I am willing to carry more weight so that I can enjoy my time out of the saddle more. I am well aware that many if not most place a higher priority on the lighter bike (with gear), but I still want some of the extra weight that makes the trip more enjoyable for me when I am out of the saddle.

It is a balancing act, I hope you find that you have landed at the right spot for you.

I’d be concerned about 28c tires. I’ve encountered some bad roads and long sections of road construction where the paved surface has removed entirely.

Tourist in MSN, I did do the creature comfort thing this summer and it proved not to my liking. The only comfort items I include now are an air mattress and camp stool. I do not consider a tent to be a creature comfort thing.
In response to 28mm tires, I started touring in 1977 on 1.125 (1-1/8) inch tires. Road a lot of gravel roads along with pavement. Yesterday I took the bike out for a short run, spotted some single-track and went for an adventure. Tree roots and soft stuff was dismount time, otherwise very enjoyable. It can be assumed that back in the day I didn't know anything about tire width and did the old "run what ya brung" thing and it worked out.
This time around I know about tire width and am starting to regress a bit and move toward the narrower side of life.

28mm tires should be fine on smooth pavement. Rough or broken pavement or chip seal, not so much.

My light touring bike has 37mm wide tires, great on pavement, acceptable on rail trail or tow path gravel. My randonneuring bike has 32mm, my road bike 28mm. My other touring bikes have wider than 37mm.

Last year before I took my light touring bike on a tour, I added a suspension stem (Kinekt) and suspension seatpost (Redshift) to it, very happy with those upgrades. But I suspect you would cringe at the weight of those add ons. With those additions, my 37mm tire bike rides about as smooth or maybe slightly smoother than my 57mm tire bike without suspension.

The 1981 Raleigh Competition GS I have will take 32mm tires and I may go to that frame next summer, however I am fine with the 28mm tires for now. Of course, it is now past riding time here and snow is on the way. Back when Softride was a thing, I had one on a commuter bike and it was OK for the job, but eventually I removed it. Had given thought to a Redshift stem, but I think a Softride stem is a better suspension design because it has significantly more movement available. As for the weight, yes, they are pigs, however if the sus relief is something needed by the rider to keep riding, then it is justified.

My wife and I rode across the U.S. on 28 mm Continental Gatorskin tires. I really liked them and they worked well in most conditions we encountered. The only issue we had was flat tires. We had 13 flat tires in 3700 miles, with over 50% of them in goathead (puncture vine) areas. We also rode on some pretty nasty roads, and through many large cities which are hard on tires.

About 10 miles of gravel while leaving Yellowstone National Park with the 28 mm tires. Small sections of gravel were not a problem. We are using 32 mm Shwalbe Marathon tires now, and will probably stick with them because they are a good compromise between weight and durability.
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If you consider adding suspension stem later, the single pivot ones are cheaper, probably lighter, but if you are using the drops they would provide no help at all. Also, a handlebar bag that adds weight to the handlebar is another issue.

I often use the drops, thus a single pivot one was not for me. I chose the Kinekt, but there are a couple others out there that are not the single pivot design. And my handlebar bag is not mounted on the handlebar, so that is not an issue. I have a second stem for the handlebar bag.

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I know you probably are not interested now, but just in case you are later, that is why I am making these comments while I think of them. The narrower tires have the harsher ride.

That stem is similar to the old Softride stem, and is what I will certainly choose if time comes. Nice to see that someone has picked up where they left off.

Speaking of gear weight…I am about to go car camping to try to catch the peak of the Leonids tonight. (I’m literally going to sleep in the back of the Forrester.). Pulled out my old synthetic sleeping bag. Feels like an anchor compared to the down bag I now use. I’m also taking an old ThermaRest inflatable mattress so as not to damage my Sea to Summit mattress. How did I ever sleep on that thing? :lol:

My forecast for tonite has 0.34 inches of rain, low of 34 degrees (F). Considering why you are sleeping outside tonite, I hope it is less cloudy where you are than where I am.

But if you have a lack of clouds, that means the temperature drops to near the dewpoint.

Forecast low for this area (S. Jersey forest) is 34. The instability clouds have pretty much disappeared with the sun, and the night is supposed to be clear.

The really good news is that is that I scored a heated shack. It’s a short drive to a huge field great for viewing. My cot will keep me off the ground, Watched the Perseids here in September. Saw a dozen before the nearly full moon rose and ruined the show.

I’ve slept outside in worse. During the 2002 edition of Cycle Oregon we stayed on a cattle ranch in Ironside. In the morning, there was ice inside a water bottle and on my tent fly, and the poles were stuck together.

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You got lucky with that shelter.

A scout leader several decades ago taught me to be content with a tarp pitched as a lean to.

I did the ACA Big Bend trip in Apr 2018, one morning the water bottle on my bike was half frozen. I took the photo below that morning, the two guides are the two in yellow and red jackets.

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Fortunately, no wind that morning.

Heh. That photo reminds me of our morning in Republic, WA. I burned the crap out of my finger cooking the group dinner the night before. Had a giant blister. We were all bundled up eating breakfast when it started to snow. We had gotten rained and snowed on crossing the Cascades a few days before, so we were all nervous. Fortunately, it only lasted about 5 minutes.

Crossed Sherman Pass that morning. I was so slow breaking camp because of my finger that I was the last one on the road besides our leader. I got snowed on during the descent, but I saw a big moose. That helped my mood. Most of us got rooms that night at Benny’s Collville Inn.

It was the second week of the trip, but we already sensed that our leader was inept. I was stopped at an interpretive sign climbing Sherman. They asked me if the guy behind me towing a trailer was with us. They were concerned because he was walking.

I am usually the first one to get off the bike and walk up hills. But in my case, my red cell count and virtually every other lab test related to oxygen carrying capacity says I am way below normal. So I have an excuse for being a low wattage rider.

Going to the Sun Road, nearly a constant 6 percent grade, that hill I could pedal all the way up. I usually walk at 9 or more percent when carrying a touring load.

I think I arrived at that point. I tried to force the issue back in September, hurt my Achilles and quit a trip.

I have a bubble inclinometer on my handle bar for touring, it makes it easier to compare one hill to the next.

And I have bad knees, I have not pedaled out of the saddle for over a decade, the last time I did that I blew out a knee and walked with a slight limp for almost a year.

I hope your tendon recovers in a reasonable period of time.

I wonder if that tendon has less stress on it if shoe cleats are moved further back on the shoe? I find I no longer have sore feet with my cleats further back, that might help your tendon too?

Good idea on the bubble inclinometer. I should get one.

I used to always grind up in low, pushing hard when sitting gave me a bit of pain just above the kneecap. Standing climbing now is easier on my knees as leg is straight, but I climb in a gear that just requires my weight on the pedal, not a hard handlebar pull, that's a big difference, and not so low that the cadence is too high. Trading off on that, and grinding up in granny, and walking, and I can always make in up the hill, plus it all exercises different muscles. I feel a calf cramp coming on, I get off and walk for 5 minutes, that stretches out the calf perfect, then get back on. Just a quick calf stretch on the bike doesn't prevent the cramp, but walking does.