Anto, I agree with AndyE; the best way to learn to pack is to do it for oneself and then get out there and test, test, test with successive trips, as the specific ingredients will always vary to some degree. There's also real value to be found camping in the backyard to sort out your sleep system or get used to pitching the tent in a downpour. If you get it wrong, no real penalty; just run for the house and warm bed a few meters away.
I've accumulated enough kit over the years -- some of it is 35 years old and still holding up fine -- so I can quickly grab and assemble a setup appropriate to need keeping in mind time away, season, geography, and proximity to resupply. At the extreme, I'm set for months or years on the road solo, regardless of location. At the lighter end of things, I'm fine for lightweight 3-season camping...overnighters that can be extended almost indefinitely if I can regularly resupply with food and water. One of these lighter setups might appeal to you, as I can take it on one of my rando bikes and it has almost no impact on my speed or distance. Here's one example...
Using just two small panniers (Ortlieb SportPacker Plus) and my rear rack, the packing looks like this:
Rear rack top: 1-person tent and rainfly with footprint (Coleman eXponent Dakota 1 or I can substitute my Terra Nova Laser Competition 1), cycling rain gear (helmet cover, shoe covers, jacket and pants, gloves), Joos Orange solar panel/accumulator battery.
Left pannier:
• Self-inflating sleeping mat, full-length; folded lengthwise and rolled, secured with a velcro strap.
• Mini-Trangia cook kit with extra fuel (my preferred combo is an Esbit spirit stove with simmer cap, Mojo pot stand, folding BSR windscreen, Mini-Trangia pot and lifter with non-stick frypan/lid, MSR piezoelectric igniter, Swiss Army Knife, two folded Primus spoons/forks, MSR scraper/brush, small fuel bottle...all stored in pot set bag. Weight: 680g. Can substitute a version made from a beer can and two cups with lid that weighs 450g and fits in my open hand).
• Homemade Reflectix cozy for freezer-bag cooking.
• Spare jersey and shorts.
• Under the cap-top lid: Cycling tights and longsleeve wool jersey with wind panels, carried in a small stuff sack.
• Toilet kit (asthma/thyroid meds, toothbrush/paste/floss, crystal deodorant/antiperspiran, small bottle baby shampoo that also serves as dish soap)
Right pannier:
• Sleeping bag in stuff sack with inflatable pillow or use rain gear stuff sack as pillow.
• Food, carried in a roller sack.
• Spare socks and underwear, head buff, light fleece balaclava in small sack..
• Under the cap-top lid: Midweight fleece pullover carried in small stuff sack.
In my rear jersey pockets:
• Smartphone (which includes my camera, GPS/maps, flashlight, compass, Internet access, and e-books as well as movies and music plus phone functions)
• Mains charger, spare battery, and ear buds for phone.
• Small packets of facial tissues for general cleanup, nose-blowing, and toilet paper.
• Pocket first-aid kit
• If needed, SteriPen water purifier and toilet trowel.
With this setup, I can eat hot food/drink, remain warm and dry riding or sleeping down to freezing/0°C, and don't even need a handlebar bag. I can read e-books, listen to music, or watch movies in my tent. I can navigate if needed (backup compass on my watch), and the lot is light enough to not interfere when I want to make good time/distance. I prefer to carry the two small panniers on my front rack, but they can be carried at the rear instead. No suffering, good fun, and fast/light for little cost. Sleeping pad is my usual Nemo Tuo 20R at 1kg but is comfortable and warm, can substitute a featherweight Thermarest in hot weather), and my lighter, sub-kilo down sleeping bag good to freezing. The whole works does well up to a week or so, but can be easily extended if one wishes. At the colder end, one can wear everything and be warm as toast.
A good, useful touring kit needn't be expensive, bulky, or heavy and it doesn't require suffering!
Best,
Dan.
