Bikepacking is kind of free form when it comes to packing. The pictures below are all different packing orientations depending on how many days I was planning on being out. I will say, first and foremost, that when I bikepacking, I don’t cook. I use freeze-dried so I only have to boil water. Most bikepacking trips for me are 3 to 5 days maximum. The one exception is the last picture which I’ll get to later.
Second, even when pannier touring, I don’t depend on my water bottles as my primary source of water. The bottles are usually filled with Gatorade for electrolytes. Water is carried in my Camelback, even when road touring. Even when bikepacking, I try to pack my Camelbak with as much ice as it will hold. That keeps the water cold for about 6 hours.
First up, is one of my earlier trips. The small triangle bag holds my teapot and cup. The water bottle is for use if I run out of water on the route and will be added to the Camelbak if needed.
Longer trip that was a bit more remote. Water filter in fork bags as well as stove and fuel.
Excuse the NDS out. This was an aborted trip that took a lot longer to ride then I thought it would because the trail was a single track that is more of a suggestion than actually exists. The trail is, I kid you not, poles with the top 6” painted white. In between the poles is southern Colorado grassland that is difficult to ride. I spent about 5 hours going less than 15 miles. It was also on this trip that I found the limitations of the fork bags on really rugged terrain. One of them has a hole in the bottom even now.
I got a full triangle bag which negated the need for the fork leg bags for the most part. Everything in the fork leg bags fit in the triangle. Again, I don’t need the water bottle because I use a Camelback. No ice this trip.
A bit longer trip with how it is packed. The micropanniers (handlebar bags really) were added to carry the food that I would have carried in the frame bag to make room for utensils and pots.
This was my packing for an aborted longer trip. As I was planning on being out for 10 days, I couldn’t do freeze dried so I had to plan on actual cooking which meant a pot and more fuel. This meant 3 “fork leg” bags…2 on the fork legs and one under the down tube. Honestly, this was not a pleasure to ride. It had as much weight as my loaded touring bike but was much less organized and wasn’t carried in a manner that was conducive to handling. Way too much weight, way too high on the bike. It made for a very squirrelly ride. I needed the wide tires and suspension for a soft rail trail but it was not much fun. Hence the “aborted” part.
Camelback in action on the C&O.
