Originally Posted by
bcolli08
Seems like the general consensus is that while panniers would make my life easier, if I artfully mess around with straps/bungees I should be alright. One advantage of the backpack is I can hop off the bike and take it with me. If I end up making touring a more common activity (and I hope it ends up that way) ill for sure look into some panniers. For now ill make sure no one can accuse me of overpacking.
Sounds like a plan. Just don't rule out the possibility that you might not want to go to panniers. At about 22 pounds of gear weight I used two smallish front panniers with just a tent on the rear rack. Since then, I have found that I like travelling lighter and lighter until I eventually abandoned the panniers as overkill. I used stuff sacks on my rack for the ST from San Diego to Pensacola and for a tour in the Colorado Rockies and was quite happy to leave the panniers home. I still managed to camp and cook quite comfortably and much enjoyed riding a sportier bike that was very lightly loaded.
My point isn't that you should necessarily do the same as I do, but that it might be worth being open to less conventional methods.