cyccommute 

I have always had problems wrapping my head around why people carry tents like this. I just don't see the logic. Pannier space is too valuable to waste on tents. If you carry panniers, we can assume that you have a rack and that is the perfect place to carry tent and sleeping bag.


I would suggest against packing the tent and sleeping bag together. I've had to pack wet tents in the past either because I can't wait for the sun to burn off morning dew or because it was raining, had rained and/or was threatening to rain some more. When I've packed the tent wet, it gets wet throughout. The last thing I want is to try to sleep in a wet sleeping bag. I pack my pad and bag in their own bags...the pad goes in the bag and the sleeping bag gets stuffed around it... and the tent in it's own bag. I put them together on the rack. Here's what the packed road set up looks like

2015-05-03 11.38.54 by Stuart Black, on Flickr

And here's what it looks like for off-road

DSCN1255 by Stuart Black, on Flickr

revcp 

Why would you care? If people have the pannier space to put a tent in one, and that's how they prefer to pack, how does that negatively impact you?

Paul Barnard

That makes perfect sense!

Leebo

I'm not picking up bourbon at the end of the day like food, beer or wood, it's always in the 500 ml nalgene in the frame bag. Bourbon, rye yup, usually George Dickel for the trips though.

veloz

REI Half Dome plus 2 tent. 30d down bags. Thermarest pads. Wife and I use our stuff sacks filled with clothes for pillows each night. Tent, fly, stove, fuel, french press, food, mugs go into 2 panniers on one bike. Those stay hung outside or sometimes in our tent vestibule. Other bike carries one waterproof pannier of clothes & battery packs for each of us. Those come inside the tent or vestibule depending on how muddy. Sleeping bags and camp clothes get compressed into WP bags on the front rack of each bike. Thermarests roll up and ride on rear racks with tent poles. Under 25lbs of gear per bike.

cyccommute 

Who said anything about it negatively impacting me? I said I don't see the logic in doing it. I didn't say that it hurts me somehow.

That said, this is a FORUM where we meet and discuss things for either our own edification or to provide advice to others, especially newbies. I would advise a newbie not to pack their tent in a pannier for many reasons. First and foremost is putting wet objects of any kind in a sealed pannier is a recipe for building a pretty good mold colony.

revcp 

Yep, it's a FORUM. (Sorry, caps key got stuck.) I get that, but sometimes I weary of the declarative statements like, "Pannier space is too valuable to waste on tents. If you carry panniers, we can assume that you have a rack and that is the perfect place to carry tent and sleeping bag." In a pannier is also a perfect place to carry a tent and sleeping bag. Also, carrying your sleeping bag on the rack, is it in an unsealed, water permeable bag? Your tent? The only thing I carry on the top of my rack is my tent poles. Everything else goes in dry bags in the panniers. I've carried things in dry bags while bike touring, backpacking and canoeing. I've never had a problem with mold, even on six week canoe trips in Canada with several consecutive days of rain. My method works fine for me, but I understand that others choose to do things differently.

indyfabz

Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 tent in its bag goes on the rear rack. Sea to Summit sleeping pad in its bag in the left, front pannier. REI 39 down bag compressed in its stuff sack in the right, rear pannier. If I think it might be really cold I will take my Sierra Designs synthetic 20 degree bag instead, but it's larger and heavier.

DIY masochist

I've carried my sleeping bag, tent, and camping pad strapped perpendicularly across the back rack, and I found it to be extremely annoying to undo everything if I needed to access something in one of my rear panniers. I recently got a down sleeping bag with a compression sack in the hopes of getting the tent and sleeping bag into the back panniers. Then the plan would be to have my sleeping pad and tent poles going lengthwise down my (narrow) rear rack so I can still unroll the panniers. You have a point about not wanting to pack a wet tent inside a pannier though. I guess in that scenario I'd probably end up putting it in a trash bag and strapping it to the top of the rack until I found a place to dry it out. I usually like to wait until lunch time and find a big empty parking lot with hot asphalt, and lay the tent out to dry while I eat or read a little bit. Grass doesn't dry out as fast.

As far as my setup, I have an REI Quarter Dome 2 that is enough for me and all my gear. I just switched from a 20F synthetic bag to an REI Flash bag that's down and rated for 32F. I was way too hot in the old bag all summer on tour, and it was way too bulky, so I'm hoping this one will be better. I haven't taken it fall camping yet, though, so we'll see how warm it actually keeps me. Then I have the short Thermarest Z lite pad. I'm 6'2" but all I really need is padding underneath my shoulders and hips. My legs just sit on the floor of the tent in the sleeping bag off the end of the pad. I had an army duffel bag that I rolled up as a pillow, but it really sucked, so I'm thinking about trying to get an inflatable pillow. Does anyone have any recommendations? I would like to get an inflatable neck pillow for air travel too, anything that could be used for both?

RustyGates

I went overboard with camping trips/ gear the last few years. I still only aspire to take my first bike tour, but I've already refined my sleep setup thoroughly.

After trying all sorts of tarps and tarptents, I now use a two person freestanding dome tent (BSI Chinook) with a mesh inner, two big doors for thorough ventilation, and a fly that almost touches the ground. I don't like relying on stakes...I'm tired when it's time to set up and it can be rocky here in the midwest. I can set up a dome tent in any flat spot, then worry about the stakes/anchors while it airs out and my sleeping bag fluffs up. Or I can crawl in and sleep without staking in calm weather.

I've had a top of the line 10° sleeping bag and all seasons inflatable mattress that were light enough to use year round, but expensive. I switched them out for a foam/ cheaper inflatable combo and a pair of homesewn quilts, one down one synthetic. The switch netted me ~$300 and in moderate temperatures I have a more comfortable setup. In winter I'm stuck with bulkier gear and it's heavier by a pound and a half...but the modularity allows me to take half my sleep gear (ridgerest and down inner quilt) and use it to sit around camp in comfort. Without that stuff I'd be lying prone for a couple hours in the evening and I hated it.

stardognine

In case anyone cares, I won't put a wet tent in my panniers, I promise. 😉
But that doesn't mean I'm not dumb enough to put CANS of iced tea in a pannier, and puncture one. 😋😁
But I definitely agree, we don't want moisture in our panniers. Or most places, on our bikes. 😉

zonatandem

Motel and a bottle of wine when we tour on our tandem!

jefnvk

I agree, even if it is everyone's personal decision. I know I am probably on the rare side with the blue foam sleeping pad over an inflatable dealie, but I roll the tent up in its bag inside the sleeping pad, and strap it on top my rack. The sleeping roll is quick to wipe down if it gets wet (the bit that is exposed to the weather, or just put that side down), and more or less protects the tent from the rain. Didn't let the tent really dry, but wadded up fabric in a bag won't anyhow.

Not gonna lie, I like having the wife around to force me into that situation. I'm too cheap to do it solo

Doug64

Blue compression sack (CS) is the tent. It is either a REI half dome or a Sierra Designs Lightning, depending on the weather.
Gray small stuff sack is compressible pilow.
Greenish yellow CS is a 25 F synthetic sleeping bag. It could be a Mountain Smith 45F bag for shorter tours with better weather predictions; it packs down to half the size.
Small sil-nylon stuff sack is the sil-nylon ground cloth/tarp.
Orange bag is a Thermarest Pro4 pad.
The yellow bag is an Ortlieb Rack Pack.
This gear, including everything in the picture plus the tent poles, weighs 10 lbs or less.

cyccommute 

revcp 

I guess you're right. Your way is the only way. Sleeping bags (or quilts) don't exist that won't pack down smaller than a large pannier. Tent poles cannot, without breaking some law, be packed separately from the tent fly or inner. Dry bags with wet tents in them and lashed to a rack miraculously don't mold, but a wet tents in a pannier certainly will. Man.

This is my bike, fully packed, with the offending items in the panniers. Not even close to filled.

revcp 

I just believe that for people seeking advice, especially newbies, it's not well to tell them there is only one acceptable way of doing things. Alternatives are good, especially if they work equally well.

I'm not saying the way you carry things is wrong. I'm saying you're wrong to claim it's the only sensible/effective way.

Happy Feet

From my last trip

Tent in the handlebar bag, inflatable mattress on the aerobars and sleeping bag (and clothes) in the saddebag:

Doug64

I can put my whole sleeping system including tent in an Ortlieb Backroller Classic. That is exactly what I plan to do on a short tour next month.

Erick L

Pad - Neoair Xtherm long/wide and Exped pump bag with the valve modified to fit the Neoair. It also serves as waterproof liner. I'd still buy the same today, or maybe a XLite
Pillow - Trekology. Cheap pillow from Amazon.
Sleeping bag - MEC bag (today's equivalent is the Talon -3°C down bag) or Windhard quilt from Aliexpress (Enlightened Equipment clone). If I were buying today, I'd go with a 20°F down quilt from a small manufacturer like Enlightened Equipment, Zpacks, Hammock Gear, etc.
Tent - Tarptent Rainbow or a REI Quarter Dome UL 3. I bought those tents for solo and duo backpacking, otherwise I'd probably still use a Sierra Design Clip Flashlight. There's a slew of good tents for touring.

Sleeping bag, pillow and pad goes into a pannier with clothes. Depending on how many panniers I use (2 or 4), the tent goes on the rear rack or loose in a pannier with poles, rain gear, wet clothes and anything with an odd shape or food I don't want crushed, like a loaf of bread.

JaccoW

• Tent: Nigor Wickiup 3 + Inner tent. Built our own A-frame with two poles for when we are together and weight is less of an issue.
• Tarp: Hilleberg Tarp5 + MSR pole
• Pad: Exped SynMat UL 7 LW + Exped air pillow
• Bag: Yeti V.I.B. 400 down sleeping bag

The Tent has proven great in both Norwegian cold and Texas heat and depending on how light we want to travel can be anywhere between 1.9kg for a singlepole setup to ~3kg for the double pole + tarp version. I kind of want to get the half size innertent to bring the singleperson weight down to 1.6kg. Fits into a single Ortlieb Backroller but for weight balance purposes I usually spread it over two bags.

PedalingWalrus

If I go solo:
Big Agnes Fly Creek 1 or My Hammock Setup (Warbonet Blackbird with Hammockgear Winter Palace Tarp
Nemo 25" mattress + sleeping bag for appropriate temperature range

If I go with my wife:
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Mid 4 or double hammock from Dutchware with Hammockgear Winter Palace Tarp
Two 20" Nemo mattresses in a double sleeping bag (either Nemo 40 degree or Big Agnes 15 degree double)


P.S. We used to have a Big Agnes Copper Spur 4 but we left it behind at my inlaws (overseas) for future trips there

veganbikes

For tenting:
Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2
Sea To Summit ComfortPlus (I believe it is the dual sided red one and for the life of me I cannot remember which one I got)

For Hammocking:
ENO DoubleDelux or Single Nest
ENO Atlas straps
ENO Guardian Bug Net
ENO Pro Rain Fly

General sleeping set up:
Mountain Hardwear UltraLamina 45˚
Sea To Summit CoolMax Adaptor (either with or without Insect Shield)
Sea To Summit Aeros Ultralight Pillow (or a ENO Pro Pillow)

Hopefully one day I will get more time to do touring and bike packing and general camping and I will take down the weight of some of my stuff but it is certainly pretty light as is while still being comfortable. The three biggest standouts would be all the Sea To Summit stuff, their sleeping pads are excellent and probably the most comfortable and easiest to inflate I have used (I might get a lighter single sided version at some point), the pillow takes up little space but is certainly a super comfortable camp pillow but also fine for other trips where space is premium or you just don't want to schelp a full sized pillow and the Adaptors are perfect for a lot of things and I use mine pretty frequently especially since i sleep hot.

irwin7638

I use a Coleman Houligan 2 tent which I chose because it's 4' tall, tall enough that I can just walk right into it and sit down. I have a Thermarest x large mattress and pillow. Typically I use a fleece sleeping bag liner for a sleeping bag, but most of my camping is done during the warmer months. If I take an early spring trip I will switch to a regular mummy bag.
Here's a link to my blog posts about bike packing:Simply Cycle: Bike packing 101

Marc

alan s