Kurt Refsnider's take on bikepacking, backcountry MTB, gravel, and ultra racing. For his coaching services and training plans, please visit www.ultraMTB.net
I experienced heavy condensation with the bivy bag set up both inside the bivvy and outside. I was breathing out of the bivy bag, so the condensation wasn't due to the breathing moisture. I stopped on a grassy field and the weather was clear. I was waking up around 6:00 in the sunlight. I'm trying to find a strategy to avoid this. Maybe avoid grassy fields?
Sleeping beneath trees and avoiding topographic lows can definitely help reduce how much dew accumulates on the outside of a bivy or tent (cool air settles in topographic lows, and dew can thus be heavier). Bivies are quite prone to condensation on the inside. Truly waterproof bivies are the worst for that; more breathable ones can be a bit better, but they're not as reliable if you're out all night in the rain, so it's definitely a compromise. That's why I prefer a mid-style shelter or a tarp over a bivy for most trips.
This was a couple big days and one day out - Packer Saddle, Spencer Creek, back to Big Boulder to D'ville, up to Chimney Rock, back to D'ville, and back up to Packer Saddle.
I've got to agree with you. I keep wanting to get back to a seat bag for the simplicity but.. I just did Ragbrai with some cheap panniers and it was good. Felt good, heavy but good. I probably loaded them up with a little too much weight but.. I'll be looking into those micro panniers. I tend spend most time on crushed limestone and gravel. I love how well panniers work for camping out of and making mid trip lunch out of. Stay cool man.
I recently started using my bob trailer on a few grav rides. Kinda crazy how difficult it is to feel it behind the bike! I admit, it was for a more luxurious ride where I took my cooler with drinks, hammock, chair, etc lol but considering I had like 25 lbs in the trailer it cruised along great!
Yes, some work fairly well if you have enough clearance between the bag and your rear tire when you have the seat dropped. You can limit the drop with the WolfTooth Valais clamp, too. I use the Revelate Designs Shrew, Stoat, and Terrepin 8L all on my dropper posts.
I like your mini pannier set up! I BP on a full suspension MTB, and use Arkel Rollpackers front and rear. I carry the weight really high at the rear but it doesn't bother me on fast gnarly single track. The Rollpackers are bags on a frame, so inbetween what you have just reviewed.
I have a Tailfin out back with no panniers and a 12 liter Bags x Bird top load bag in front. Revelate 1/2 frame in the middle as I like to use bottles. That was a nice balanced ride for gravel and really helped on some slippery descents. Never done a road tour, but what you wrote makes sense. Sleep! Don’t just replace your pillow - get a better pad like a 25” wide Nemo Tensor - they work!
It seems like one of the advantages of going “bikepacking” style is that you are more streamlined and you have weight distributed over the length of the bike. In your photo, there is no bar bag or anything visible that would put a bit of weight on the front. I wouldn’t want too much weight in front, but do you think grip on cornering for the front tire would be better with a little weight forward?
Good point! I had a small bag on the bars on this last long tour (the new Revelate Designs Pitchfork bag), but it's obviously not on there in this video. That bag probably only had 3 pounds in it, though. Distributing the weight across the bike definitely is important, but I find it much less so on road/gravel than I do on trail. Shifting my own body weight forward/backward on the bike when cornering makes a much bigger difference for traction than a small bag does.
Great overview, I have similar reasoning. Tailfin (rack) is great for convenience and very stable. It's easy to pull something out and put it back. But it is heavier. Saddlepack is light but harder to access and swings about a bit. Also changes size and shape depending on what you take out/put in during the trip. So I lean towards the rack for fun trips and the pack for fast, light bikepacking races.
