The Self-Contained Camper
The Self-Contained Camper
If you’re used to camping in a motor home, bikepacking may present a few problems. The idea is to carry everything you need on the motorcycle. But while that limits both the number and the size of things that can be taken along, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to carry what you actually need.
For example, one rider on our bikepacking excursion fitted the following gear into one 10 in. x 12 in. x 24 in. square-end duffle bag: down sleeping bag; cooking kit with stove; canteen; cup, knife, fork and spoon; down jacket; one change of clothes; tennis shoes; toothbrush and paste; towel, washcloth and soap; small first-aid kit; camera and foam padding; a plastic tube tent and a sun cap, with enough room left over to fit in an enduro jacket during midday heat. Strapped on behind the duffle bag was a close-cell-foam sleeping pad.
The key is using light, compact equipment. Because backpackers have long wrestled with the problem of fitting essential gear into a very limited space (a back pack), backpacking outfitters offer a wide range of items applicable to bikepacking. Compared to a typical bulky, square-cut, cotton-filled sleeping bag, taper-cut backpacking sleeping bags are warmer, lighter and take up less space when stowed. Sleeping bags are available in different temperature ratings. Because we anticipated warm weather, the bags we tested were all light weight. The least expensive bag used came in the form of a sew-it-yourself fit for $46.95 from Frostline (see directory for address). Called the Down Liner, the 2 lb. kit bag was designed for use independently during summer months and as a temperature range extender—inside another bag—during colder weather.
Another warm-weather, goose-downfilled bag came assembled from Eddie Bauer for $77.50. Like the Frostline bag, the Bauer Touring Mummy & Inner Bag is stored by literally stuffing it into a small carrying sack. When stuffed, the bag weighs only 2 lb. 6 oz. and measures about 17 in. x 7 in. Goose dow n delivers excellent insulating properties in relationship to weight, but is expensive. Buyers should avoid bargain sleeping bags filled with a combination of down and chopped chicken feathers, because feathers don’t work well.
The other bag tested was filled with one of the synthetic fibers gaining popularity as the price of goose down soars. The Air Lift bag retails for $75 and is filled with Polarguard. The bag weighs more (3 lb., 8 oz.) and takes up more room than the down bags, but is not meant exclusively for warm-weather use. Even though our trip took place during the summer, we found that camping next to a river at 6000 feet was colder than anticipated. All the tested bags were acceptable, but the two light-duty/liner bags were not quite warm enough with frost on the ground. The heavier Air Lift bag was warmer. All three have strings at the opening to draw the bag up around the shoulders (Frostline) or the head, mummy-style (Bauer and Air Lift). The nylon-covered bags all held up well. However, the thin rip-stop nylon covering the top of the Bauer bag did allow several down feathers to escape through the weave. As expected, the air mattress offered excellent insulation and did the best job of cushioning the camper from the hard ground. The thick foam pad also did a good job of insulating and cushioning, but the Ensolite brand pad, while providing effective insulation, wasn’t thick enough for comfort. The Ensolite brand pad did roll into a convenient 6 in. x 20 in. Stowed, the thick foam pad measured 10 in. x 20 in., and the air mattress folded into a rectangular 3 in. x 3 in. x 8 in.
As in the case of all insulation, sleeping bags are warm because they trap dead air space, which reflects body heat. The weight of a camper’s body compresses the insulation underneath him and reduces or eliminates the dead air space between him and the cold ground. For that reason, an insulating pad or air mattress is important.
We tried three versions of the ground insulation idea: a Blue Wing air mattress from Air Lift; a %-in. thick, 48 in. x 20 in. Ensolite brand closed cell foam pad from Back Country; and a nylon-covered, 2-in. thick, 48 in. x 20 in. open-cell foam pad from Back Country. The air mattress, which features separate air chambers for easy inflation and less chance of total puncture failure, sells for $36 and comes with its own carrying bag. The Ensolite brand foam pad costs $7.50 alone; the covered thick foam pad costs $15.00 and has a storage pocket in the nylon cover— the pad rolls up into the pocket and is secured into a small bundle by attached nylon straps.
For many people, camping means using a tent. We liked the two-man Frostline Sky-Lite kit tent, which retails for $74.50. Full mosquito netting side panels and a roll-up rain fly ensure adequate ventilation while keeping mosquitos and other ornery bugs out. The tent weighs 4 lb. with poles and stakes and is easy to set up, enter, exit and pack. The only time a tent is really needed, though, is during foul weather. In that case, people who don’t mind sleeping in the open might prefer a plastic tube tent, $3.50 from Back Country. It’s just what the name implies—a large-diameter plastic tube. Set-up is as simple as running a cord through the tube, tying the cord to trees or bikes, and using a sleeping bag to hold the bottom on the ground. Unless care is taken to keep the sides of the plastic tube away from the top of the sleeping bag, normal water vapor from breathing (and sweating) will condense on the tube during the night, then run onto the sleeping bag. In fair weather a tube tent serves well as a ground cloth underneath a sleeping bag.
For cooking over wood coals, we used a Hope six-piece family cook set, $30.00 from Robbins. The 3-lb. aluminum set includes several pots, a frying pan and a tea pot. But we found that it was easier and faster to cook with a 2-lb. Sigg Tourist cook set with one-burner Primus white-gas stove, $42.00 from Back Country. The Sigg Tourist set includes two pots, a frying pan/ lid and handy pot holder. The pots are sized to allow stacking in certain configurations, as in keeping one course warm while the other cooks. An anodized aluminum fuel bottle to carry white gas costs another $6.00 from Back Country. Freeze-dried foods, although expensive, have long been favorites with backpackers, since they take up little space and are light. A four-man meal from Rich-Moor included freeze-dried turkey supreme ($3.79), corn ($ 1.15) and raspberry cobbler ($ 1.59), with Wyler’s lemonade (27<P) to drink. Dehydrated foods don’t quite taste like meals at the Ace Restaurant, but they do hit the spot when you’re hungry far from civilization.
Of course, all the gear in the world is useless without a way to carry it. That’s where a Durable Duffles brand Vagabond duffle bag from Back Country came in handy. The bag is made of heavy nylon pack cloth with triple urethane coating for water repellency and is lock-stitch sewn with heavy reinforcing at stress points, and features d-rings for easy lashing. Flaps over and under the two-way zipper help keep water out and packed items away from the zipper. The square-end design means the bag can carry more than a traditional round-end duffle, and the construction and detailing must be seen (and used) to be believed. There is no comparison between the Vagabond and the stuff usually sold as motorcyclist’s luggage, and the abuse it took proved it. The fullyloaded bag flew off in high-speed whoops and emerged unscathed. It’s $32.00, and a wide variety of other styles and sizes is available as well.
If we had used Back Country 40-inch straps ($1.70 a pair) instead of bungee cords, maybe the bag wouldn’t have fallen off. The straps did keep a rolled Ensolite pad on even after the bag had bounced off.
Much of the equipment described here is available locally in backpacking or department stores. If you can’t find it, contact the manufacturer for a retail outlet near you. In some cases, you can order direct.
DIRECTORY
Air Lift
2217 Roosevelt Ave.
Berkeley, Calif. 94703
Back Country Mountain Sports, Inc.
8272 Orangethorpe Ave.
Buena Park, Calif. 90621
Eddie Bauer
Third & Virginia
Seattle, Wash. 98124
Frostline Kits
Frostline Circle
Denver, Colo. 80241
Rich-Moor
P.O. Box 2728
Van Nuys, Calif. 91404
Robbins Mountain Paraphernalia
Box 4536
Modesto, Calif. 95352
