Packlist bike touring

A list of all the stuff er somehow have to carry with us… Please note, the links provided here are personal recommendations and are not paid for!

Our home away from home

We have had our Hubba Hubba NX MSR tent now for almost 4 years and we absolutely adore it. It’s lightweight, easy to set up, has ample room to sit upright and the best feature: it’s easy to get into the stuff Sack. No precise folding required! It’s also well ventilated and can be used without the outer shell in warm summer nights.

Sleeping arrangements

Sleeping in a tent is the best way to sleep, if you ask us, but the right equipment does make it even better. We both have sleeping pads from Therm-a-rest. Expensive, but worth every penny, and they have a solid guarantee policy. Julia has the NeoAir Camper, which has a small packsize and is relatively lightweight (680 g), but it can be noisy. This particular model is not available anymore, but the NeoAir Topo Sleeping Pad would be comparable. Kevin has the ProLite 3,which also has been upgraded since (see the ProLite sleeping pad). This one is thinner and self-inflating, less noisy but very bulky.

Edit Mai 2021: after 5 weeks on the road, Julia’s sleeping pad started to act up; the baffles between the compartments came loose and the mattress developed a tumor. We contacted Therm-A-Rest and the representative in Turkey quickly hooked Julia up with a brand new sleeping pad: the Trail Lite. A bit heavier and bulkier, but self-inflating. Hooray for the lifetime warranty policy of Therm-A-Rest!

Our sleeping bags also have been quite an investment; the price of a proper down sleeping bag can give you a small heart attack. And for summer nights we do own some cheap Amazon sleeping bags, but in the shoulder seasons or in the mountains there is nothing like cosying up in a warm cocoon. Julia has a Highlight Early Grey – 5, now 5 years in use and going strong. Kevin got his Mountain Equipment Helium 600 last summer and is sleeping like a baby ever since. To keep the sleeping bags clean (or use in hostels or mountain huts, when blankets are provided) we both have liners (e.g. Cocoon). For added luxury we both have a cheap inflatable pillow from Amazon.

Clothing

Let’s be honest; cycling all day makes you sticky and sweaty and doing laundry in the middle of nowhere can be a pain in the backside. The last years we have slowly replaced most of our synthetic (like polyester) clothing with merino wool. Well, mostly Julia, Kevin is more lets-see-what-I-have-in-the-bottom-drawer kind of guy (mostly T-shirts he got for free at marathons etc). Wool keeps you warm (even when wet, unlike cotton) is airy, lightweigt and keeps body odours at a minimum. Hurray! And since it is all natural, it also prevents the release of microplastics during washing. And yes, it can be expensive, but if you keep an eye on end-of-season sales you can save quite a lot of money. Icebreaker and Smartwool are internationally well-known brands and last year we discovered Kaipara, which is located in Germany. We like Kaipara, as they are sustainable and the products are 100% merino wool, especially Icebreaker uses wool/synthetic blends in some items.

Julia’s clothing list

• Down jacket (Rab Microlight Alpine)
• Rain jacket (Mammut Masao)
• Rain pants (Marmot)
• Fleece jacket (Mammut Aconcagua)
• 2 Longsleeve shirts (Kaipara/Odlo)
• 2 T-shirts (Kaipara and Houdini)
• 2 Tops (Kaipara and Icebreaker)
• Bikini
• Shorts (Vaude Turifo)
• Long pants (Vaude Turifo)
• Leggings (Icebreaker Everyday 175)
• Underwear (4 pairs, Icebreaker)
• Socks (4 pairs, Icebreaker and Smartwool)
• Saucony Peregrine Trailrunners
• Sandals TEVA Terra Fi Light

Kevin’s clothing list

• “Down” jacket (Patagonia Micro Puff)
• Rain jacket (Mammut Kento)
• Rain pants (Decathlon)
• Fleece jackets
• T-shirt (Icebreaker)
• Longsleeve (Merino, Decathlon)
• Leggings (Decathlon)
• Shorts (Adidas, 13 years old! And Erima)
• Socks (4 pairs)
• Underwear (4 pairs)
• Padded cycling shorts (no brand, Amazon)
• Teva sandals
• Nike running shoes

Toiletries

No hair conditioner or face masks, just the essentials. Alright, maybe Julia packed some mascara for special nights..

• Soap and shampoo bars
• Tooth brushes and tooth paste
• Comb
• Nail clippers and scissors
• Tweezers
• Wet wipes! For the illusion of feeling clean
• Hand cream (can be use for the entire body though)
• Deodorant
• Autan mosquito spray
• Penaten cream. For sore skin
• Sunscreen SPF 30
• Lipbalm SPF 30

Cooking and cleaning

It might be a holiday, but we still have to do the normal chores. Cooking is a very optimistic term for heating up water for coffee or boiling some noodles.

• We have a MSR dragonfly cooking system, and we are very happy with it. Yes, it’s loud. We use petrol as our fuel of choice, as we can find it anywhere. Two fuel bottles of 591 ml each provides with enough fuel for about 4 weeks (breakfast, a coffee break during the day and food in the evening).
• Aluminium pots (1 and 0.75 liter)
• 2 titanium long spoons from Optimus (for easy reach into food pouches)
• 2 forks (bought at a bazaar in Turkey)
• 2 double-walled aluminium mugs
• 2 plastic plates
• Swiss knife
• 1 serrated knife
• 2 Sawyer water filters
• 1 foldable bucket
• Assorted lines and 5 clothing pegs
• Wilderness Wash from Sea to Summit (used for dishes, laundry as well as douche gel)