btw what do you guys reckon on this packing list .just seen it on utube.
It sounds reasonable to me, Anto, keeping in mind we all have different needs and preferences. There's a zillion ways to do this, all valid for one's own needs. My own packing list varies -- sometimes widely -- depending on the season, locale, trip length and time Away from resupply.
When planning what to take, I try to break things down to basics and ask what I want to carry with me for each of the following categories:
• Clothing (basics as well as spares and weather-dependent clothing)
• Cooking (usually stove, pots, fuel, and cleanup)
• Food (enough for at least several meals and some snacks/energy bars)
• Water (enough carried with me, room for extra, and a means to disinfect it and supplement with electrolytes)
• Tools (what I am most likely to need for the bike depending on location and proximity to services and spares)
• Toiletries (basics like soap, deodorant, toothbrush and paste, medications, sunscreen, contact lenses)
• Sleeping system (tent with fly and footprint, self-inflating mattress, sleeping bag, silk liner, air pillow)
• Emergency (First Aid kit, but also including my always-present compass and things like a mylar blanket and spare lighter)
• Navigation and Communications (electric gadgets usually figure in here as well -- compass, GPS, maps).
I choose my bags and packing scheme depending in how much I take in each of the above categories. At the lightest, I can meet all needs with a Carradice Camper Longflap saddlebag or go up just one notch and extend my self-sufficient range by adding my 8.5l Ortlieb handlebar bag. At the other end, it is four panniers and a handlebar bag, a rear racktop load, and perhaps the Extrawheel trailer to carry more water. It depends.
One thing to keep in mind: We all are tempted to take far, far too much stuff with us. I have often mused that at any given moment, I am *not* using ~95% of the stuff I carry. The trick is to carry the right things so by the end of a tour, you've used at least 80-90% of what you hauled with you. Some things you really do have to carry "just in case" -- for me, that is usually tools and first aid items and sometimes reserve stores of water and food. Except for patches, tubes, and pumps, I almost never need to dip into my tool kit because my bikes are always well maintained and tour-ready. I usually don't need my first aid supplies, but I do occasionally need the flexibility allowed by carrying spare water and food.
One thing do always take is a mini-pump, spare to my preferred frame-fit pump. I was wilderness-touring at altitude with my late father one time when I stood up quickly from changing his tire, stepped backwards to regain my balance on the steep slope and! -- stepped right on his pump, breaking it in two. Fortunately, my bike also had a pump, but it brought me to the sobering realization that a pump failure could have Terrible Consequences, so I've packed an extra ever since.
All the best,
Dan.
