Fancy handmade stuff isn't necessary. You want a solid rack that will hold up to reasonable use. There are a lot of racks that work well and are cheap. I've got a Blackburn style 3 leg rack on my bike, and the main disadvantage is the rear rack stay is straight. The one time it was an issue, I had about 10lbs of spare change in a pannier, and the load swayed ever so slightly into the wheel. There was a loud and disturbing noise, so I stopped immediately. Odds are, you won't be carrying 10lbs of spare change on tour . A bent stay like on the Jandd racks prevents the problem, but you pay a premium for it.

For panniers, you want something decently water resistant. If you already have and use panniers, I'd stick with the ones you own. There's lots of advice around about how to deal with rain, and the most waterproof panniers aren't necessarily going to be an improvement. Often smaller is better, so you're less tempted to haul more stuff than you need.

The basic principle with backpacking/camping gear (like bike gear) is the lighter the better. Within reason... but reason for you, reason for me, and reason for everyone else in the thread is gonna be different. I'm going to be adding a sleeping bag to my kit this year. The main goad is a regular "camping" trip up at a YMCA camp a few miles from Boundary Waters lake #1. I've been up there several times, usually in cold everyone insists is the worst in decades. If I consult with the National Weather Service, they're right. It normally doesn't freeze up there in August (or July). So I've seen the absolute worst... and since it's a pretty resort-like camp, even the worst conditions won't be that bad in terms of sleeping temperatures. If my bag has to deal with less than 40F at night, things have gone pretty badly wrong. You can use the same tricks to figure out what conditions you're likely to deal with. (and even in the worst case scenario for me, I'll be in a camp with ~200 other people, a good 20-40 cars, and a lot of bikes... and a town with multiple well equipped outfitters about 25 miles away)

You'll make better judgement about gear that you use often. Don't jump for something new (or new-to-you) just because it's new. And if you must add something, examine it and how it fits in as if it is sure to be a waste of money. If you don't camp out a lot right now, it's easy to get tempted by the shiny and the bling... and most of it just isn't needed. The US often has towns about every 20 miles along major roads. It's *hard* to be so far from civilization that you can't rescue yourself.