 300 Down Sleeping Bag
Thermarest 3/4 Mat
Trangia 27 Ultra-Light Meths Stove c/w Kettle
MSR Titanium Mug
Alpkit Titanium Spork


The bike I use is Dawes Karakum which designed for Cycle camping.

As above, it all depends on how much you want to spend and how much weight you want to carry. Remember your tent can be attached to the top of a saddle bag (like a cape) via the strap loops so saving you space for other items within the bags.
Carrying stove depends on how urgent it is that you have tohave a hot drink/meal at the start or end of your day.

eileithyia wrote:As above, it all depends on how much you want to spend and how much weight you want to carry. Remember your tent can be attached to the top of a saddle bag (like a cape) via the strap loops so saving you space for other items within the bags.
Carrying stove depends on how urgent it is that you have tohave a hot drink/meal at the start or end of your day.

A hexy block is enough to heat water for soups, coffees and porridge. A titanium block holder and mug makes a very light, and expensive, stove.

I've never weighed my/our camping gear. I just make sure the gearing will go low enough and the wheels won't collapse! How much I take varies according to whether it's a camping trip with a bike or a biking trip with a tent, if you follow.

Thank you for your replys every one,last time i took 2-GT 18 arkel panniers and that was enough.I was hoping i could carry the tent etc on the top of the rack.I found staying in hotels i was a little confined,i would like to meet a few more people.Also i could be more flexable and save $$ although i still may treat myself to a hotel now and then.

nobby wrote:

barn wrote:Hi there i completed my 1st tour a few months,and i am getting geared up for my next one(only a year away!!!).I done the credit card thing in France and was thinking of camping next time.

What would a 2 mantent, mattress and sleeping bag weight?I there a big difference in distance with the extra weight?I am planning some time in the Pyrenees,do may people cycle tour through there camping etc?

I've got my total camping kit down to 17kgs but putting in some extras for late Autumn. I'm not sure that they weight matters too much but the distribution, fore and aft, is important.
This guy has done over 4000 miles and 50 nights camping this year alone: http://www.bikepacker.co.uk/List.htm
He is a member of the Fell Club

Now done 68 nights so far this year.

Although we all want to keep a low weight, if you are going to enjoy the camping as well as the cycling, there needs to be a level of comfort, irrespective of weight.

barn wrote:Thank you for your replys every one,last time i took 2-GT 18 arkel panniers and that was enough.I was hoping i could carry the tent etc on the top of the rack.I found staying in hotels i was a little confined,i would like to meet a few more people.Also i could be more flexable and save $$ although i still may treat myself to a hotel now and then.

The Camping is the treat surely? Not the Hotel!
John....

This guy has a decent site, its large, but then you have a year to read it.... its a little American-centric, but he has a specific section on camping gear and tents......

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/

Barn

I think it is all a matter of preference and balancing comfort with weight.

Our main trip this year was cycling through France on tandem and trailer; note we also had 4 panniers that were filled with very light but very bulky luxury items while the heavier kit was in the trailer. We ditched the trailer and lots of kit at a friends house after only 4 nights; fortunately we had planned to call in and say hello anyway. We decided that the extra hassle of the trailer and weight of kit was simply not worth the benefit. Yes, the remaining trip would have been more luxurious had we kept the kit, but we decided the overall gain was not worth the inconvenience.

Did we have a cracking time on the reduced kit? Yes. Could we have had more comfort if we had kept all the kit? Yes. So, it is a balance, and on reflection, we made the right decision.

Moral of the tale? Avoid trailers as they only tempt you to pack more than you actually require!

for more affordable bed rolls. and other camping kit try alpkit.com

I have their aluminiium pegs, heavier than the ones that came with my tent but they never bent and i crammed them in some rocky ground. the Slim aeric is good. i found it comfortable and warm. my flatmate has the Fat aeric and uses it for scout camps (he is a leader) and relaxed 'car camping'.

I also bought the titanium and rosewood chopsticks...they are nice bits of kit

Jamie

Oracle wrote:Barn

I think it is all a matter of preference and balancing comfort with weight.

Our main trip this year was cycling through France on tandem and trailer; note we also had 4 panniers that were filled with very light but very bulky luxury items while the heavier kit was in the trailer. We ditched the trailer and lots of kit at a friends house after only 4 nights; fortunately we had planned to call in and say hello anyway. We decided that the extra hassle of the trailer and weight of kit was simply not worth the benefit. Yes, the remaining trip would have been more luxurious had we kept the kit, but we decided the overall gain was not worth the inconvenience.

Did we have a cracking time on the reduced kit? Yes. Could we have had more comfort if we had kept all the kit? Yes. So, it is a balance, and on reflection, we made the right decision.

Moral of the tale? Avoid trailers as they only tempt you to pack more than you actually require!

Oracle: do you want to say a bit more about this? What was the hassle with trailer and why were the panniers with the light stuff too heavy. It sounded like a reasonable arrangement to me and one that we are considering for next summer's camping.