The Vietnamese handily defeated the U.S. military invaders and they relied heavily on bicyles carrying up to 500 lb loads on jungle trails. They had very simple bikes and wheels.
For a touring bike a 3 cross lacing of the wheels is very effective and avoids the weight gained with suspension forks. I used 4 cross wheels I laced myself and never had a spoke (and rim) failure with them. I also had a 25 lb load on my first trip from Oregon to Los Angeles and on succeeding trips my load was never more than 14 lbs and today with bike shoes that are good enough for walking my load is even lighter.
Unless one is traveling in remote areas in Latin America or Asia there is no real need for front panniers. There is an old adage that people tend to fill up their backpacks and best to use as small a one as possible. University friends in the 1970's started long trips through the Sierras and took 10 lb loads that was mostly food for a 2 week trip in the wilderness. With the lighter load they could wear walking shoes instead of heavy boots and make more miles each day. It was a very different approach that they took and then refined over a period of years. Much the same took place with mountain climbers where a few pioneers did accents solo and climbed 3 times as fast and made it to the summits much faster and were far less at risk of weather changes.
Rear panniers and a rack to attach a sleeping bag and ground cloth and a very small handlebar bag to hold snacks and a map are all that is needed outside of the winter months. When I see people with front panniers and multiple water bottles and tents and such I feel sorry for them.