Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,203
Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.
Mentioned: 48 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3459 Post(s)
I always assume my tent will be wet when I pack it. So, I put my tent in the front right pannier with a few other things that I do not mind if they also get wet. And if it is raining when I set up camp, I only have to open one item (the pannier) to get my tent set up. That way I am not opening several things in the rain to let water in. I do not try to help it dry out during the day, it will get that chance when I set it up later.
In addition to the tent, I put my air mattress, flip flops and a few other things in that front right pannier. The air mattress dries in minutes, so I do not worry about it getting wet. I would not want to pack my sleeping bag where my tent is.
See photo, that is the 31 liter duffel on the rear panniers. I assume that is what you meant by the medium Ortlieb. That is much bigger than you need for a tent. I like to put food there because that bag still sits well on the bike if it is only one third full. It is great for overflow kind of stuff, it rides well when packed full or only partially filled.