For some reason bike tourers/bike packers have an obsession with equipment lists, even though we all just carry variations of the same thing. But for any nerds who want to know, these are the edited highlights of what we’re taking so far:

Tent: Hilleberg Nallo 2 GT (plus footprint.) We’ve had this for many years, and it’s done a previous long tour with us. We chose this one because of the very low weight and pack size plus large storage space. We’re both tall, so the downside is that we can’t really sit up properly in it. We were also naive when we bought it. I know now that conventional wisdom if you are going to spend an extended amount of time camping is to get a 3 person tent for 2 people, because it’s tight otherwise.

Stove: MSR Dragonfly. It’s really light and compact, but also very sturdy, and it’s multi fuel. It sounds like a jet engine though.

Sleeping bags:

Mountain Equipment Firefly  (Regular) (Down): I’m 5’11” and I just fit snugly into it with the hood on, after wriggling around a bit. If you are any taller than this would be too small. The comfort limit is supposed to be -2 degrees. There’s no way I could sleep in this at that temperature. With thermal tights, socks, long-sleeved top and a merino wool t-shirt over it, I was comfortable at 0 degrees. Lower than that and I had to add a fleece jacket as well. The zip tends to catch annoyingly in the fabric, so I always had to be really careful zipping it up. It packs down very small and weighs 522g, which is very good for a bag with these specs.

Marmot Phase 30 (Long) (Down): This one has a comfort limit of -1 degrees. Richard was comfortable in it at that temperature with thermal tights/socks/top. It has a glow-in-the-dark zip which has scared me a couple of times. That zip didn’t catch as much as on the Firefly. It weighs 506g which is incredible.

Sleeping mats: We started with pair of old Thermarest pro lite 3 (self inflating.) Mine developed a slow puncture at some point in Belgium, so it was replaced with a Sea to Summit UltraLight (self inflating.) Note that self inflating pads don’t inflate entirely on their own, they need topping up. The Sea to Summit is a bit more comfortable than the Thermarest, but the valve to blow into to top up with air is far worse to use.

Lifeventure HydroFibre Trek Towel

It’s got to be one of the lightest and most compact towels on the market, and those are the reasons for buying it. It is very absorbent, and it dries quickly. But it has a very strange feel to it, and that feel is not like a towel. More like a soft bin liner. We used them camping across Europe and they always made me feel sad. What items one is happy to sacrifice comfort to save weight on is going to be very personal, and you probably won’t find out which items they are until you are camping every day and using them. I’ve found out that my red line is towels.

Sea to Summit Tek Towel

These feel like towels; soft and a bit fluffy. They are still space saving and weight saving, but offer a bit more comfort than the Lifeventure HydroFibre, and are pretty absorbent. But they are nearly twice the weight and about 3 times the pack size. They also take quite a while to dry, and that’s definitely a consideration if you plan to camp a lot in iffy weather. They come with a kind of soft shell case, which is handy except that one broke almost immediately. I still can’t figure out how to fold them to get them to fit nicely into the case, even though they are just rectangles. That might say more about me though than the towel though.

Pots and pans: MSR Titan cookset, plus a mini frying pan for greed.

Stuff to eat with: Lifeventure titanium cutlery and mugs. Wildo deep camper plate: A good compromise between a plate and a bowl and they have a little lip to hold while you eat, which is really handy.

Pillows: Nemo Fillo.

Bag liners: Lifeventure silk travel sleepers. A liner is essential to keep the sleeping bag clean, especially if you have a down bag, which is hard to wash and dry. The liners weigh very little and pack down to about fist size. They dry quickly, but they run badly even after many washes.

Chairs: Helinox Chair One. We agonised a bit over these. They’re expensive, and though they’re lightweight for a camping chair, they’re still quite heavy. Last time out we just used the Thermarest kit to convert our sleeping mats into chairs, but these are more comfortable and since we’ll be spending a lot of time camping we think they are worth it.

Icebreaker Merino wool t-shirt (women’s:) Merino wool gets a lot of hype among backpacker types and cyclists for lots of reasons, but mostly the odour and bacteria control, which means it doesn’t need washing after every long sweaty day. These are the pros and cons that I found with it:

• Dries quicker than cotton, but not as quickly as polyester sport tops.
• Not available in really bright colours. I bought a turquoise/blue one, which was the most visible colour available.
• Shows up sweat badly (wouldn’t apply to black, but a cyclist would be less visible in black.)
• Sticks to me as badly as cotton does when it’s wet.
• Is heavy when wet.
• Does feel cooler than other materials.
• Would be a good base layer for staying warm.
• A bit scratchy, if you’re sensitive to that.
• Loses its shape after a few washes.
• Smells strange when clean.
• Doesn’t smell nasty after a day’s ride, which is the big draw.
• Rips and tears easily.

It cost £40 and I’m a bit salty about it. I wouldn’t dream of buying another one; I’ll stick to football shirt material, because it’s more comfortable, lasts ages and dries quickly even if I have to wash it every day.

Lifeventure Pegless washing line: Very handy for drying washing. It’s just a bungee, but with two cords of elastic twisted together so the corners of clothes can be tucked between them. As long as there are two things to hook onto (like bikes!) you’re good to go.

Universal plug: Cheap hotels and hostels tend not to have plugs in the sinks, and Muslim countries will usually not have them. We use these if we need to wash our clothes.