Gear assessment: what worked, what got used, what didn't

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Overall, we got kudos from just about everyone on our setup.  We were lighter than anyone that we met, and bike shop staff told us that we were lighter than anyone that they had seen as well. There are definitely lighter setups out there, but these had sacrifices that we were not prepared to make.

The biggest delta between our setup and others that we biked with or met was the weight and size of the core items:  tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad.

Next was the items that we chose NOT to bring that others were carrying: laptop and/or tablet, water basin, panniers, maps, full-size towels, more off-the-bike clothing, more spare parts and tools for bike repair.

Then the items that we never considered bringing that we saw on other touring setups:  tarp(s), clothes pegs, frying pans, 

The other potential delta was our cooking system. I believe that our cooking system was lighter on average than others, but there's a lot of lightweight options out there. We saw a couple folks with pocket rockets using canister gas and collapsible plates/bowls. Our 

What worked really well:

  • dry bag storage system - these served so many purposes in addition to keeping our gear dry out on the road.  When unpacked, they were always in our tents, and we could pack up very quickly by just stuffing everything into the bags during some of our unexpected weather and sprinkler events when we needed to get the tent down quickly and find shelter.  I had 3 large dry bags and 2 smaller very light duty dry bags, Heather had 2 large dry bags and 1 small light duty dry bag. Our large dry bags were 13L SeaToSummmit e-Vent dry sacks (regular ones, not compression which worked out fine), and I also had one 13L SeaToSummit Stopper dry bag which was a lot heavier duty. The light weight dry bags were SeaToSummit ultraSil, which were not especially waterproof, but still enough to keep out some of the wet, and also had handy roll-top closures with clip buckles that were useful as handles, and to clip onto things like handlebars
  • fenders.  Given our choice of mounting our gear right over our wheels, and NOT using paniers, the fenders really saved us from doing real damage to our bags and the stuff inside the bags when the bags slipped a little. In this case, our bags would rest on the fenders rather than on the tires! I know from experience that it only takes seconds for a moving tire to wear straight through even high-denier nylon fabric. 
  • Clothing- perfect. Wool bras, cap2 undies. Layering: jersey single one that breathes well, don't need two; heather used black wool leggings while I relied on rain pants if legs cold in camp which worked well with light running shorts that heather did not have.
  • Sleep system: 32-degree 800-fill down bag with silk liner, NeoAir xlite pads, xped air UL pillow.  This is the first time I've used a pillow, and it was LUXURY. These pillows went down to nothing and worked very well for both of us.  When we were making gear decisions, we did debate a bit on 32 vs 45 degree bags, but we both sleep a little cold, and the delta in bulk and weight was pretty small so we went toward 32 degree for safety and comfort. The 32 degree bags were definitely needed up until we got to Michigan, and again in Montana and at the end in Oregon. In between, we probably could have gotten away with 45 degree bags, but for the start and end of the trip we would probably have had some uncomfortable nights.  I think the silk bag liner was also essential and worth the tiny delta in bulk and weight. The liners served multiple purposes: keep bags clean(er), provided a comfortable layer when it was too hot to get into our sleeping bags, added a little bit more warmth on a couple nights when it was really cold.  There were a few nights where Heather had some trouble sleeping due to cold even with all her thermal clothes on as well. 
  • Tent - I've been many places with the 6-moons lunar duo. Heather is over 6', I am 5'10"; this tent is downright spacious, with plenty of room inside and large vestibules. This tent is designed to use trekking poles, but the custom carbon-fiber poles also worked just fine for the entire trip. I put the poles inside my frame bag; I kept them inside an old bike tire tube just for some added protection. I would even consider carrying the carbon fiber poles when I'm backpacking so that I could have trekking poles with me when taking day-hikes away from a basecamp.

What worked moderately well:

  • front jelly roll - 
  • rear holster - rather than the holster, I think I would use a rear rack and strap my dry sack onto it.  I was often carrying 12+ pounds in the back, and it was bulky. My holster was often sagging a lot, and it was always under strain; there were a couple times when it was definitely resting on my fender and I had to stop and make adjustments. It was also a real PITA to load up every morning. That said, both of our holsters lasted all the was across the country without and big incident.   

There are improvements that we want to make if we were to do it again. Here's what we would definitely consider doing differently:

1. Have some "swing" space that is not on our backs

We were trying to eat as much fresh vegetables and whole foods as we could.  These items were often hard to come by on the "off-the-beaten path" that we were generally on, so we would get more than we needed for one meal.  Also, we started buying supplies for lunch in advance so that we had more good food options, and didn't have to rely on finding a store at the right time, which often was not even a possibility.

This meant that we were generally carrying spare food or other items; we didn't have a good spot for these items except to carry them in our collapsible backpacks.  We did intend the backpacks to be used for this - carry shopping at the end of the day, etc.  But we found that we were carrying them all day. I regularly tied my backpack onto my front roll, but it was always a pain to do this and made these items hard to access.  I also used small lightweight dry bags that I hooked onto my front handlebars and that worked really well for carrying lunch and 'on-the-bike' snacks for the day.

The 'jelly-roll'-type mounting that we used on the front could have extra clips for mounting more bags, or we think more useful would be just a set of loops on both ends of the roll, so that we can clip on a handlebar-width bag with carabiners.  We would need to make or modify bag(s) to be the handlebar-width size and include the loops on these bags.

Other ideas carabiner loops on the front bags is another idea that we thought might allow us to attach random stuff as needed. Or bungy-like ties, or hook and loops....

I *did* use small drybags clipped to my handlebars to carry stuff when needed.

2. Upgrade from 3/4-length sleeping pad to full-length

I was carrying a "3/4-length" NeoAir xlite sleeping pad, Heather carried a full size NeoAir pad. The 3/4-length saved bulk and weight, but it was really more like a 2/3 size, and left my a lot of my body in contact with the ground. I used my dry bags stuffed with my clothes under my legs when I slept, but it was not ideal.  If I was in the market to buy a new pad, I would buy the full length pad, it is worth the extra weight and bulk. In addition to providing greater sleeping comfort, the pads also protected our down in a couple of tent flooding situations.  Being an extra 2" above the ground on a flotation device was pretty nice in these cases, and having to squeeze up onto my short mat in these cases was a lot less comfortable; I was jealous of Heather.

I hope this helps others. Let me know what you think.