I had a bit of time to think… So here is 10 MORE really useful bikepacking things you need for your adventures. Have anything else you think is worth adding to these? Drop it in the comments below 🙂 PEACE
-1: sunscreen: https://pelotan.avln.me/c/hgimLTegiWzy
-2: mini leatherman: https://amzn.to/3w30IW5
-3: Garmin watch: https://amzn.to/3umH7j1
-4: mountain bike pedals: https://amzn.to/49jiaUx
-5: hydration vest: https://amzn.to/3SMliD6
-6: pump: https://amzn.to/3Ou5sKN
-7: Ass Saver: https://asssavers.avln.me/c/gqjTmIGbMSiW
-8: Tailfin AeroPack: https://www.tailfin.cc/category/seat-packs/?v=79cba1185463
-9: outdoor research helium bivvy: https://amzn.to/48YQRPC
-10: sleeping pad: https://amzn.to/3uiOaZY
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There’s lots of stuff here hello and welcome to today’s video as you all have seen I’m doing a bunch of videos which are tips and advice related stuff from what I’ve learned over the years in doing various silly bicycle things if you have anything you would like me to cover or talk about
Please drop a comment in this video and I’ll see if I can make a video about it and hopefully provide you with some useful insights that might help you for your future adventures and challenges in case you haven’t seen it the first video I did on this series is 20 really useful
Bik packing things now here is a further 10 additional ones to add to that list some of these might sound a bit obvious but I’m going to go with it trust me it’s kind of worth it to think about these things when you’re doing your bike packing trips and
Adventures but yeah hopefully this is somewhat useful for you number one I think number one is really obvious sunscreen skin is our only protection really against the elements and you need to look after it there’s loads of different sunscreen options out there but make sure you’re wearing something
That’s at least an SPF 30 if not higher when you’re doing B packing trips there’s loads of different things out there that I really like there’s the pelan range they do a spray on one and like a roll on one as well both of them are
Great like the smell of them or you can look at something from a brand like life jacket who specialize in doing sunscreens Sun gels moisturizers and like and like stick things for your lips and things like that there’s loads of different things out there that can protect you there’s stuff which is Sport
Specific as well which really helps I prefer the sport specific stuff because it tends not to be greasy or sticky and it doesn’t tend to melt in your eyes and cause you horrible like worse than onion eye pain so yeah number one sunscreen just take some it doesn’t really matter
Where you are in the world please just protect yourself a little bit more number two my trusted and faithful mini Leatherman I think they’ve changed the name of this now it was originally called the Leatherman squirt PS4 uh I think it’s called the Leatherman micro now but basically it’s
A tiny little tool that has a variety of things on it so you got pliers a knife you know filing stuff scissors all that kind of stuff I’ve had this one for years I bought this for when I did the silkroad mountain race years ago and it’s been my Essential go-to thing that
I take on bik packing trips it’s tiny and quite often I will take my granddad’s pen knife at the same time both of them together you’re kind of cover C for everything and they’re two small tools and absolutely fantastic number three some way of measuring something now that sounds really really
Vague and what I’m talking about is heart rate or power you don’t necessarily have to have power for Ultra events and bite packing but it is a useful metric to allow you to pace yourself if you don’t have a power meter it’s worth considering looking at something to measure your heart rate now
This could be a heart rate strap that goes across your chest but what I personally really like is a watch like this one which allows you to measure your heart rate as well this one is a garment injo 2 there are various different watches in the Garin range
That will allow you to measure your heart rate I tend on Ultras to rely on this and power meter pedals as opposed to wearing a heart rate strap because I find heart rate straps get a bit uncomfortable if you’re riding for a very long time the watch is something I
Always wear so I don’t really have to think about it and with this like fabric strap it’s really really comfortable the good thing about this particular one the Garmin uro 2 is the battery life on it is about a month and it’s a solar watch so it charges itself
Up I also like that it has a little torch in it surprisingly useful so often I don’t listen to this advice and I really wish I did mountain bike pedals are fantastic they allow you to be able to walk in your mountain bike shoes way easier they’re not really much slower in
Terms of power transfer for an ultra event from my experience some people will probably say I’m wrong there they’re not really any heavier and they’re way easier to clip in and out of so mounted bike pedals I think are a fantastic thing to use as opposed to like a road pedal system for
Any event that’s bike packing related whether it’s Road or off-road if you’re not using Moun bike pedals you might have to then take a pair of normal shoes to be able to just walk around and do normal stuff but if you’ve got these you could rely on just wearing your mounted
BT shoes all the time if they’re comfortable m by pedals number five hydration vest we’ve seen these growing in popularity in recent years at various Ultras now what I like about them is it’s a easy way to carry more water especially in hotter climates like in Spain Morocco Etc where water is a
Bit more sparse and ultimately you still need to keep hydrating and drinking this particular one is a Camelback Chase I’ve had this one for quite a few years it’s pretty good I’ve also tried out apidura one which I thought was a better product than this particular one bit more
Comfortable and felt like it was more designed for cycling they all effectively do the same kind of thing though there’s various different versions at various different price points this camel back one has a large pocket there another pocket there and then you have the pocket which has got
The bladder in it the bladder in this holds a couple of liters I think and you’ve also got additional pockets on the front uh which means you can put you know additional snacks and stuff in there for Ultras I think these are a fantastic shout to allow you to carry
More it just makes things a bit easier in terms of carrying stuff but yeah well worth considering a hydration best number six a pump which is relatively mini that has a pressure gauge on it so this particular one is a laion one I bought this quite a while
Ago and I needed a pump quite urgently for a trip it’s pretty small you can mount it onto your bike onto your frame and it has a pressure gauge so basically it means that you know what pressure you’re pumping your tires up to I found it works really well because it actually
Works like a little track pump you unscrew this bit here this bit folds down and when you’ve got it down you can effectively pump it like a mini Trap pump it’s a really good little pump I think there’s loads of different options very similar to this one but this is the
One I have and I’ve taken with me regularly on bike packing trips if you’re looking for a more substantial pump it’s also worth looking at frame pumps as well but I like this particular one because it has the gauge on it number seven the r saber win Wing it’s kind of
Hard to say but I am annoyingly a huge lover of this product I say annoyingly because I don’t really want to like it but I have to because it’s very good so this is our saver’s new thing called the Wim wi this is particularly the road one but as a
Clipon mudu guard thing it is annoyingly good got damn fingers so basically you have the plastic bit at the back which is your Fender or mug guard and then you have this Frame that Clips onto the bike effectively these bits go on your rear
Stays on the bike and this bit is to go over your rear wheel I used this for the first time when I did the world Champs project riding around the UK to get to Glasgow and the weather was terrible and this thing literally saved my ass so
Yeah well done ass Savers you’ve created another amazing product again damn it number eight is this this is the tailfin arrow pack now I’m sure many of you know that I am sponsored by tailin I’m one of their R&D Riders who helped test and develop products for the brand I have to
Be honest this is the best bik packing rear pack system I have ever used take that how you want but I honestly think it is fantastic I first used the aop pack when I cycled across Australia in 2019 with Francis and it has been my go-to Essential pack since then why I
Like it is because it’s it is pretty large you can f fit a lot in it and the way that it mounts to the bike so it mounts through the through axle you have a special through axle for it and it Clips on on these bits and then onto the
Seat post that means it doesn’t have any of that awkward annoying Sway and counter swaying that you get with a lot of other bik packing equipment that mounts just purely to the saddle and seat post this is a fantastic bit of Kit I’ll admit it is expensive but if you’re
Doing lots of trips and Adventures definitely worth checking out their range and having a look at the AO pack or some of the other options they make what number am I on so number nine is this the Outdoor Research helium bivvy I’ve used several bivvy bags
Before this one it is a bit more expensive but it is the best Vivy bag I ever used outdoor researchers in amer American company that makes various different products for bik packing and camping and why the helium bivy is my go-to is because it comes with a tent
Pole that basically goes across the front to lift it off your face it’s a really good quality product it’s super lightweight and it keeps you warm and dry and you can also basically have it open with just like a a mosquito net on it as well if it is quite
Warm they have made in my opinion the best bivvy bag that’s out there I actually got one of my mates who lives in America to buy this for me several years ago and then he traveled quite a lot from the UK and America so he bought
It back with him on a flight back then they were so hard to find in the UK now it’s a bit easier to find them but yeah the Outdoor Research helium bivy the best bivy bag I’ve ever used and lastly number 10 in my 10 more really useful bite packing thingss get
Yourself a really good quality lightweight sleeping pad this this one that’s in here is the alkit cloud base I’ve had this for years probably 5 or 6 years now it’s basically a small air mat that you inflate and because it’s got effectively come on so this is
Effectively a small air mat that you inflate by blowing into this bit and it’s like a quilted setup so it inflates really quickly the material is pretty tough so sleeping on rocks and stuff I’ve had no problems at all and the good thing about using a sleep mat whether it is an
Inflatable one or a Pham one for example is that it lifts your body off the ground therefore keeping you warmer the problem that a lot of people have is not so much the Comfort side of it it’s about keeping warm but lifting your body off the ground means you’re going to
Stay warmer at night so an air matat small and compact is a really really good additional thing to be taken with you on your bite packing trip one more thing I’m actually going to mention as well is make sure you have a good quality sleeping bag there’s so
Many different options out there that can package down quite small but also could be huge price points vary massively with sleeping bags in the thousands of pounds to the hundreds of pounds really my biggest thing is to make sure you have one that is rated for a really broad range of different
Temperatures that way you’re kind of covering yourselves if it is really bad at any point or if it is really hot you can just sleep on top of it this one I have here is from pH designs which is admittedly on the top end of the price
Point it is quite big but I bought this for when I went and did the Atlas mountain race and the temperatures were snowy minus 7 it is large but and and the pH design ones are expensive but this is a fantastic product if you’re going to be in those
Places that are a bit more out there in the middle of nowhere there are plenty of options of various different price points for sleeping bags but this is a great example I actually bought it off eBay so keep an eye out on places like eBay for things like this hopefully
These 10 additional things were somewhat useful for you please let me know if you have any other things that you would take with you as essential bik packing things please like comment and subscribe and thank you for watching see you for the next one
45 Comments
Thanks for the recommendations, been looking for cheap mudguard for my new bike save putting big bulky ones on, just ordered a win wing 2
The Tailfin is great, but if you have less money, the Ortlieb Quick-Rack with a dry bag and some Voilé straps can do an adequate job without the swaying of seat packs!
The first tip reminds me, I did use one a sport specific sunscreen for one ride and the chemicals relaxed the rubber of my brake lever hoods. So cycling specific may make sense, or standard if you're ok with the oily effect
The go-go gadget watch!
Hey Chris, excellent content as always. I would love to see video of you taking a solo overnight bikepacking adventure. Showing first how to install the Tailfin rack, mud guards , and gearing up. Filming the ride out, arrival, setting up, cooking, and camping under the stars…. I'd watch that, twice.
Your way too lazy to provide a proper product demonstration of any thing you included in this flick.
The Leatherman Squirt has actually been discontinued for some unknown reason. The Micra is a slightly different tool.
I like how this has the vibe of a high school presentation.
I think you could give some training tips for people who are brand new to endurance cycling. My fitness level is rock bottom after a very serious leg injury, so some advice about how to get started would be awesome.
Along with the sunscreen, I never go on trips without some insect repellent during warmer weather. I don’t always need it but can really suffer without it.
I’d suggest steering away from XTR for the pedals from Shimano. Unfortunately, they are prone to failure in the bearing assembly, and can’t be trusted far from home. XT are superior, and cheaper: win/win.
On the video ideas front, could you do one where you go over how you train for a multi-day ultra cycling adventure?
Nice product reviews. I've learned to make a list for my family on bike related items. Seems like the more I get the less I have.😁😁 Thanks for the video and take care, Al
is there some sleeping mat alternative for tall people? I am 196cm and it is actually really hard to find anything that can be folded up to a "really small" size. bags for up to 180cm users are alright, but then suddenly there is just a huge jump in sizes when you go above that.
anyway, great video as always.
I would have said number 1 is a bike.
Great tips and video.
Great useful information and lovely plants !
I bought mountain laurel designs gravel panniers (bombproof and very light) – couple this with the QuickRack and you have a super solution
Thanks Chris, nice background btw..
I have the leatherman tool too! I got it a few years ago because I needed something to pull out the very tiny and sharp stuff that puncture my tire and get stuck. It's a very handy tool to have that has helped me in a lot of other situations as well! Awesome video, Chris!
Watch type heart monitors aren't very accurate from my experience.
Hi Chris….just wondering if you or your mates have tried the rechargeable bicycle tire pumps? Seem like a good backup option as well as saving 400 pumps to inflate two tires when travelling by plane.
I don't recall you mentioning it earlier, but do you carry any sort of torque wrench on these trips. (I've never owned/used one – just wondering.)
Hey Chris, great knowledge and content as usual! If you fancy it I would love to see a video about the training you would do for a big ultra race, I’m not sure it’s something I’ve ever seen you cover?
I.e. do you have a coach, do you follow a strict training plan or something much looser. Do you just try and do lots of miles or are you hitting up the high intensity intervals and power building workouts as well. Do you work through different phases and types of training in the months building up to an “A” race, what would the months leading up to a big race look like for you????
Great tips from a real pro.
That said these things are of course very dependent on so many factors – duration, climate, remoteness, speed goals, and many more. Most people don't need all of it or the high-end versions. Same for bikes.
Products like the tailfin are essentially ultra-expensive rack and pannier, and so many brands of bike-packing bags will do the job. Apidura are great – I think most important is being waterproof and comfortable, and I live with a bit of bag sway to save cost/weight (and to save the environment by not buying another new thing). I’ve seen another bike packer lash a waterproof rucksack to a pannier and has survived thousands of miles.
Gerber is another option for plier mutitool.
And don’t forget used are also good options.
That’s not to say the advice isn't good and I’ve certainly not achieved anything like your journeys and don’t plan to try, I just think people can be left with ‘influencer’ style impression that they need to spend a fortune whereas so many people doing for fun rather than serious podium racing don't need the same kit.
Use whatever you have. Start small and build up. Be smart and safe. You’ll work it out along the way.
I must say that my latest tip for lets say outdoor stuff like sleeping bags would be find some local company. For instance in Poland there is Małachowski or Cumulus company and the best thing is that if you have problems with your kit they can repair it for you. I would say the same thing about buying bikes from local stores etc. Btw the stuff you recommend is really useful and its nice that you not exactly focus on keeping weight down.
Also i know you mention it in other videos but for me dyno hubs is the best bike invention ever. I always recommend it to people and then they have problems using battery lights again.
Very nice and informative video! Thanks!
I don’t know if you could talk about come backs, meanings that I haven’t seen anyone speaking about how are the logistics to come back from a race, trip… most of the time is easy to get there, but to come back home is kind of a struggle, I don’t know if there are some tips about it, for example where do you leave your stuff when you do badlands?, I have seen this last time you rented a house with some other guys, but what could one do when knows no one and is new in the game?
Cool videos, thanks!
In terms of inspiration for videos: I'm currently trying to get my head around which model/type aero bar to buy for a long-distance cycling race and found there is surprisingly little information about it online. Especially first hand experience, of what is comfortable and useful for long rides. E.g some questions I ask myself (What bend do I need to get? Are risers important? And how tall to rise them? Arm pads over the handle bar, or even further back? How to build a cockpit on your aero bars?) Very difficult to find answers for these questions.
Be cautious about sunscreen products from some brands that been found to contain Benzine in them. Do look this up. Found in hand sanitizers too. Scandalous.
I got an OR helium bivvy bag… oh yes, great piece of kit.
Sleeping bag being quite big.. I wish mine was rated that low, it's rated for 15° and still the same size (let alone the weight😂)
on the UV protection front: a good sun hoodie. i use the cotopaxi one. but there are plenty of cheaper options. they're light, breathable, dry super quick. and most of them are rated UPF 50. i also use simms fly fishing shirts. same deal, but with pearl snaps.
I love the concept of the Tailfin rear pack but think they're ugly 🙄 Somewhat ironically I'm good with the Thule seat stay rack …
Tipp for Sleeping Comfort: Nemo Fillo Pillow… It is inflatable but has a foam cushion so you have the feeling of a real pillow and it's given me a so much better sleep while bikepacking/backpacking.
Sun screen is a great thing I’ll use in addition a thin long sleeve top. In warmer weather a thin long sleeve keeps sun off of you without making you additionally hot considering your moving mostly with your legs
Planing on some nuts (for me) rides this year end next for charity, 200mile plus. Would love some tips on a on bike kit and what to have for support? The Mrs with a spare bike strapped to a c1…? Haha
Firstly, very informative video..
Any chance you could let me know about nutrition on long distance day/ weekend gravel rides. Also I have had problems with tyres whilst riding South Downs Way.. the usual splits, punchers etc with well known brands… would be interested to know which brand, width and tread you use????
Lastly, i take cable ties with me , they come in handy 😊
Great stuff. One thing I do with gravel/ backpacking/ touring is keep things off my back (gets really sweaty…) so I use a runners style waist / hip bag. Bladder and tube included and room for other bits and pieces if needed. Works a treat. Pillow: I've never actually found a decent blow up one so take a thin cotton pillow case and stuff it with my down jacket and whatever other clothes are around. And yes, a small Swiss Army knife is always a must have.
I love some silly bicycle things
Excellent presentation by a modest and articulate expert. 🙏🏻
Are those plants real?
Opinion on warmshowers?
Hi, what type of Lezyne pump do you have? HVG high-volume or HPG high-pressure