Prompted by many kind words and PMs, and Josephau particularly, I thought I might share with you my thoughts of packing and traveling light - especially with all the should-I-shouldn't-I-get-panniers consideration recently... I'm not suggesting this style of packing is for everyone, only that I've found a system that works for me - giving me everything I need, together with maximum flexibility for the style of riding I like to undertake.

Essentially I've always wanted an off-road capable set-up - that is, the minimum amount of weight, or perhaps more importantly, bulk.

While it would seem most straightforward just to get a rack and hard pannier set (especially for bikes like the Tenere) - and I admit I am increasingly being swayed by their advantages - that is ease of attach/detachment, and additional security when leaving the loaded bike unattended... I am also conscious of a number of drawbacks, mainly long-term robustness (I'm talking a high proportion of off-road riding), weight, and general bulk - never mind the potential for leg injury when dabbing off-road/in sand etc.

An alternative is soft panniers - although I've never really been tempted as a) they are susceptible to heat damage (although this is not an issue on the Tenere, thanks to the clever plastic exhaust shrouds), and b) they look like a sack of spuds, and I've never trusted their various fixing methods over really rough ground...

Regardless of the material used, I've always considered panniers a bit of a liability - whether filtering in traffic (which I like to do) or when in a narrow situation off-road... however, I would concede that perhaps they (hard cases at least) make a bike easier to pick up, as it tends not to fall right over 90� to the ground? Anyway...


Keeping it Narrow...
Last year when I started traveling for more than a few days at a time, I endeavoured to pack as light as possible, and started out with an expanding tail-pack on a rack behind the seat. This held tools, spares, maps and camping cooker/food. I then used a 35 litre roll-top dry-bag on the rear seat behind me for my tent, air-bed and sleeping bag. Everything else (ie. clothes and toiletries) went in a 25 litre rucksack on my back.

This meant the bike was no wider that standard, still offered a reasonably roomy cockpit area (no tank bag for example) and in reality, hardly more top heavy - it worked well at all speeds in all terrain. However, the rucksack tended to get heavy after a long day... it was also not particularly waterproof, which was a pain when it was my clothes in there!

Eventually I replaced the tail-pack with an aluminium Touratech 'Top' box, for additional security, together with easy removal once I got to my destination. I also bought an OGIO waistpack for my tools/puncture stuff, which I could wear when serious off-roading without luggage, or attach round the top-box (above the dry-bag) when touring.

This system worked well, and I basically used it again in Europe this year (see TBM issues 159-161... ahem). However, I took less clothing to Europe which then fitted in my top box (waterproof!), and used a Camelbak Blowfish backpack which offers 3 litres of water and expanding stowage up from 8-15 litres for maps and snacks, plus would hold a fleece or lightweight jacket if the weather was variable.

However, this time and now I'm on the Tenere, I feel I have refined it even further - by being deciplined enough to leave stuff behind that I didn't use on previous trips. Obviously you still need to take bodge-it spares, puncture kit and tools, even if you (hopefully) don't end up using them. But you'd be surprised just how little else you need on a day to day basis when traveling by bike - especially if you don't intend to go out nightclubbing or to fancy restaurants etc. Staying in a motel (or couch surfing) means you can also eject the camping equipment too, but I'll include that as there is little to beat rocking up in the perfect spot, and saying "I want to wake up here tomorrow too!"


Modular Kit
I've tried to keep everything modular, as not only does this help with packing and unpacking (only using the bag you need, and also helping to remember what was in it!) but it means you can leave certain items if just going for a day ride from a hotel for example. This is what I use currently:

Bag 1: 35 litre roll-top dry-bag, which contains my tent - a cheap two-pole 2-man dome tent, which will self support on hard ground. It is slightly larger (and a lot cheaper) than the ultralight backpacking type, and gives plenty of room to stow your riding kit inside with you. Thermarest Trail Comfort air-mattress - not the smallest, but I appreciate the extra thickness on hard lumpy ground. It is worth spending the money on a pukka Thermarest, although I'm sure the alternatives are good too. A Karrimor 3-season sleeping bag (mid priced) - perfectly adequate for the countries I'm visiting. I can also just squeeze in my Jetboil cooker and a Naglan bottle full of fresh coffee. There are smaller and lighter cookers available, but they will need a separate fuel canister, and pan/s too of course. The convenience of one-pot cooking is ideal - afterall, all you really need is a warm meal (Wayfairer are my favorite) and a cuppa? I also use a Spork combined spoon/fork, plus my pocket knife for any cutting required.

The beauty of keeping you whole 'camp' in one bag, is that should you decide to motel it, you can just leave the camping bag at home. You also don't need to open the bag at all if you are spending the night in a hotel.

cont.

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"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

JennyDakar.com

cont.

Bag 2: 31 litre (size M) Ortlieb 'Rack-pack' dry duffel bag. This bag contains all my personal belongings - clothes, my wash-kit bag, sandals for when off the bike (all you need - they pack flat, double up as slippers for nocturnal toilet jaunts, and if its cold, just wear socks in a British stylee!), and a small Kriega pack that contains my chargers and cables for GPS/iPod/Phone, plus a few spare batteries for my cameras.

I also pack my clothes 'modularly' in nylon dry bags inside the Ortlieb - not for any additional weather protection (they don't need it - the Ortlieb is excellent), but to keep things simple. I try to have as many different layers as possible, all of which individually pack down very small, but together offer warmth and sun protection as required.

One bag for underwear (5 sets - you can handwash), one for outerwear - that is three vests, one t-shirt (doubles as a nightshirt), one long sleeve fleece top, one pair of Jeans (Jeans are great as they are smart enough for restaurants/sightseeing, and strong enough to wear when riding if needs be). I also have a North Face wind-stopper jacket, which is a great layer under my vented enduro jacket, and again smart enough to wear during an evening out (we're not talking the Ritz, obviously)...

I also have a set of Helly Hansen thermal leggings and a long sleeve thermal top, and thermal glove liners - again, they pack down to nothing, but make a real difference when it gets really cold. Finally I have a small dry-bag with a loo-roll in. It made me laugh watching Long-Way Down and the boys were criticised for having a toilet roll bag... but it makes perfect sense to me - wet toilet paper is worse than useless after all!

Together with this kit, I also have small folding travel towel in a pouch - again it's big enough to dry off after a shower, but not taking up much space - they dry quickly too. I also have a sarong which is truly the most versatile piece of travel clothing you can own, but some of you fellas might feel a little silly in one of course... (same goes for my bikini, but swim trunks/shorts pack small too).

There is also enough room to squeeze in a book or two, plus maps I'm not using. The beauty of having all this gear in one bag, is that it is everything you need to take into a hotel or when overnighting anywhere. Although it might sound like I have virtually no clothes - I've found that with regular (overnight) hand washing, it's really all you need for pretty much any situation: There is a complete change of clothes should you have got utterly soaked during the day. Comfortable clothes for around camp/hotel room. Swimming kit if that's your thing. Warm layers if camping or in cold climates. And something to wear off the bike when sightseeing or going out for a meal.

Both Bag 1 & 2 are similar in overall size/volume, and I've found the passenger grab handles make great lashing points for a pair of cargo straps looped over both bags and pulled tight - secure even at 50+mph on the desert piste! These two bags combined are essentially my whole travel luggage system - supplemented by the following (see below) which I can also use on day to day rides...

cont.

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"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

JennyDakar.com

cont.

Bag 3: Camelbak Blowfish. There are many different designs of Camelbak, but I particularly like this one as it is a good size 'day-pack' that offers expandable stowage (from 8-15 litres) plus plenty of liquid, and is a simple design without all the fussy straps and pockets. It is big enough to hold a fleece/jacket (rather than having to open your main luggage bag), and room enough for a couple of days food, snacks, maps, wallet etc. in the internal pockets. I also carry my emergency kit (storm matches, first aid kit, foil blanket and strobe beacon light) in there, plus a head torch and a tube of quick-steel and some long zip-ties.

Together with my tailpack (see below), this is really all you need to carry for a day trail ride.

Bag 4: Touratech Enduro tail-pack. I bought this to replace my OGIO waistpack, as I thought it better to have the tools and puncture kit permanently attached to the bike. I chose the non-expanding (cheaper!) version, and it fits perfectly on the rear section of the Tenere behind the seat. In this position the contents are always readily available, even with the luggage strapped on. Inside is my tool roll (see thread: http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?...ighlight=tools), together with a 21" tube, 3x tyre levers, towing/recovery strap, a small roll of duct tape and a pocket-sized can of the miracle juice that is WD40. There is also enough room for either a small can of chain lube or a spare oil fiter for example.

Meanwhile, my puncture kit consists of 3 x CO2 canisters and adapter, plus a small Naglan bottle full of tyre lube, patches & glue. As the OE toolkit supplied with the bike is worse that crap, I emptied out the canvas bag and use it to carry the puncture stuff in the recess in the tank.

And that is pretty much the size of it!

I hope this long winded waffling will either inspire or help you packing for your next journey. As I said at the beginning, I'm not suggesting it will work for everybody, only that it works for me, and I would recommend any of the products/items I'm currently using...

Any questions feel free to ask away!

Jenny xx

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"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

JennyDakar.com

Seems the 1st draft gremlins have been at it somewhere - I'm sure I mentioned my riding gear before???!

Anyway, my outer layer is an Alpinestars Venture jacket, and their Street Cargo pants. Subtle and comfortable enough to wear off the bike (plain black), they offer a fair degree of waterproofing (but are not 100% waterproof) and are still light enough to be comfortable in hot climates.

I like the jacket particularly (so much I have two now!) as it has plenty of vents, four front pockets (one for documents, one for iPod, one for wallet, one for bits and bobs), plus a large zipper rear pocket that you can actually fit a fleece into (or some shopping x) - it's designed to stow the removable sleeves (another nice feature), but doubles as a handy cargo or map pocket too. Finally, it also has an internal pocket for an hydration bladder, should you be wearing a regular rucksack.

The Street Cargo pants are basically the same as the Highland enduro pants, but without the zipper vents in the legs. They are twin cargo pockets (side stand puck in one, spare buff in the other) and they zip right up to the knee to help you get your boots on and off. The also fit very nicely around the waist/hips (no drafts) and have removable CE knee armour pads. The come in plain black, but I notice on in the US catalogue at least, they are doing them in sand colour too for 2009.

Boots I love Alpinstar Tech3's for off-road riding (I have the version with the all-terrain/enduro sole), but find tall MX boots can be a bit tiresome and hot for long days in the saddle. So I bought a pair of their Tech2's, which is basically the shorty version (two buckles, plus velcro) of the Tech3 with the smooth MX/street type sole. These are utterly fantastic boots - so comfortable straightout of the box, and with the same foot and ankle protection as the MX boot, just a lot nicer/easier to walk around in off the bike! Of course they don't offer the same shin protection as the taller Tech3, but for touring/trail style riding, I don't find that essential.

Gloves - I have two pairs with me, their lightweight MX style Breeze air-flow glove, plus the Alpinstars SMX-6, which is a bit like a heavy duty MX glove, and together with thermal glove liners, more than adequate for bad weather riding... ok, so if you're riding in northern Europe in winter, you might want a pair of proper waterproof winter gloves too!

Helmet - Arai Tour-x of course... I've just bought the mk3 version over here in the USA, and I must say it is an improvement over the mk2 - it feels even better made, plus the new vents and (emergency) removable cheek pads are nice touches. The peak is redesigned and more solid, plus there is a flip down chin guard (like their road helmets) and alloy mesh on the chin bar vents - luverly!

xxx

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"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

JennyDakar.com

That you got the packing spot on, apart from one or two differences, I pretty much packed the same kit as you did (for my European jaunt last year) albeit in different places. I stuck with the Yam OEM hard luggage and was quite suprised how well it stood up to the abuse it took.

I get alot of stick from my mates about how I organise my stuff, but to my mind things like first aid, emergency repairs and stuff should be the first thing you come to when going into your kit, after all it's the stuff you are going to need quickly! I also keep a 'grab bag' of emergency stuff, Foil blanket, survival knife (Tool Logic, complete with tourch, flint & Whistle) wind & waterproof matches (the ones out of the British Army 24Hr ration packs) and a glow stick - off course you need to know how to use the stuff if you need to!

I liked your comment about the modular cloths packing, I used some small vacum bags to put my stuff in. these compress the stuff so small you can half the space it takes up. They also keep everything moisture free, no matter what. These bags I placed inside the Touratech 'cubes' that fit perfectly into the Yam panniers, I used different colours so I know what I'm looking for when I search, and know what I get when I find it.

I liked this thread, re-enforces what I already know to be right!!!

Liked the latest TBM installment Jenny, looking forward to your report on the US later in the year.

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>-------<

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Great stuff! Packing is an art that I have yet to learn. I have always wondered what those who have three 45l Givi's, 2 50l rolls and a tankbag higher then the windshield got in their packing. =)

Was curious, since my panniers were just half filled, what my buddy had in his panniers on this little trip we did. After an examination we found he had much more beer stached then me:

Old thread, I know, but if you want to save a bit of money (and not give any to Touratech ), their Pack-It cubes look to be just re-branded Eagle Creek items, and the originals don't benefit from the TT premium

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Ben
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