This is the setup my wife used to ride across the U.S., and for a couple of other trips. She used a pair of Ortlieb Packer Plus front panniers on the rear rack and an Ortlieb Rackpack. Sleeping bag , Thermarest and some misc. things were in the Rackpack, which is essentially a dry bag. Probably 25 pounds total weight.



When she wants more capacity she switches to the full sized Packer Plus rear panniers.



I generally use front and rear panniers with a Rackpack. This is the contents of my Rackpack, all in compression sacks: Sleeping bag, tent, sleeping pad, compressible pillow, and ground cloth. Everything including the Rackpack weighs less than 10 pounds. Any dry bag can be used as a rackpack.