Bikepacking Gear List for My 2,700 Mile Ride From Canada Down to Mexico - GDMBR 

I make sure all electrical stuff is kept in a 100% water proof bag .

Hi Mat, Good luck with the trip. I did it in 2017. Divides can get addictive : Nz, UK & Iceland. I’m doing a bit of the U.S. Divide again this year too. I live between Bath and Wells if you fancy a beer at some point. I wouldn’t worry too much about gear choice. You will have a blast! I’m in Banff on 22-24 June. Cheers Paul (this is my son’s account)

Awesome, look forward to following you on this amazing trip

Tip wash quilt and add 4 tennis ball in the dryer use gear aid wash it look like in new and loaf up

Great setup. Look forward to following you.

JUST SUBSCRIBED BROTHER!!!Now this is a fanatstic video dude!!!Keep it up!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍

Wow there is lots going on with that bike of yours, love it, lots of pockets. Advice:- DO NOT GO! But if you still are then you need to pack - Deep heat, freeze spray, hand warmers, baby wipes and hip flask. As for bear proof bag, if he's that close you are going to die and he will root through your bags for goodies anyway 😉. Lovely to see you are dressing up for the occasion. All you need is a GB flag attached to that tiny seat to waggle above your head😊 have fun.

great setup!

Like the bike Mat - just the kiddy, good luck

Good luck with your ride, i rode it last year, the only thing i wish i had was a warmer sleeping bag, i thought saving 1/2 a pound in weight was a good idea at the time! it gets cold at night and i had frost at stunner campground at the end of june. the best advice i read pre trip was to take Merino underwear for the inevitable saddle sores. i think my padded liner caused mine. i wore padded for a couple of weeks then switched to merino boxers.

A few suggestions. Take at least two inner tubes but buy the tubilito type ones rather than the rubber to save a lot of space and weight. Have you got a repair kit for side wall tears such as heavy duty waxed thread (or dental floss) a curved needle used for leather work. Tyre boots only work for so long and a more permanent fix of the tyre wall is a good backup to have. I presume your taking spare nuts and bolts, cleats and bolts if your using that system, brake pads, spokes, tyre valves if your tubeless etc. I agree with taking 10,000 batteries rather than one big capacity one. I’ve had batteries fail and glad I’ve taken spares. Also a few spare cables as cables can also stop working. I would also consider upgrading your battery’s and charger to fast charger usb C systems as when you stop at a cafe etc, it will take half the time to charge your batteries. A dynamo is only so good at keeping your systems topped up. Also how are drinking water on the go? Do you need to keep on stopping to get your water out or are you using a hydration bladder with tube? On my front right fork I have a standard bottle cage and put a 900 ml elite bottle in as I can easily remove it on the go without having to remove straps. Extra water bottles are harder to get to on my bike. This allows constant as needed drinking on the go. Wrap electrical tape and gaffa tape around your pump, useful for repairs. Tenacious tape is good for repairs of gear and I presume you have dyneema repair patches for your tent. Also spare pegs as these can be used as splints with gaffa tape and zip ties if your tent pole was to snap. My six moon designs carbon pole snapped on me at 3am in strong wind and rain and I was glad I had this extra repair kit to make the repairs on the go. All the best

I look forward to your journey. Keep an eye on those small rubber pieces at the skewers on that Tailfin. If i am removing or installing and fumble around much I have knocked them off. Great rack setup.

I like that set up on the back and that’s the quality you get when you spend a lot of money on something like that that is definitely a good quality rig convenient and I’m sure by the end of your ride you’re going to be very happy you spent that kind of money I don’t know how much it cost and I haven’t got that far in the video

Tip 3 get a pump with a hose i use a small pump with no hose ended up damaging my tubeless valves in a sir lanky trip and didnt have spare

To help rejuvenate your down quilt you can tumble dry it on a low heat setting for half an hour, putting two or three tennis balls in with it to help fluff it up. Good luck with your trip 👍

That really is travelling light. I am so jealous of your tent. I would keep the DEET and sun cream in the side pockets in case you have a crash and they get punctured, so you dont risk your electronic equipment. How about another microfibre towel in case you are wet when you have to setup your tent and sleep, you can always stuff an extra towel somewhere, they weigh nothing I am sure you know what you are doing but I would rather have a gun than a bottle of bear spray

Banff is very smokey now, the smoke from Alberta's wildfires is blowing all over the place. Nobo is always an option if you have a flexible schedule.

Brooks saddles are okay but they take anywhere from 300 to 500 miles to properly break in. So if you have time for that then it's a decent choice. That being said, it's not a mountain bike saddle and you aren't going to be riding a lot of roads. A little more padding can go a long way when you are riding singletrack even if you do have a little bit of seat post suspension. I like the WTB Pure CroMoly. Biggest advice is, don't make any large changes right before a long ride. It takes time to shake out new gear. Enjoy the ride. Oh, and you might want to get a decent length of paracord for tieing up that bag if needed and some zip ties. They can be indispensible. Cheers.

Hello Mat - Excellent ride series, in fact, I'm watching the GDMBR series now for the second time around. :) and looking forward to your trip this year. I probably looked right over this detail about your bike, but what water bottle cages are you (did you) use on the GDMBR? I believe a follower suggested them to you but I just can't put my hands on that info! (Something to do with age, likely :)) I like the idea of not having to use Voile straps (as I do now) on my front fork tube cages. Thanks, Mike

Look at infinity bike seat no break in no padded shorts no chaff cream just pure comfort day one

Fantastic set up. I think you’ve got it covered. You could, if you wanted, wear a Marino wool undergarment under your shirt. The only thing I would recommend is a light-weight pair of Teva Hurricane Drift plastic sandals, which you could wear with a (optional) pair of Sealskinz socks. You can change into them when it rains to save your bike shoes from getting saturated. They are also comfortable to slip on once you’ve completed your days ride. 👍

Spot tracker for safety and the other half can see where you are ,download route to phone as back up ,enjoy the ride.

You got a helmet Bro. You are no longer the worst. 😆

I bought an Ursack for my Tuktoyaktuk to Victoria ride in 2022....never used it so it will probably stay home when I do the GDMBR in August

I used an Urbag on the AT and I learned from a fellow hiker to use it with a smellproof liner bag. Unfortunately the sealing closer of that liner bag used to break now and then.

Hi Mat. Did you use the bike lock and how did it work out? What is the brand? I've watched your entire series on the GDMBR and enjoyed every moment, beautiful filming and exceptional insights. I will definitely be doing the Route. Amusingly, it turns out I was flying into Gatwick with my bike as you were flying out!

Nice trip planning and great to see you using so much gear from your thru hike. I would replace your Base layers with merino wool. Do you need both pads under your quilt? Why not just use your airpad? You must sleep warm, I would be looking for a new quilt! Best of luck to you.

Hi Matt - Like you I'm using the Tailfin Aeropack (with their carbon rack & rear pannier mounts as well). I'm curious whether the Tailfin rear panniers you're using are the 10 Liter size? They look wider and larger than the pair I purchased so I was wondering if perhaps Tailfin offers a size somewhere between 10L & 22L over there in the UK? Here in the states those seem to be the only choices. Thank you & best of luck on your GDMBR adventure! Kind regards, Mark in Cary, NC.

Tip one replace 20,000 Mha batteries with 2 x 10,000 batteries advantage if one fails you still have one back up plus check how long it takes to charge that 20,000 i bet min 6 hours compare with 2 10000 only takes 3 hours

For your front handlebar bag, that holds all your camera equipment....I've always thought a front bag that opened from the back would be more ideal than the way yours is set up, where the mouth opens from the front, almost like you have to be off the bike standing in front of it to access the items in the bag. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to access the items in the bag from sitting atop your bike seat whilst pedaling? Curious as to your thoughts on that. Second question, did you run into any problems with your items in your front bag getting wet on trail from being in that bag?

You have room to tape inner tubes, at the bottom bracket, underneath your frame bag and behind your seat post. Use nice wide 2 inch Gorilla tape. I would have far warmer mitts and I might have missed you mentioning having a toque that should be able to fit underneath your helmet. We always wear a buff hot or cold, under our helmet in case of ticks. We wear a long lightweight sun shirt the vast majority of the time. We also carry mosquito netting both for face and body as it is not very heavy and takes up little room. Of course as seniors we stop lots and enjoy ourselves and so need more 'stuff., lol. Fun for us is the key not distance and speed.

Good video, good luck in your adventure, we might see each other if our dates coincide, I'll start in Jasper on 7/14

The best thing is to get the saddle level, or 2 degrees nose down, as you are now, will put more weight on your upper-body to “stabilise” yourself.

Hello, I found your channel and I am enjoying it. Will you be going tubeless ahead of your big trip? I have heard one often has to carry more tyre maintenance equipment than one does with an inner tube? I haven't toured in a while but I think I would always prefer to keep things simple with a tube. Also, remember the bears are always more scared of you than you are of them, that is of course as long as you are utterly fearless, otherwise, maybe not. I will follow along with interest.

Hey Mat. Can you talk about your camera equipment and which bike computer you used and what was your information source for the trail? Thanks

Hi Mat, just watched your GDMBR videos and like many people thoroughly enjoyed them. I am preparing for the Tour Aotearoa and your bike & kit reviews are really useful. I like the tailfin AeroPack set-up you have but was wondering why you chose this over their alloy rack, which is almost the same but bag and rack can be separated. Thanks in advance

Interesting setup i am sure you change everything on how and where you pack

hi Mat! I noticed you used the alloy Tailfin. Did you consider the carbon one?

Don't rely on a pump gage. Get a digital one.

Spare belt

Tire boot

Make sure that bear bag is a couple hundred yards away from you literally a couple hundred yards you do not want that GRiZ happenstance upon you