While bikepacking is typically focused on travelling light, making sure you have the right cycling kit for the conditions you’re likely to encounter is vital.

Beyond your basic cycling kit and casual clothing for off the bike, warm layers and waterproofs are important considerations for most bikepacking trips.

In many parts of the world, temperatures tend to head south as the night falls, so taking some extra, warm layers is always a good idea. A down or insulated jacket is a really good idea – it’s a lightweight option that offers plenty of warmth, and you can also sleep in it if it’s really chilly.

Make sure you change out of any sweaty or damp kit as soon as you get to your overnight spot to avoid getting cold, and layer up with warm, dry kit to stay warm as you prepare your sleeping setup and dinner.

Finally, only a fool would go bikepacking without a waterproof cycling jacket. No matter what the weather forecast says, take one with you, just in case.

If you’re on a multi-day ride, consider where you’ll be able to wash your kit. This will help keep your kit clean – important for personal hygiene – and also reduce the amount you need to take with you.

6. Cooking equipment

Unless you’re planning on eating in a pub before heading to your camp spot or opting for a cold meal, you’ll need to pack some form of stove for your trip.

The easiest bikepacking meals require only boiled water: dried noodles, pasta or dehydrated food, plus porridge, tea and coffee in the morning.

Just as with the sleeping kit, the best bikepacking stoves are both compact and lightweight, but do come at a price. If you’re heading out with friends, consider sharing one stove between a few of you and either cooking together or taking it in turns.

Bikepacking kit list

What you need for your trip will depend on the scope of your ride, however here are some of the essentials required for many bikepacking trips.

Clothing	Tools	Camping	Toiletries	Cooking gear	Accessories
Spare cycling kit	Spare inner tube(s)	Sleeping mat	Toothpaste	Stove	Lightweight lock
Waterproof jacket	Puncutre repair kit or tubeless plugs	Sleeping bag	Toothbrush	Gas canisters	Water bottles
Thermal jacket	Pump or CO2 inflator	Bivvy bag, tent, tarp or hammock	Sunscreen	Lighter	Front and rear lights
Casual clothing	Tyre levers		Insect repellent	Pen knife	Mobile phone
	Multi-tool		Lip balm	Mug, spork, foldable plate or bowl	Wallet and cash
	Quick link		Contact lenses	Food	Phone charger
				Bag for rubbish	Bike computer charger
				Water purification tabs or filter	Power pack
					First aid kit

How to pack for bikepacking

When you’re loading up your backpacking bags, it’s important to try to keep the weight low and central.

Heavy kit placed high on the bike or disproportionately over the rear wheel will affect your balance – something that’s particularly important if you’re heading off-road. It also makes any out-of-saddle efforts harder.

With the largest bikepacking bag typically being a saddle pack, that’s easier said than done, but consider where you may be able to place heavier items. For example, if your bike has additional bottle cage mounts underneath the down tube, you can use these for a tool keg.

A separate tool pack will also mean that your tools are close at hand if you have to fix a mechanical – preferable to having to rummage in the depths of a saddle pack or bar bag.

Ortlieb

Items of protective clothing such as waterproofs also need to be close at hand for when you need them, as do things such as sunscreen and snacks, so keep them at the top of bags or pack them in a frame bag.

A bento bag, strapped or mounted to the top of the top tube, or canister bag on the handlebar, can also help keep ride essentials at hand.

Kit that you’ll only need occasionally, or at the end of the day, can be packed further down in your bags, for when you’ve got more time to pull everything out and reorder it.

Also make sure that items such as a down jacket, spare clothing and sleeping kit, especially a sleeping bag, are somewhere waterproof; there’s nothing more miserable than a night trying to sleep in a cold wet bag.

It’s worth having a waterproof dry bag to be doubly sure they’ll stay dry, rather than relying just on the bike bag’s waterproofing.

Where to go bikepacking

Jordan Gibbons

You can go bikepacking pretty much anywhere you like, provided you can legally ride there, with your bike likely to be the limiting factor.

If you’re on a road bike, you’re going to have to stick to tarmac (or very light off-road trails, if you have wider tyres), but even if you’re on a gravel bike you might not want to go anywhere too extreme. Consider what’s manageable for your gearing and tyres. Remember, your bike will weigh considerably more and may not handle as well as it would when unloaded.

A mountain bike will open up a wider range of terrain but, once again, remember that the bike’s off-road capability – and your ability to manoeuvre the bike – may be affected by the extra weight placed on it.

In general, your average speed is likely to be lower than when riding unloaded, so don’t be too ambitious with your route planning.

Immediate Media

One way to avoid overextending yourself is to follow all or part of an established route and see how others have tackled it. There’s a growing number of established routes in the UK, such as the South Downs Way, West Kernow Way and King Alfred’s Way in the south, and the Way Of The Roses across northern England.

In Scotland, rights of access are much better than in England, so you can more easily wild camp on routes such as the Caledonia Way or the North Coast 500.

Further afield, routes such as the Tuscany Trail and the Traversée du Massif Vosgien take you well off the beaten track, while the USA has classics such as the Black Canyon Trail in Arizona or, if you’re feeling ambitious, the 3,000-mile off-road Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

How to plan a bikepacking trip

With your bike sorted and ready to go, here’s how you should plan your trip to get the most out of your venture out into the wild.

1. Plan your route

komoot

There are a huge number of established bikepacking routes across the world, which you could tap into for your first bikepacking ride. Or you could plot your own route closer to home.

Komoot is one of our favourite apps for planning bikepacking routes. You can use the planner to build a multi-day course, seek inspiration from user-generated highlights or browse Komoot’s ‘collections’, which contain pre-established routes.

Don’t feel you have to try anything too extreme on your first go – you can still learn a lot by travelling relatively short distances and taking on the challenges of carrying gear, setting up camp and cooking for yourself for the first time.

Double check your planned route to make sure it’s suitable for the type of bike you’re planning on riding, and the current weather conditions. For example, avoid river crossings after heavy rainfall and high ground if there’s any chance of thunderstorms.

If you’re not passing through many towns or villages along the route, make sure you take plenty of snacks and water with you. Alternatively, plan your resupply points in advance: you won’t want to go hungry.

2. Take a sleeping kit dry run

Felix Smith / Immediate Media

It’s a smart idea to do a dry-run of your kit setup at home before your trip, to make sure you understand how to use it.

New tent? Pitch it in the living room or garden for practice, and you can double check that you have all the pegs and poles too.

If you think you might encounter some rainfall overnight, a tarp can help keep the worst of the rain off your bivvy or hammock. Practise stringing up a tarp in your garden or local park to make sure you have everything you need and are familiar with how it works before you have to try setting it up in a downpour.

It’s worth checking local laws about wild camping if that’s something you intend to do, or alternatively book into a campsite or other place to stay. If you plan on staying in a bothy, always make sure you have a back-up plan, because when you arrive you could find that it’s shut or full.

3. Pack light (ish)

Katherine Moore

As you haul your laden bike up a rocky, steep hill, you’ll realise just why packing light is important. However, that comes with a massive caveat: you shouldn’t pack so light that you omit key pieces of kit that could save you in an emergency, or if the weather turns on you.

It’s always a good idea to carry a survival blanket, small first aid kit (and know how to use it effectively) and enough warm and waterproof layers, as well as spares and tools of course.

As you gain experience bikepacking, you’ll learn what kit works for you and what isn’t necessary.

Yes, you’ll probably be surprised by just how little you do need to get by, but it’s important to always remember that heading out into remote areas puts more onus on you to be self-sufficient and safe.

Pack light, but not too light.

4. Learn from the experience

Katherine Moore

Once you’ve got your first bikepacking trip under your belt, reflect on your experiences.

What worked and what didn’t? Which items were really useful and which didn’t you touch? What gear did your friends use and did it work for them? Which parts of the route were enjoyable, and what would you change for next time? How did that sleeping arrangement work for you?

Just like any sport or skill, practice helps you learn what works best for you and when.

5. Enjoy it!

Bicycle Factory

Heading out into the wild can be daunting, challenging and outright tough at times. Embrace everything that the elements throw at you, the views and the nature around you.

Consider inviting some more experienced pals along, who can help to show you the ropes, and be there for moral support if things get tough.

Stop to take pictures to remember your trip, draw sketches, savour local delicacies and watch the stars from the comfort of your sleeping bag.

Above all, bikepacking is supposed to be fun. Take your time, savour the experience and enjoy yourself!