Hey mudjician. I have not tried out the OMM rack yet so I can't speak to center of gravity issues. It sits very low though - probably an inch above my tire. I'm not too concerned even though I do frequent some steep and rocky terrain near the continental divide here in New Mexico. I have three bottle mounts on my frame with additional water on my back so there won't be a lot of weight back there - just sleeping tarp, stove and sleeping pad. My other rack excursion was with an older Blackburn and panniers in this same area. It was my first time bikepacking and I carried more than I needed back there with no probs. I just take it slow...

There is a nice thread on racks v. seatbags on mtbr.com also you might check out. My take away there was that sway was less of an issue on hard tails than fs bikes (which have more limited rack options anyway). Something to consider. Also, the website whileoutriding.com has excellent technical info. Cass uses racks front and back and has tons of experience. Poke around his site and see what he has to say on the matter too.

As to racks, for bikepacking it isn't often necessary to use panniers ( though I have and found it fine though kind of wider than I would like). I notice a lot of European riders use racks and just strap a drybag to the platform. That, a pack and stuff on the bars and you're good to go. In my estimation you can fit a bit more on top of the rack than most seat bags. I was debating between a seatbag and a rack and let price win out. Picked up a used old man mountain cold springs for $50. A little heavier than a seatbag perhaps but tough as hell and unlikely to be a big weight drag on any of my ventures. It's an impressive bit of engineering!

Great thread even though I am recovering from the stomach flu...

I don't think I saw any mention the Starbucks Via instant coffees. I am not a big fan of their coffee generally but that is the best lightweight camping coffee product ever!

A favorite backpacking bfast for me is granola with powdered milk in a double ziplock. You can eat right out of the bag if necessary. Just add water and shake. On a cold morning I use hot water in a cup and let it sit for a minute. Becomes a sort of oatmealish delight. My wife sometimes makes granola, otherwise my local coop lists the protein content of all the kinds they carry and I go for the gusto.

Peanut or sesame noodles precooked/assembled in a ziplock is also a good cold dinner for the first night out. Otherwise I typically take ramen as its so light.

Other than bars, some of my energy favs are dates with pnut butter and of course pnut butter honey and banana sandwiches. Gotta have that potassium!

Another one with a 3 in. Gerber serrated lock blade here as we'll as the dinky one on my leatherman. I find a good knife an essential tool. Plus, sometimes I like to whittle!

I've only bikepacked solo. It's just hard to find a lot of people close by and then to coordinate schedules makes it challenging. Still I have enjoyed myself immensely. I am in bear and mountain lion country a lot (the Cibola nat'l forest has the second highest pop. of black bears and mtn. lions) and I actually find the idea of it is scarier then when I am out there.

I am very cautious and have even cooked dinner on the trail and then continued on a while before camping. You probably know all this but always hang a bear bag at least 100 yards from where you camp. If you cook at the same site, do that 100 yards from both. Mountain lion encounters rarely result in attacks unless they have been habituated with a good deal of human contact. Still, that's some scary stuff!! I try to have a plan in mind if attacked and am vigilant while riding. Last summer I came across 6 different piles of mountain lion scat so they are out there. But again, when I am on the trail it doesn't feel so scary. I see way more deer and elk scat and I rarely see them either.

Poking through this site I get the impression that a lot of folks bikepack solo. It's not a crazy idea. A bit scary perhaps but that adds to the exhilaration to some extent. I do carry a high powered pellet pistol but its not going to do anything more than possibly scare something off (it's pretty loud). I keep meaning to get some bear spray but haven't yet.

Good luck and do report back. I love a good trip report!

Outrageously fantastic! 

Its all an adventure the way I see it. My trips rarely go according to plan. My first bikepacking trip saw me busting my butt up and down some serious elevation. I thought I was kicking a$$ when I finally pooped out and camped. Impressed with my accomplishment I consulted the computer and discovered I had traveled a mere 5 miles! Now my load is lighter and my technique better. But I still had a blast camping at the continental divide!

Great report! Two summers ago we rented a little place right near that dog beach in Ocean Beach. It was lovely and I ran that hike/bike trail several times (going out and back, its great to just throw your shoes off and jump right in the water). The morning we left, we went for one last beach visit and saw dolphins swimming off the coast. So cool! Thinking of going back this summer with my brother and our families. Would involve getting out for an overnighter, so this is great inspiration. Thanks! 

I have not bikepacked in the winter, but done a good amount of backpacking. I have a North Face Superlight which is good to 0 degrees and I love it (I have had it for almost 30 years!). But for most warmer weather trips I use a 45 degree bag. Big gap between the two so I have been looking at the SOL Escape Bivvy as a possibility for cutting the difference on trips where it might dip to right around freezing. I bikepacked in October and just had the lighter bag with a lot of clothes on, but I was still too chilly to be comfortable when it got down a bit below 32 F. I was lucky I had an emergency blanket with me, but I did get very clammy and wet through the night as all my body moisture condensed inside the blanket.

The Escape Bivvy is waterproof and breathable, supposedly, so it seemed to me like the perfect compliment to a light bag but maybe to enhance the warmth of a heavier bag for winter as well? It also reflects heat back at you, though not as much as the straight up emergency blankets. Somewhere I read that it increases your cold factor by about 10 degrees (but as was pointed out, compaction of down should also be factored if you are stuffing one inside of this).

I camp just with a tarp so I like the idea of something waterproof in case of blowing rain. I don't think I could just sleep in it, though, with no additional weather protection (even though its a bivvy). Cost ranges from about $35 (on ebay) to $50 (through backpacking websites). It also packs very small and in the heat of the summer could be used alone.

Anyone used the SOL Escape Bivvy? Experiences and opinions?

When I ride in cold weather, I will sometimes cut off the corners of plastic shopping bags and slip them over my toes when I put the shoes on. Acts as a windbreaker and reflects a good deal of heat back to my toes. I imagine a "dirtbag" foot warmer strategy could be to have plastic shopping bags with you (they are small and light) and maybe slip them on in between sock layers when in camp (would be clammy and uncomfortable right on your skin). Noisy, but I would imagine pretty effective. And free (except whatever you bought that came in the bags...)

I have been intrigued by the Extrawheel as well and wondered how it fairs on steeper and more challenging terrain. Anyone have experience with it?

Only 56 pounds (not including other gear like cookstuff, food, water, bag, clothing, etc.) Yet, strangely compelling...

what is this chemical to warm up hands and feet? i was thinking maybe to make some kind of extract from chilly peppers. Coz they have substance that makes blood circulate better around body. Now I usually ingest them, makes me warm, but not my feet I wonder should i make alcohol or oil based extract. That would be cool DIY solution to my problem

Calcium chloride and water will generate heat (exothermic reaction) You can buy it as ice melt pellets at the hardware store. A simple trick is to put water in a smaller ziplock inside a larger ziplock with the pellets. Then you smash the bag and break open the smaller water bag to start the reaction. I've never tried it, only read about it. There are more complicated ways to do it but this sounded like the simplest. It's a cool idea so I hope someone tries it...

Love the DIY kitchen wahday, am I looking at the wind screen or stove under the pot?
I ended up ordering a trangia stove since on my last outing I stepped on my pop can stove and smashed it beyond repair.
I'll report back once I run the new stove thru it's paces.

What you see in the picture is a coffee can cut down to serve as a windscreen and pot stand. The stove sits inside that and isn't visible. Its just the basic two beer can bottoms fitted together with fiberglass insulation inside and holes poked in the center divot and around the edge. For transport, it all fits inside the black pot with the fuel (which I carry in a contact lens solution bottle) and pot holder. The lexan cup and utensils are the only items that don't fit in the pot.

The other nice element of the coffee can windscreen/pot stand is that you can squirt fuel in the bottom and light easily. I find this gets the stove up to operating temp a bit quicker.

FWIW, I cleared away those grasses after I took this pic. Every time I look at it I think "that idiot's going to burn the damn forest down!!"

Hmmm....was thinking more about this. I don't know how many of you are in or close to western Montana, but I would be willing to help set up an event if people are interested. Maybe a multi-day loop or point to point in the Montana Idaho area. Anybody else interested?

You might try posting in the Trip Planning/Need a Partner thread if you are really wanting to generate interest. That's a little too far afield for me, but a cool idea.

I see the OP made his decision, but thought I would chime in anyways as others may be having the same questions.

If I were getting a bike just for bikepacking, I would get a totally rigid ride. I think the ease of maintenance and low risk of being left in some remote area with a technical problem makes it worth it. Indeed,  I used to have one, but can’t really afford to have one ride just for bikepacking. And since the bulk of my regular riding is not overnight,  I sold the rigid ride and got a bike with a suspension fork. I actually really love it and have been outfitting it for bikepacking anyway (though not exclusively). It really performs and is a lot more forgiving.

I am not a racer, just a recreational bikepacker, so I don’t go all that fast when  loaded up anyway. That alone can make for a less jarring experience, plodding along like a turtle over rough terrain. To help matters, I had a 2.4 on the front and ran both tires as low as I could get away with tubes and it was a pretty pleasant ride. Again, if I could afford to have as many bikes as I wanted, I would get a rock solid rigid steel bike for bikepacking. But I can’t, so the hardtail w/suspension fork is my way of cutting the difference.

Good luck with the spearfish!

I am fortunate to be able to day ride all year long. If its colder than 20 degrees, I will strongly consider not riding, but that doesn't happen all that often and even if it is that cold in the morning, it warms up fairly quickly. I actually really enjoy biking in the cold. Something about the crispness of the air and the increased visibility. Maybe also that few others are out. Last weekend I got out for a good 3 hours. It was 30 when I headed out at 6:30am and in the 40s when I returned. Loved it.

I am a runner too, and I like doing that in cold weather as well. I do get cold weather asthma sometimes, but have medication to manage it. So, cold weather doesn't slow me down much beyond not being able to extended excursions very easily.

[Greenwater]

If you'd like to be able to save unburned alcohol (heet) and have more control over the flame the Trangia-Alcohol stove has a lid with gasket.
You just blow out the flame and install the lid. It also has a simmer ring for less flame.
I've read the military as adopted this stove. No sure if their model is different.
I believe bmike-vt is using one in his last picture. However it's hidden by a wind screen. I recognize the simmer ring and lid.

http://www.amazon.com/Liberty-Mountain-LIB327550-Trangia-Alcohol/dp/B000N8L90Y

I use my Mini Bull Design MiniAtomic stove 3-5 times a week and with that kind of usage you can guess on the fuel pretty close.

Thanks for the tip! The price on that is pretty good, I have to admit. I generally shy away from buying new gear if I have something I already own that I can use (see the Dirtbag thread), but $15 won't break the bank and I like the idea of being able to reuse unspent fuel already in the stove.

My rinky dink stove from two beer cans nestled inside a coffee can that serves as the stand and windscreen. Works great and cost me nothing but delicious beer and coffee.


For water, I don't have anything as stealthy as Greenwater (very cool setup!). Again, I use what I already own from backpacking and try not to get sucked into buying additional gear. I have a steripen which is very effective if you have clear water (I have mainly used it travelling abroad). I also have a Pur hand pump filter that's a it more bulky but very effective. But it gets the particulates out. I usually run the steripen on the filtered water for good measure, but its probably not necessary. The reality, though, is that I have only bikepacked in high desert areas where there is little or no access to surface water so mostly I am just carrying what I need.

I do not own a GPS, so, yes, I use a map and compass. My true heavy hitting orienteering skills are a little rusty, but mostly I am not in overland situations with no trail. Unexpected trail intersections or that sinking suspicion you are not going in the right direction merits pulling out the compass and map and I carry the compass in an easy to access place just to see my general direction and try and locate myself on the  map from time to time. But be careful - you need to hold it away from your bike or it will give an inaccurate reading!

I don't race, though, so I have not done it in that context.

I love my down booties! I have never, ever put anything warmer on my feet.