Me = 165 lbs.
Bike = 32 (with 2 1/2 bottles of water)
Gear = 32 (four days of food)

This was for a Fall tour, but I could've handled lower temps with the gear I had. The food probably weighed around four lbs to start. I didn't think I needed more or have anything I wanted to get rid of.

I've spent a good amount of time reviewing as many threads as I could on this topic. In threads discussing an equipment list and/or weight, there is no real consensus on what makes up the bare essentials except maybe the bike itself. It seems to boil down more to what the rider wants out of the trip (and what they want to avoid). Since everything (even the choice of bike) you take has a weight penalty many people employ tricks to keep the weight down. Where you will be touring and for how long is also a major factor.

I'm currently working my way through some discouragement over my own plan. I plan on riding my recumbent and towing a trailer which combined weigh close to 60 pounds. I know there are some out there who view this as excessive in the extreme while others see it as neither here nor there. My recumbent is completely comfortable for long distances so the weight is the trade-off. I will not have neck, seat, back, palm, or shoulder problems. I doubt I will experience numbness in the balls of my feet either. My legs will be used a bit more and in different ways than a DF bike but should be feeling only the exertion of riding and adjust as the tour proceeds.

The trailer provides more than enough room for what I plan to carry. The trailer wheels are spoked for touring and I can balance the load over the axle which takes the weight off my bike's rear wheel. To me this greatly reduces the chance of having a spoke pop or some other failure due to weight. The trailer also affords me a flat surface to deploy a solar panel for collecting electricity into a storage battery while riding...freeing me of needing to depend on stopping places to charge from wall outlets.

I have never done a long distance tour. My mindset on how to conduct the tour comes from the type of camping I did with my father and/or entire family when I was younger. We camped wherever we could find an isolated spot after making sure the land was not posted. If we couldn't find such a place we used state or national parks. While driving cross-country we would often find a place to hide and simply sleep in the car to save money. We only got kicked out of such a situation once out of 6 cross-country trips by car. That was all over 35 years ago.

I really don't know how well I will do in terms of daily mileage. To counter this uncertainty, I figure if I keep myself flexible in terms of where I must stop for the night, I can spend more hours each day peddling to make up for probable lower overall speed compared to the average tourist. I could go light and sleep in motels and eat at cafes along the way but for me this is not what a bike tour should be about. I want to experience as much independence as I can and to do that I need to carry a bit more equipment to be prepared for the unexpected as well as the uncertainty of what my situation will be at the end of each day.

It's easy to think of yourself riding from one place to another where each stop will have the resources you will need to refresh and restock. This "connect-the-dots" type of bike touring puts a constraint on what each day will consist of and would most certainly have the overall duration of your tour being dictated by the distance between each arrival point so to speak. For me, I want to be able to ride as much as I can each day and stop wherever the end of the day finds me. I realize this will not always work out but it should work more often than not.

I've reviewed my list many times over. I cannot see anything I don't need...only lighter alternatives. But since I will already be taking 60 lbs. with me in just the bike and trailer alone, I don't see how much of an impact reducing some of the other equipment will have. I suppose the more experienced tourists here will say they have learned to put the priority on riding the bike and let that dictate what is included in terms of gear. I can see that...it's just not where my focus is starting out green as it were.

Psychologically I know I'm going to suffer the hills and probably have to walk up a few that are either quite steep or simply long enough to burn out my legs before I reach the top. But my main concern here is not the pain but the slow going in terms of daily mileage. I'm certain I will learn some things about my choices along the way and make adjustments for the next trip. I'm also certain this is all relative to each of us. No matter how light we manage to make ourselves, we will still hit hills that are tough going or headwinds that reduce riding to a crawl even on flats. It's pointless to compare what someone takes riding the northern regions of the U.S. to what is taken in the south. Short trips cannot be compared to long trips either as they both have or don't have certain demands. Riding self-supported is completely different from riding on a credit card.

As so many have stated, there are never-ending variables, and each person's tour is governed by their own priorities, available resources, type of weather, terrain, and physical abilities. As an example, when outlining my anticipated wilderness tour this spring, some suggested bringing an axe. I have many, from small hatchets to large double bit felling axes. Any big enough to be useful as a camp axe is unwelcome extra weight for cycling unless you're staying in forestry or government campsites and having a fire is important to you. I won't be using those campsites, so won't have to split up large campsite pre-cut firewood. Although I normally cook over a campfire when traveling by vehicle in the back country, when backpacking or cycling I use a small primas stove so won't be making a fire unless it's an emergency, but that's my decision, based on touring many thousands of miles in the north countries of Alaska and Canada.

re: the trailer debate, for me 16 lbs of trailer vs maybe 6lbs of panniers is a key factor. Those 10 lbs are the deal breaker, but as has been mentioned, how hilly things are and how strong one is will be another factor-all completely useless debating or arguing on the internet.

The most important thing is to get out on your rig, with "stuff" and see how it works for you. I would also however recommend being very careful of thinking "oh I have this much weight, this much more wont make a difference". Its a slippery slope of "adding on" this and that--but again, only by throwing the stuff on it and riding all day will show you what is ok for you.
Good luck with your packing and especially, trying it out on good long rides to get an idea of how it works for you.

scrapser, have you posted your packing list anywhere? You sound like you're stuck between wanting to take the kitchen sink so you can camp whereever you want vs. taking so much you can't move. I have a sense you are heading down the road to "screw it, i'm already overloaded, may as well make it worse" -- be careful, your stuff will bog you down. it's not about stuff, it's about what you do along the way. for me, it's about the riding. for others, it's about the encounters with people. you may find wild-camping by yourself is less fun than camping with other people. your childhood camping experiences were with family, which is totally different than solo.

I would recommend paring it down to as little as you can possibly stand. Give the stuff you think you want but that you feel like you shouldn't take to a friend at home, and they can mail it to you if you want it. It's more likely you'll find yourself mailing stuff home that you don't need!

Make sure you actually *can* push your recumbant/trailer up hill if you plan on doing so. I would think that would be incredibly awkward.

As a backpacker and newbie tourer I have found the rule of thumb to be weight is somewhat equal to how much money you have to spend. Buy the best and lightest - rack panniers sleeping bag pad tent stove - not to mention bike. Go through your stuff 3 or 4 (hundred) times before the trip taking out what you won't need. Asses what you can buy on the road foodwise. Make sure you are prepared for the weather. Then I put in what I "want" to make the trip enjoyable. Total weight is then something you are stuck with based on your equipment and your needs. You can substitute a tarp for a tent - snicker bars for real food - flops for shoes - nylon pants for regular street wear, etc. I also recommend buying items that serve double duty - ie poncho that is also a ground tarp or shelter. On both backpacking and touring trips I have regretted bringing too much stuff and seldom regretted not enough. Touring for me is being somewhat self-contained, but knowing where the conveniences are along the way. So I guess weight is a philosophy and not a rule for me.

**gold star for this one.

the few times I have had to push my fully loaded bike up a steep bugger of a hill, it was really not pleasant and the 20 yr old plus memory is still fresh...

One the first page is a pic of my bike and trailer. Pushing it uphill will not be awkward as the seatback is just about elbow height when standing next to it and the bike will steer by leaning. The question remains on how much it will ultimately weigh packed with gear. My target for total weight is 89 lbs. (bike = 43, trailer = 16, gear = 30). I have bought pretty much everything already.

Here is my list of gear:

Tent and footprint (Hilliberg Allak)
Sleeping Bag (Western Mountaineering Sequoia)
Sleeping Pad (Thermarest)
Dry Compression Bag for sleeping bag
Trangia Stove/cookset
Fuel Bottle (alcohol)
Solar Panel (Brunton Solaris 12)
Storage Battery (Brunton Sustain)
Universal Battery Recharger
Bike Tool Kit (Lezyne)
2 spare tubes and patches
Chain links
Tire Pump (Lezyne)
Lighting (Front/Rear)
Digital Rear View Mirror/Bike Computer (Cerevellum Hindsight 35)
Riding Shoes (Keen)
1 pair cargo pants
1 pair shorts
2 t-shirts
2 pair underwear
1 pair regular socks
1 marino wool sweater
Light wool gloves
Rain Jacket (Showers Pass Elite 2.0)
Rain Pants (Showers Pass)
Rain Socks
Personal Hygiene (travel size shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc.)
Pepper Spray
Air Horn
Whistle
Bike Helmet
Smartphone
Canon Powershot Camera
Food and water (2 days - variable)

I haven't included the weights but right now this list is on target. Food and water will push it over the top but that will not be constant. I'm confident I can manage pushing 89 lbs. on four wheels uphill even if I'm tired. I'm more concerned about being able to make it up the Road to the Sun in Montana when the time comes. Bikes are restricted from the road from 10:30 AM to 4 PM if I remember right.

I'm not thinking "screw the weight" or caught up in adding things I don't really need. If anything, I'm concerned about whether I am up to the task. But again, I figure if I pace myself and maximize travel time each day, I should be able to do the miles without killing myself. It's a tour...not a forced march.

I have no problem camping alone. I will get my people fix on the road when I stop in towns to get refreshed or spontaneously along the way.

If it seems to be too much during a trial run, I can switch down to using my recumbent panniers which would net me a 10 lb. reduction but screw up my plans to use a solar panel and put all the weight on my bike's rear wheel. If this is unavoidable, I would likely still take the storage battery and switch to depending on charging from outlets...so I would also lose the solar panel weight (.75 lb.) as well.

I have found only one person who rode a Slipstream cross-country (west to east) on Crazy Guy. He carried all his gear in panniers and never complained about the weight of the bike in his journal. I guess it would behoove me to try and contact him.

your list seems well thought out and certainly is quite minimalist. I prefer having more socks, just to have more time before washing time, and one or three pairs of socks is nothing in weight.
I personally dont have experience on recumbants, or with trailers, so again, all the best with seeing how it all rides for you up hills, in tight quarters etc.

The learning continues. I have decided to discard the solar charger/storage battery and not use the Hindsight digital rear view mirror (but I'm still going to get one). Instead I will use a Garmin bike computer and upgrade my existing rear view mirror to something with a broad field of view. That leaves my bike lights, camera, and smartphone for battery power. The camera and smartphone will be turned off most of the time and the bike lights do not need daily charging.

In addition, I just learned a little more about my recumbent while talking with Greg at LongBikes. One thing I will be doing is changing my granny gear and cassette to get some better climbing gears on my bike. Greg also gave me a few contacts of people who have toured with the Slipstream over the years. At least two of them tour while pulling a BOB trailer (one of them for 6500 miles). I can't wait to talk with them and get some feedback and tips.

I'm sitting on the fence about whether to use the trailer or panniers. After checking the weights, the difference is 8.5 pounds between the two. Talking with the other Slipstream owners and making some trial runs with the trailer and panniers will surely make up my mind.