You know I checked into the bivvi idea. I really love that idea. But I kept reading where  bivies were horrible for condensation and stuff like that. Can you elaborate? I would love to try a bivy but I don't know enough about them.

Bivvy bags are only a problem for condensation if:

* You breathe into the bag. - You can fix this by breathing outside the bag. I sinch my bag opening down very small, leaving just enough space for nose and mouth
* You have a really useless bag - Buy a better bag - Alpkit hunka is very affordable and works well.
* The temperature inside the bag is the same as outside the bag - Nothing will breath in this situation and you'd have condensation no matter what you do.
* it's below -18°C on a goretex bag - Probably not an issue for most people

Apart from these situations, bivvi bags breathe great, work great and are a joy to use. After you've spent a night on a hill, falling asleep to the persied meteor shower across the milky way above you, and you'll never want to go back to a tent ever again.

J

My tarp weighs less than 1 lb

Mine weighs 198g...

The main thing I notice about your pitch is how much slack there is in the fabric. That's gonna flap like mad when it gets windy which will drive you nuts. You want a couple of tie out loops along the long edges so you can pin it down in the wind.

The other issue I notice is it doesn't look tall enough to sit up under. Sure you can do the crawl in crawl out approach, but being able to sit up under your tarp and do things out of the rain is really useful. It's rare that I'll pitch a tarp in such a way that I can't sit up under it (basically *REALLY* strong winds).

J

I was sorting through my kit today in early preparation for a 10 day bikepacking trip and I realised that I had managed to crush some what my Trail Designs 12-10 stove. The cost of replacement is seriously expensive (postage) so I have decided to look at my options. Interested to hear what we all use bikepacking.

My preliminary thoughts are:

If I stick with the alcohol stove are there other good options for a stove?  Would say the Evernew EB-254 be a serious contender putting aside its weight of 36 g (a gain of 20 grams)? Price wise it is around the same to me as the 12-10.

The evernew stove is incredibly thirsty. I have one of these, and it's been quite a disappointment. I swapped for a Zelph starlite stove for when I use meths. It uses well under 50% of the fuel of the evernew for the same amount of boil.

Looking at my fuel usage, stove, calder cone kit etc my alcohol system weight is coming in at around 900 to 1,000 grams for the 10 days.

Alternatively I can go with a gas canister system and assuming I can use two 110 g canisters over the ride I am looking at 523 grams plus the weight of the stove. Even if I was super conservative and went with three canisters I would be at sub 750 grams so still in front. It is not likely I can get new canisters on the ride and this is pretty normal for me hence it is one of the reasons I generally go alcohol as I can source that easily.

I would likely use 110g canisters due to the very limited packing options on the bike but if I can pack a 230 g canister I would be saving more weight. Will not know until I get to the packing stage.

Anyway if I go the gas canister route, what are the best in terms of pack size and lightest weight stoves today? Any suggestions?

I found a Fire Maple Hornet FMS-300T which comes in at 44g and looks like it packs down really small. Serious contender?  Any other options worth considering?

The MSR micro rocket seems to be the winner these days. It's certainly on my list, just waiting for pay day.


Incidentally I really like the MSR fuel canisters, they have a nice gauge on the side. Stick it in some water, and based on where it floats, you can see how much fuel you've got left. Very very useful.

At the end of the day I may setup myself up to go either alcohol or gas depending on the trip so option to thoughts on both or either option.

Oh, no Trangia suggestions thanks

Lots of really interesting replies here. Thanks!

For those of you who didn't state in your reply. Where do you carry your cooking setup? Does a ~4" diameter pot fit in a typical frame bag on a non fat bike?

Cheers

J

What cooking setup do people use on their bike packing trips, and where do you pack them on the bike? Looking at a lot of the cook pots on the market, the small solo ones seem to be about 125mm/5" on all measurements. Is that something that fits in a frame bag on a non fat bike, or is that wide enough to hit your feet? What do you use?

J

I'm trying to find a pair of non goretex spd boots. There's loads on the market with membranes, but it seems that unless you want something made mostly of mesh, very little I can find without goretex. Does anyone know of or have some non-goretex spd boots?

Thanks

J

Please excuse the thread necromancy.

I had a word with hope recently about the grease they use on their parts, and they claim it's rated to -50°C. I think this means they are effectively winter ready.

J