My Bikepacking Camp System

As with anything there are so many ways to approach the camping topic. I am going to outline some general ideas and directions, but also cover what works for me and why. A lot of how I currently approach this comes from lightweight hiking or backpacking. Back in the late 2010's I used to be one of the gram counters, a "weight weeny" of the foot adventure world, that kind of guy. Naturally I still have heaps of lightweight camping gear from that era and fortunately (mostly for my wallet) a lot of it now finds its way onto the bike.

Over the years various people kept wondering why I was willing to put up with all the pain and discomfort of wild camping. The funny thing was that I never actually had any long term discomfort, because whatever technique or approach I tried and stuck with actually worked and contributed to my overall comfort. Obviously a lot of trial and error was involved, but I never went back to things that didn't work. And so I tried and still try to explain this to everyone - I am actually very comfortable when I am wild camping (unless I make a stupid planning error every now and then). I think that our perception of necessity, comfort and luxury plays a big part. As you get used to spending several days or even weeks outdoors, some things that would otherwise be considered a necessity may become a luxury. Other things may be neither a necessity nor luxury, but bring comfort. The trick is to learn to identify and ditch the luxuries, but not lose sight of comfort.

When it comes to multi-day long distance cycling having a camping system that is both efficient, lightweight and comfortable is crucial for the success of the entire operation. If you cannot recover for the day ahead it does not work. If you have to spend hours setting up and taking apart camp instead of moving it does not work. If you have to carry excessive load it does not work. Whatever the system it will be key to covering long distances day after day.

There are five basic elements to any camp. Depending on the time of year and/or you location some of them will be more important than the others. Also there are some inter-dependencies between them.

Outer shell

This is something that protects you from the elements such as rain, snow, wind and even the sun sometimes. It can be one of the following:

• the outside of a double wall tent
• the only wall of a single wall tent or a tarp
• a bivy bag, if that's your only shelter
• a bus stop, a bothy or some other man-made shelter

The outer shell is not really designed to keep you warm, although sometimes it may give such impression, especially in the winter. It has to be completely waterproof and well supported by some sort of internal or external structure, such as straight or arched poles (with the exception of most bivy bags) and usually some stakes. One interesting example of this is the fairly recent technology of tents with inflatable arches.

Inner shell

This is what protects you from the ground water, insects and outer shell condensation. It can be one of the following:

• the inside of a double wall tent
• certain parts of a 1.5 wall tent
• a bivy bag when used together with a dedicated outer shelter such as a tarp
• a ground sheet (does not protect from insects)

A typical double wall tent has an inner part that has a waterproof bathtub floor and mesh walls which protect you from ground water and insects respectively. The inevitable condensation happens on the inside of the outer tent and the job of the inner tent is to basically stop you from touching the wet outer walls. That's what is really meant by the many manufacturers claiming that double wall tents solve the condensation problem.

There are quite a lot of single wall integrated or 1.5 wall tents (as I call them) on the market these days. These models basically try to marry the double and single wall concept by having one outer shell, a bathtub floor that is attached directly to the outer walls and some sort of mesh wall panels.

Depending on conditions you may not need an inner shelter at all or at least have just the groundsheet, but in general such scenarios are quite rare. Therefore in most circumstances you will want to have both outer and inner shells in some form.

Ground insulation

This is what separates the body from the cold ground. Traditionally these have been foam mats, but given the superior weight, packing ability and comfort that the modern inflatables offer, the choice is clear. A somewhat exotic and niche solution is the hammock, but it comes with a lot of limitations so I personally never considered it.

Air insulation

This is what separates the body from the cold air, primarily during sleep. Simply put this is what keeps you warm. It is basically the sleeping bag that we all know, however it may come it a lot of variations. This in itself is a very very deep topic, but a very basic dimensional split of the sleeping bag universe is Bag VS Quilt and Down VS Synthetic.

Shelter

My preferred system has always been a 1 person pyramid style single wall tent combined with a bivy bag. Its lightweight, versatile and I have learned to work with its drawbacks. However, modern double wall tents have really improved on weight without too many structural sacrifices.

• Tent

Ground insulation

Ait insulation

Ear plugs were probably the most effective gear item in terms of improving my sleep quality. All those night goats, birds, cars, winds and thunder suddenly disappeared. Just get a good quality reusable silicone pair, they are really cheap.