I grew up in the suburbs and the closest I ever got to camping as a kid was eating s'mores in my parents’ backyard. I’m a camping newbie. Bike touring is something else I have no experience with. I’ve never even strapped anything resembling a bar or frame bag to my bike before.
Despite this, I’ve been fascinated by bikepacking for years. Something about the logistics of riding unsupported for multiple days and sleeping in the wilderness captivates my gearhead imagination.
I decide to dip my toes in the bikepacking waters, and as with any new hobby, the hardest part is getting started. The learning process as a beginner can be seriously daunting! To ease in, I sought help from some of my more experienced co-workers and joined them on a low-stress overnight trip. I learned a lot, and I might already be addicted:
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What Bikepacking Gear Do I Need?
Everything I brought for my first overnighter. Can you tell I have no clue what I'm doing?
The first thing I went searching for was a seat bag. We have a lot of dedicated bikepackers here, including riders who have conquered Tour Divide and the Colorado Trail Race, and that is where they suggested I start because a good seat bag can carry the majority of your gear and it can be strapped to nearly any bike.
I picked out the Swift Industries Olliepack. It has a 6L capacity, which isn’t excessively large, but enough for the overnight trip I was planning. I also liked the price and color options.
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As luck would have it, my coworker Chase had an Olliepack that he offered to let me borrow. He’d just built a new bikepacking rig with a rear rack, so he wasn’t going to use his old seat bag anytime soon.
This isn’t an option for everyone, but if you have friends who are already into bikepacking, borrowing bags and other gear is the cheapest way to test the waters. This is nice if you aren’t 100% sure you’ll love bikepacking. I ended up spending $0 on gear for this trip, which made me really happy. All I bought was food.
My sleeping setup needs some work...
I did come close, however, to dropping some serious money on my sleeping setup. The experienced bikepackers I rode with all had some combination of a lightweight single-person tent or bivy, inflatable sleeping pad, and compact sleeping bag. For my first trip, I wasn’t exactly ready to drop hundreds of dollars on a sleeping setup, so I went the frugal route.
I used a 15-year-old 30-degree sleeping bag I bought when I was between homes in college and I attached it to my handlebars with a basic bungee cord I found in our workshop. I brought a tent footprint to place under my sleeping bag and to use as a makeshift shelter if it rained.
As for a sleeping pad, which would be essential for keeping me warm and comfortable, my co-worker Steve graciously offered to let me borrow his NEMO Switchback Sleeping Pad. This sleeping pad is fairly lightweight, but I couldn’t figure out a nice way to attach it to my bike, so Steve also offered to carry it on his rear rack. Again, it's nice to have friends who have extra gear and know what they're doing!
All my other supplies — snacks, toothbrush, first aid, and allergy meds — went in a USWE Outlander 9 hydration pack, which also carried 3 liters of additional water.
I did forget one VERY important thing: lights. I do have a lot of good lights for night riding, and for some idiotic reason, I completely forgot them. Every mistake is a learning experience! I’ll never forget them again.
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What Do I Want to Buy In the Future?
I was really happy with the Olliepack seat bag I borrowed. It was super secure and stable, and I was able to easily fit all my clothing, plus some food and other gear in it. I’ll likely purchase my own, and potentially get a matching handlebar bag like the Zwift Zeitgeist (which my co-worker Josh reviewed) to carry more gear.
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My sleeping setup needs the most refining. Carrying a sleeping pad was my biggest logistical issue. Potentially, I could have tried strapping it to the outside of my seat bag. If I could only purchase one thing to improve my bargain basement setup, it would be a good, compact, inflatable sleeping pad can fit in the seat bag.
Otherwise, I’m already browsing for lightweight backpacking sleeping bags and bivys. If you have recommendations, I’d love to hear them! I hope to purchase something this winter.
The other thing I saw my co-workers using that I realized I needed was a water filter. I ended up borrowing one of theirs when we stopped at a stream. Most of the riders here are using the Katadyn BeFree, but I’d love to hear about what filter or other essential gear other experienced bikepackers use.
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How Was My First Bikepacking Overnighter?
Great! It was a short, low-stress adventure close to home, which I think is the best way to get started in any new cycling endeavor.
It was even better because I was with more experienced backpackers. I could observe how they set up their bikes, which gave me a lot of good ideas. I really liked my co-worker Seth’s setup, which was ultralight. He had a bivy, a sleeping pad, and instead of a sleeping bag, he used a puffy down coat and pants that packed down extremely small. This is the ultralight setup he used to complete the Colorado Trail in 6 days a couple of years ago.
Doing my first overnighter with more experienced bikepackers was also a good move because they were there to save me when I inevitably made a mistake. Steve carried my sleeping pad. Seth let me use his water filter. Nik had a spare headlamp. I would have been pretty miserable without them!
To make things super easy, we stopped for dinner on the way up to our campsite and breakfast on the way home, which meant I didn’t have to stress about carrying too much food or cookware. If I want to do adventures farther in the backcountry though, that will be something I need to consider.
Ultimately, one of the coolest things about bikepacking is the gear. There doesn't seem to be one right answer for any bikepacking scenario, so I can see myself refining my setup forever, optimizing it for different trips and locales. As a gear geek, this puzzle is incredibly exciting and I can’t wait to start obsessing over a new (to me) cycling discipline.
As one final note, I was super surprised by how well I slept on the ground with just a pad and sleeping bag. I experimented with camping for a couple of bike races this summer and I slept terribly. But there's something about riding to camp instead of camping to ride that just made this experience so much better. (Being tired helps!)
I crawled into my bag around 10 PM and used my hydration pack as a pillow. All the stars and the Milky Way were insanely bright, something I rarely see from my suburban home. I drifted off to a few shooting stars streaking across the sky and the sound of the wind rustling gently through the grass.
Compared to my usual late-night routine of binging TV and snacks, this felt shockingly peaceful and real. I thought about bringing my wife next time to lay under these same stars. Maybe in 10 years, I can do it with my son too.
I woke up refreshed, imagining all the possibilities, a future full of adventure. I think I get why people fall in love with this bikepacking thing.
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