• General health and hygiene
• Prevent chafing
• When you feel good, you hike/bike good
• You’re more likely to be invited to stay at someone’s house, or to a meal

In this article, we’re only focusing on keeping yourself and your clothes clean. Cleaning other gear, especially a bike, is a large enough topic for another article.

Washing Yourself

Showers, especially with hot water, can be hard to come by, depending on where you’re going. Without leaving the trail, a thru-hike on the AT, PCT, or CDT might result in an amount of showers you could count on one hand, and none of them would be hot. Obviously, getting a hotel room or staying at a hostel solves this problem, but we’re going to focus instead on what to do when showers aren’t an option.

Rather than carrying bar soap, body wash, and/or shampoo, your best option is camp soap. Camp soap is an all-purpose liquid soap that can be used to wash yourself, your hair, clothes, dishes, and can even be used as toothpaste if necessary. As a result, you only need to carry one bottle for cleaning literally anything, and since it’s concentrated, the bottle can be rather small. 100 mL (3-4 oz) can last over a month.

Most camp soaps are non-toxic and biodegradable, so you don’t have to worry about swallowing a small amount, nor spilling it on the ground. Some camp soaps are scented, which sounds nice, but it’s best to get an unscented soap in the interest of not attracting any animals. An odor-free camp is a critter-free camp.

Along with camp soap, the other thing you’ll want to bring is a loofah. It might sound like a foppish thing to bring, but a loofah works well for scrubbing off grit and dead skin, works equally well for scrubbing your bowl or scraping residue off your gear, weighs almost nothing, and takes up virtually no space when compressed. And they’re cheap.

Once you’ve got a loofah and some soap, all you need is some water and perhaps some privacy. Whether you’re using a sink, a hose, or a creek, the process is essentially the same: Strip down as much as you’re comfortable, get your loofah wet, put a few drops of soap on it, and start scrubbing!

If you’re lucky enough to find a source of water that’s calm and deep enough for a swim, taking a dip will work just as well. Also, if you don’t feel like going to the trouble of getting out a loofah and some soap, a simple rinse-off will do most of the job.

While you might be tempted to wait until the end of the day’s hike/ride to get clean, it’s often better to wash up in mid-afternoon, at the hottest time of day. Obviously, you’ll get a little dirty again by the time you set up camp in the evening, but the goal is only to have you clean enough at the end of the day, not to get you ready for a date. In mid-afternoon, not only will the water feel great (or at least not-as-bad if the water’s cold), but you’ll dry off quicker. Speaking of which, it’s a good idea to wash your clothes at the same time, which leads to…

Laundry

As rare as showers are, opportunities to use a washing machine are even more sparse.

Much like bathing, laundry is best done mid-afternoon, mostly for the same reasons - your clothes will dry off faster, and if you’re putting the same clothes back on, you won’t mind the fact that they’re damp. In hot areas, putting on a wet shirt in mid-afternoon is a good way to beat the heat!

You don’t necessarily need to “wash” your clothes to get them clean - a simple rinse ‘n wring goes a long way, and it’s something you can (and should) do on a daily basis. To go the extra mile, put a few drops of camp soap on your clothes once you’ve gotten them wet, vigorously rub them against each other, then rinse out the soap and wring them dry.

It’s a good idea to change clothes when you do your laundry. For example, if you have two pairs of socks and underwear, switch to the pairs you weren’t wearing after you clean the pairs you were wearing. Hang the old pairs from the straps on the outside of your pack/panniers, and they’ll be dry by the time you set up camp in the evening. Then save them for later and you’ll have clean, dry clothes to put on after you do laundry again tomorrow.

There’s a correct answer, and I didn’t know it. You either answer “I don’t know,” you give the correct answer, or you’re lying. Math is the only academic subject that can’t be debated, and out of respect for that, I’ve never been OK with making up an answer.

So I finally decided to take the time and figure out how much it costs to do a summer adventure. In this article, we’ll look at how much I spent on a two-month, 5,726 km bike tour in 2017.

For the most part, your cost breaks down into three categories: Gear, Travel, and Daily Expenses.

If you use the same gear for multiple trips, it’s hard to put a figure on how much any one trip’s gear cost. For many people, a long distance bike tour is once-in-a-lifetime, and for people like myself, the same tent can be used ten summers in row. In this breakdown, we’ll look at how much gear would cost if only used once, and we’ll also see how much my gear has cost on a per-trip basis, given how many times it’s been used (and counting!)

Travel costs are mostly straightforward - how much did you spend to get there and back? Usually this is simply a pair of one-way flights, possibly along with a shuttle ride or two.

More than any other category, daily expenses can vary a lot. Some people will stay in hotels at every opportunity, while others can go months without paying for lodging. Some will spend $20 per meal, multiple times per day, while others are OK with cold oatmeal and a spoonful of peanut butter on a daily basis. While gear and travel expenses can only be somewhat mitigated, daily expenses are the one category that’s truly up to you.

Gear

Bike Total - $7,000
Bike Per Use (3) - $2,333

These are inexact figures, since I’m including not only the cost of the bike ($5,200), but also a ballpark figure for replacement parts and labor during its lifetime. It’s only been on two tours so far, but since that totals over 30,000 km, and it’s my daily commuter, and it’s my go-to just-for-fun bike, we’ll count that as three total “uses”.

Borrowing a phrase from backpacking, “Big Three” refers to your tent, sleep system, and backpack, or in this case, panniers.

I’ve had my sleeping bag for over a decade, and my tent for nearly as long, and they’re still holding up! They’re some of the most expensive things you’ll need to buy, but investing in a quality tent and sleeping bag won’t cost much, per use, in the long run.

Good panniers can cost a lot, but like my sleeping bag, I’ve had my rear panniers for over a decade. While clearly beat up, they’re still working fine, and I also use them for commuting and groceries.

Clothing Total - $0

For this tour, I spent literally $0 on clothing. Everything I used was something I already had for general cycling or everyday use.

Increasingly, I gravitate towards non-cycling-specific clothing that works equally well both on and off the bike. For example, a running shirt instead of a cycling jersey. 

Again, I’m not counting items I already had, like tire levers or a toothbrush.

Gear Total - $8,276

Gear Per Use - $2,628

In this case, the bike was easily the largest expense, followed by the “big three”.

The costs here can vary a lot. For one thing, you could have nearly as good an experience on a bike that costs a fraction as much, or you might spend $0 on your bike and simply use the one you already have. Someone who’s not already an avid cyclist would have a lot more up-front costs compared to someone who already has plenty of cycling gear on hand.

It’s worth pointing out that the “Per Use” cost is based on how many times I’ve used each item so far - a lot of this gear still has life left in it. While I tend to go on more adventures than many people, some of the figures will come down even more as they get used again and again. As a result, most of the per use figures shown here are decent ballpark estimates for most people.

Travel - $308

For this tour, I only had to buy a plane ticket to the start of the tour, then finished by riding home. If you need to fly in both directions, obviously it’ll cost more.

Daily Expenses - $197

As mentioned before, this can vary a lot. I don’t eat at restaurants nearly as much as others, nor do I stay in hotels often. About half of my daily expenses were for food, and about half of the rest was for lodging/camping fees.

That said, you’d have to spend money on food whether you went touring or not, so should your food expenses count at all?

Total Cost - $8,781

Per Use Cost - $3,133

Since these figures are based on a sample size of one, the margin of error is large. In particular, my numbers for travel and daily expenses are probably lower than most people’s, and I already had a lot of gear on hand, but I also spent much more on the bike than most would.

Gear makes up the overwhelming majority of the cost of touring. If you already have a lot of the necessary gear, or if bike touring is the kind of thing you’ll do more than once, the effective cost drops dramatically - more than $5,000 in this case.

When buying your gear, consider the following: Is this something you’d also use in everyday life? Does your gear need to hold up for multiple tours, or does it only need to barely make it to the end? Depending on the answers, the good stuff is a smart investment and will cost less in the long run.

To properly answer this question, you must either respond with an accurate figure or else say, “I don’t know.” Any other response is a lie. Math is the only academic subject that can’t be debated, and out of respect for that, I’ve never been OK with making up an answer.

I finally decided to take the time and figure out how much it costs to do a thru-hike. In this article, we’re specifically looking at my PCT LASH (Long-Ass Section Hike) in 2018.

For the most part, cost breaks down into three categories: Gear, Travel, and Daily Expenses.

If you use the same gear for multiple trips, it’s hard to put a figure on the cost of gear for any one trip. For many people, a thru-hike is once-in-a-lifetime, and for people like myself, the same tent can be used ten summers in row. We’ll look at how much gear would cost if only used once, and we’ll also see how much my gear has cost on a per-trip basis, given how many times it’s been used (and counting!)

Travel costs are mostly straightforward - how much did you spend to get there and back? Usually this is simply a pair of one-way flights, possibly along with a shuttle ride or two.

More than any other category, daily expenses can vary a lot. Some people will stay in hotels at every opportunity, while others can go months without paying for lodging. Some will spend $20 per meal, multiple times per day, while others are OK with cold oatmeal and a spoonful of peanut butter, in between whatever they find for free in the hiker box. While gear and travel expenses can only be somewhat mitigated, daily expenses are the one category that’s truly up to you.

Gear

I’ve had my sleeping bag for over a decade, and my tent for nearly as long, and they’re still holding up! They’re some of the most expensive things you’ll need to buy, but investing in a quality tent and sleeping bag won’t cost much in the long run.

A quality backpack should last just as long, but mine has only gotten so much use, since a lot of my summer trips are on a bicycle.

A lot of the clothing you’ll use is something you already have - chances are you own a pair of gym shorts that’ll work just fine for hiking. For this purpose, I’m only counting clothing purchased specifically for hiking/touring, compared to whatever clothing I already had or would’ve bought anyway, whether that be workout clothes or everyday use.

Also, I only hiked half of the PCT, so I’m pretending I bought twice as many shoes.

Again, I’m not counting items I already had (like a toothbrush).

Gear Total - $1,782

Gear Per Use - $649

By far, the biggest expense is the “Big Three”, but on a per-use basis, that cost comes down considerably. A lot of clothing and miscellaneous gear can be made up of stuff most people would already own.

It’s worth pointing out that the “Per Use” cost is based on how many times I’ve used each item so far - a lot of this gear still has a lot of life left in it. While I tend to go on more adventures than many people, some of the figures will come down even more. Therefore, the Per Use figures shown here are decent ballpark estimates for most people.

Plane tickets - $210
Train ticket - $45

This one’s pretty straightforward. I rarely left the trail, and was able to hitchhike every time I did. In the end, my travel costs only came down to getting to and from the trail, which boiled down to two one-way plane tickets (both of which were surprisingly cheap) and one one-way train ticket.

Some might not be as lucky and need to pay for a private shuttle on either end of the trail, or might pay for a ride to leave the trail once or twice. Compared to my personal cost, it would be wise to round up.

Since I only hiked half of the PCT, this is double the figure actually spent.

As mentioned before, this can vary a lot. I’m notorious for scavenging from hiker boxes (part of my trail name, Coyote), and I took advantage of Trail Magic at every opportunity. On top of that, I don’t eat at restaurants nearly as much as others, and I’m content to stick to basics like oatmeal, tortillas, and peanut butter. Sometimes it felt like everyone else was hiking first class and I was the only one hiking coach.

That said, you’d have to spend money on food whether you went hiking or not, so should your food expenses count at all?

Total Cost - $2,765

Per Use Cost - $1,632

Since these figures are based on a sample size of one, the margin of error is large. In particular, my numbers for travel and daily expense are probably lower than most people’s, so when estimating your own cost, it would be wise to round up.

If a thru-hike is the kind of thing you’d do more than once, your per use cost drops dramatically - more than $1,000 in this case. When buying your gear, consider that. Does your gear need to hold up for multiple adventures, or does it need to just barely make it to the end of the trail? Depending on the answer, the good stuff is a smart investment and will cost less in the long run.

Power Bank

A power bank is essentially a large battery, into which you can plug almost anything and charge it up. These will range in size from pack of gum to large novel, but most will be about the size of a deck of cards. Using them is simple - you plug them into an outlet to charge the bank, and then plug your electronics into the bank to move the charge from the bank to your device.

The downside is you need access to an outlet to charge your power bank, meaning you can’t recharge it on the trail. However, by storing a ton of charge, you can go long periods of time between recharges. A typical power bank, the size of a deck of cards, will hold enough charge to fully recharge most smartphones 2-3 times. Depending how much you use your phone, and in what capacity, you could easily go a week or more between recharges, by which time you’ll likely visit town again.

Power banks take a while to charge. If your phone takes one hour to charge, and your power bank has enough capacity to recharge your phone three times, your power bank will take roughly three hours to charge. This means you can’t adequately top off your power bank while you resupply on groceries or have a quick meal at a cafe. You’ll need to stay in town for a while.

Typical Weight: ~150-425 g (~5-15 oz)

Pros:

• Simple
• Reliable
• Lightweight
• Can hold a week’s use between recharges

Cons:

• Can only recharge in town
• Requires several hours in town per charge

Solar Panel

A solar panel is typically used in conjunction with a power bank - instead of charging your devices directly, the idea is to use the solar panel to charge a power bank, into which you’ll plug your devices. This is in part because solar panels generate varying amounts of wattage. Plugging electronics directly into a solar panel might not charge them at all, and at worst, could permanently damage them.

By carrying both a solar panel and a power bank, you’re increasing your pack weight, and it’s also “one more thing”. You’ll need to find a feasible way to attach the panel to the top of your pack. Portable solar panels don’t generate a lot of power, so it’ll take twice as long to receive the same amount of charge as you’d get from an outlet, and that’s on a sunny day. Solar panels don’t generate nearly enough charge on cloudy days, nor in shaded areas (like the Appalachian Trail).

Typical Weight: ~300-600 g (~11-21 oz), along with weight of power bank

Pros:

• Works on the trail

Cons:

• Can be difficult to attach to pack
• Charges slowly
• Doesn’t work on cloudy days or in shade

Dynamo Hub

If you’re bike touring, a dynamo hub is an option. In short, your front hub works as a turbine, converting some of your kinetic energy into electricity. Most often, this will be wired to a USB port somewhere on your bike, or directly to your bike’s lights, or possibly both. Chances are you’ll still want to use a power bank in conjunction with a dynamo, especially if you have multiple devices that need to be kept charged.

The great thing about dynamo hubs is they work whenever you’re riding (or at least whenever you’re riding > 15 km/h). The more you ride, the more you charge! Also, the power output is essentially the same as you’ll get from most USB adapters plugged into an outlet.

You might recall energy can’t be created out of nothing - it has to come from somewhere. The energy being output from the USB is your energy, meaning the hub is actively slowing you down. This power decrease is only 5-10 Watts, which isn’t enough to make you shift down a gear, but it can still be noticeable. Also, compared to most hubs, a dynamo will still rob you of 1-2 Watts even when you’re not charging anything.

One of the problems with dynamo hubs is they only work when you’re riding fast enough. If your speed drops below ~15 km/h (~10 mph), you won’t be generating enough power, and the current will cut off until you raise your speed. At first, this might not sound like a problem; 15 km/h is typically an easy cruising speed to maintain. However, if your dynamo is directly plugged into a phone, and you’re riding in a hilly area, your phone’s screen will light up every time your speed crosses the threshold in either direction. It’s possible for this phenomenon to drain your battery more than it charges!

In addition, a dynamo recharge system isn’t particularly rugged and reliable. The wires often fray, the connection points corrode, and it might not be a good idea to charge your devices in the rain. When you add up their unreliability, added weight, added pedaling resistance, and high cost, they’re probably not worth it.

That said, there’s a market for it. For example, if you’re racing the Trans-Am or Great Divide routes, you won’t have hours to spend in town recharging your devices. If time is of the essence, a dynamo might be a good option.

Typical Weight: ~400-700 g (14-25 oz) increase, including wires and USB port, compared to a conventional front hub

Pros:

• Works on the trail
• Works (almost) whenever you’re riding
• Charges faster than a solar panel

Cons:

• Heavy
• Added pedaling resistance
• Doesn’t work at low speeds
• Delicate parts
• Expensive!

Gimmicks

Don’t buy these.

Every so often, you’ll see a product on Kickstarter, or something similar, purporting to charge your phone with a propeller or a stress ball or something. A hand crank will charge your phone about as fast as an outlet - roughly 1% per minute - and you’ll work up a sweat in the process. Unless turning your wrist back-and-forth for two hours each day sounds like your idea of a good time, save your money.

Our Recommendation

All of these setups have their pros and cons, so the "best" setup depends on your needs.

For most people, relying on a power bank alone will be sufficient to your needs, especially if the only device you're carrying is your phone. Again, most power banks can fully recharge a phone 2-3 times, if not more, which means you'll go 7-10 days between recharges if you usually keep your phone in airplane mode. In that amount of time, you'll probably have access to an outlet for at least a few hours.

Use a solar panel if you'll be in a sunny area, with little shade, and you don't plan to be in town for more than 2-3 hours/week.

Use a dynamo hub if you're in some kind of bicycle race and can't afford the time to hold still.

Freeze-Dried Meals

Let’s start with the more popular option. Freeze-dried meals contain, as the name implies, food that’s been freeze-dried and can be stored for long periods of time, then reconstituted later. Mountain House and Backpacker’s Pantry are two popular brands, each offering 30-40 different meals. Offerings vary greatly, from breakfast to dessert, but a typical meal might be something like Chicken Noodle Casserole or Beef Stroganoff with Mushrooms.

On the trail, freeze-dried meals are some of the closest things you’ll get to “real” food, as they include things that are hard to carry and keep from spoiling, like meat and vegetables. Granted, since everything is freeze-dried, you can’t expect the food to taste particularly fresh, but it’s an improvement over eating a peanut butter-covered bagel for dinner (again!).

For the most part, freeze-dried meals don’t necessarily require heat to reconstitute; a good cold soak will do. However, most of them are meant to be eaten hot, which means it’s best to carry a stove and pot if you want to fully enjoy them.

Freeze-dried meals typically contain around 1,200 calories per package, so depending on your approach to hiking/biking, you’ll typically need to eat about three packaged meals in order to replace calories lost throughout the day. Few hikers/bikers do this, however; it’s more common to eat a freeze-dried meal only once per day and find something else to eat for other meals and snacks.

The contents of a freeze-dried meal are very calorie-dense, since there’s literally no moisture in the product. However, the packaging can cause freeze-dried meals to take up a lot of space in your pack. The package often contains a fair amount of air, and each meal is fairly large in and of itself, meaning packing several meals is less like filling a bucket with sand and more like playing Tetris. There’s inevitably going to be some wasted space in your pack, but at least it’ll be lightweight.

MREs

MREs are fairly similar to freeze-dried meals in that they’re meant to recreate “real” food in the field, they’re calorie-dense, and they have a long shelf life.

MREs often contain a self-heating device, which reacts to ordinary water and heats your food. No stove needed! The food in MREs is often dry, but is not freeze-dried, and as a result, you should be able to eat everything in an MRE without adding any water (though without a glass of water, you’ll have trouble choking down some parts of it).

An MRE typically contains both an “entree” and a few sides/desserts. A typical MRE might contain a pouch of tuna with noodles (for example), along with a cracker, cheese spread or peanut butter, instant coffee or tea, and a small pack of chocolate.

Like freeze-dried meals, a typical MRE would contain roughly 1,200 calories, which again means three MREs per day would roughly satisfy the energy of many hikers/bikers, depending on how much they hike/bike per day.

MREs are significantly larger in volume than most freeze-dried meals and weigh 3-4 times as much, meaning they’re more difficult to pack. Relying on MREs as an everyday staple for a long-distance hike/bike trip is almost entirely unfeasible. That said, they do their job well and could serve as an exciting treat you can take with you on the trail.

The biggest disadvantage to MREs is availability - outside of military surplus stores, they’re almost impossible to find in-person. If you want to have an MRE on the trail, you’ll probably have to order them online ahead of time, then either pack them from the beginning or mail them to yourself.

Similarities

• ~1,200 calories each
• Long shelf life
• Somewhat difficult to pack

Differences

• MREs heat themselves; Freeze-dried meals “require” a stove (if you want it warm)
• MREs are larger and heavier
• Freeze-dried meals are much easier to find

Pros

• “Real” food on the trail!
• Cover multiple food groups
• Lots of calories in one meal

Cons

• Expensive! Typically $10-$12 each, as much as a hot meal in town
• Take up lots of space, can weigh a lot
• High in sodium, often not as healthy as they sound

A lot of emphasis is, somewhat rightly, put on weight. A lighter load is easier to push, especially uphill, when the going is toughest. However, volume is an underrated factor when it comes to gear. As it turns out, aerodynamics is a bigger factor than weight (CyclingAbout has done a few excellent studies on this). Choosing items that are smaller in volume allows you to use a smaller, sleeker cargo setup, shrinking your aerodynamic profile. If, like most bikepackers, you don’t use racks or panniers, not only do you benefit from improved aerodynamics, but you save a significant amount of weight. Racks and panniers are among the heaviest things cyclists carry.

While having the most high-tech ultralight gear is nice, reducing the number of things you bring will have an even greater effect than reducing the weight of each item. On top of the weight savings, less stuff also means less volume, which in addition to the benefits listed above, makes it easier to pack up in the morning or to find things in your packs during the day.

This list is specifically for bikepacking. By our definition, that means you’re staying on dirt roads or trails most of the time, riding a flat bar mountain bike, and using neither racks nor panniers. If you’re looking for a packing list for bike touring, we’ve written a similar packing list for that.

Every adventure (and adventurer) is different, so this list may not be perfect for you or where you’re going. For the purpose of this list, we’re assuming temperatures will stay between 0-38 °C (32-100 °F).

Cargo Setup

• Seat pack
• Full frame bag
• Handlebar roll
• Feed bags (2x)
• Stem bag
• Cyclewerks double bottle cage adapter

This setup should give you a cargo capacity of roughly 40 L, depending on what bags you use. That’s not much; space will be at a premium. There aren’t many more places it’s even possible to mount another bag, though. Bikepacking is an exercise in minimalism.

If you’re looking to increase your cargo capacity, one popular option is to use hose clamps (or something similar) to mount extra-large cages onto your fork, then strap dry bags onto them. While this can increase your capacity by 5-10 L, putting that much weight on the sides of your fork will affect the steering, and almost every option for this setup is expensive compared to how much extra space you get.

It’s rare we recommend a specific brand or product, but the Cyclewerks double bottle cage adapter appears to have no peers, and it fills a need. By using it, you can carry two water bottles on a standard bottle cage mount while using a frame bag. If you use extra large bottle cages, those which can hold a 1 L bottle, you can either carry an extra 2+ L of water or simply mount a large canister in each holder. A 28 oz jar of peanut butter works well!

Most feed bags are the perfect size to hold a Nalgene bottle, and they do an excellent job keeping your water cool.

Camping

• 30 °F quilt/sleeping bag
• Inflatable sleeping pad
• 1-person tent

We could write an entire article on quilts vs. sleeping bags, but for now, suffice to say quilts do 90% of what a sleeping bag can, while being lighter and more versatile in warm weather.

You might consider a sleeping bag liner, which will add roughly another 10 F to your sleeping bag. A bag that's 10 degrees warmer will add less weight than a liner, but the ability to layer your sleep system is well worth an extra ounce or two. After all, it’s not going to be below freezing every night.

Even if you’re going somewhere that gets below freezing, you might not want a sleeping bag that’s rated any lower. Even the warmest sleeping bag won’t keep you warm while you’re taking down your tent in the morning. Instead of sleeping in a thicker bag, sleep in thicker clothes, because they keep working even after you get out of the bag.

Inflatable sleeping pads are superior in almost every way, except for price and durability. Foam pads are much cheaper, weigh about the same (sometimes less!), and can’t possibly spring a leak. The downside is they’re less comfortable, not as warm, and they take up a lot of space. If you’re going minimalist, you won’t have room.

The description “2-person” tent is, at times, awfully generous. Many “2-person” tents are essentially big enough for one person and their gear. In some cases, a 2-person tent only weighs a few extra ounces compared to its 1-person counterpart. However, if you don’t carry too much gear in the first place (and you’re on the small side yourself), a 1-person tent can be enough.

If your trip is in a warm, dry area, you might consider using the fly and footprint only, leaving the body of the tent at home. This will usually cut the weight of the tent in half, at the expense of letting in cold air and/or bugs at night.

Clothing

• Short-sleeve running shirt
• Short-sleeve T-shirt/polo
• Waterproof/breathable jacket
• Arm warmers
• Bike shorts
• Tights
• Hiking/athletic shorts
• Underwear
• Socks (2x)
• Bike shoes
• Sneakers
• Fingerless gloves
• Long-fingered gloves
• Helmet
• Bandana
• Sunglasses

The name of the game is layering. Done correctly, you should be able to cover all your bases with only a few pieces of clothing.

While it may not seem like...

• Short-sleeve running shirt
• Short-sleeve T-shirt/polo
• Waterproof/breathable jacket
• Arm warmers

...includes anything warm enough for near-freezing temperatures, if you wear all of them at once, it’s just enough! There’s no law that says you can’t wear all the clothes you have at the same time, and that includes inside your sleeping bag.

This may seem too minimalist to some (1 pair each of underwear and bike shorts, for example), but with a daily rinse ‘n wring, you’d be surprised how manageable it is.

Some cyclists prefer to use only one pair of shoes, whether that be sneakers/sandals on flat pedals, or a hybrid shoe on MTB pedals. Even for a minimalist approach, we recommend bringing dedicated bike shoes for riding, and something comfy (but not bulky) for off the bike. The added weight of a pair of shoes is easily made up by the superior pedaling efficiency provided by clipless pedals.

A bandana has many uses, as a headscarf, head band, neck warmer, handkerchief, towel, dish pad, bandage, the list goes on. They’re cheap, weigh next-to-nothing, and take up almost no space. Bring one.

Food/Water

• Spoon/spork
• Plasticware bowl with screw-top lid
• Odor-proof bag
• Nalgene water bottle (2x)
• Water filter

If you’re using feed bags as part of your cargo setup, as mentioned before, they’re the perfect size to hold a Nalgene bottle, and they don’t weigh any more than a bottle cage. Given their large size, two Nalgene bottles hold about as much water as three typical cycling water bottles.

There are other options when it comes to a mess kit, but a plastic bowl with a leakproof screw-top lid is invaluable. Being able to seal your bowl for hours at a time allows you to prepare food by cold soaking, and in a pinch, your bowl can serve as a backup water container.

As far as a stove is concerned, it’s a luxury item. We’ve written an article on going stoveless, and the benefits are numerous. In short, you save nearly 1 kg of weight and an amount of space about the size of a soccer ball. On a bike tour, you’ll probably have the ability to purchase a hot meal often enough, so if you get sick of cold food, not to worry.

Except during mealtime, all of your food, and everything that might smell like food (like toothpaste), should be kept in some kind of odor-proof container. If you’re in bear country, you may want to carry a bear canister (in some places, this is required by law). All of your food should be inside its own sealable container (a freezer bag will do), and all of those should go inside the odor-proof container. An odor-free camp is a critter-free camp.

On a road bike tour, a water filter isn’t necessary, because you’ll come across a town (or at least a gas station) often enough to fill up on tap water. On a bikepacking trip, however, it could be days in between access to running water. A filter is necessary. We recommend a simple squeeze filter. They don’t require batteries, nor do they malfunction.

Toiletries

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Unscented camp soap
• Loofa
• Sunscreen
• Lip balm

Obviously, if you need more than what’s listed here (like medication), bring it.

Camp soap, if you’re not familiar, refers to all-purpose liquid soap that can be used for nearly anything: body wash, shampoo, laundry detergent, dish soap, etc. In a pinch, it can even be used as toothpaste (a travel-size tube of toothpaste is worth it, though). It’s best to get unscented camp soap if you don’t want critters invading your campsite. Most camp soaps are eco-friendly, so you don’t even have to worry about spilling it on the ground or in a stream.

A loofa may seem like a greenhorn thing to bring along, until you consider its many uses. When you can’t take a proper shower, scrubbing off in a stream, even without soap, will get you impressively clean. A loofa can also be used to scrub almost anything else: dishes, stained clothes, sap on your pack, and so on. As long as you’re OK scrubbing yourself with something that’s not 100% clean (and during a bike tour, what is?), a loofa works wonders. And they’re light, cheap, and scrunch down to take up almost no space.

Tools/Spares

• Tube
• Patch kit
• Tire boot
• Tire levers
• Frame pump
• Shifting cable
• Multitool
• Swiss army knife
• Cigarette Lighter

You’ll notice more than half of these are for the purpose of fixing the most common maintenance issue: Flat tires.

For the most part, having only one spare tube and cable is enough. When you get a flat, swap the spare for the flat, patch the flat that evening, and it becomes your new spare. If you feel a tube is on its last legs, you can probably get a new one in a matter of days.

The same thing goes for a cable. The likelihood that you’ll need two spare tubes or cables within a few days of each other is awfully small. Also, brake cables almost never break from normal use.

Carrying a spare tire isn’t necessary if you start with good tires. If you plan to ride a distance that’ll completely wear out a tire, you won’t want to carry a spare the entire distance. It would be more reasonable to either mail a tire to yourself or simply buy one in a shop after a few months. Yes, a tire can get a bad slice in it, but a boot will get it rideable again, at least for long enough to make it to a shop.

Whether you’re going tubeless or not, it’s a good idea to carry a spare tube. In the event your tubeless tire gets a slice that’s too big to seal, a tube and a boot will get you riding again.

Go to an outdoors store and you might find many different fire-starting kits. If you find one that’s cheaper, lighter, smaller, and more reliable than a cigarette lighter, buy it. Until then, bring a cigarette lighter. You probably won’t need to start a fire, but it’s good to have in case of emergency.

Electronics

• Smartphone
• Phone case
• Power bank
• Charging cable

With their many uses in a small package, you’d think smartphones were designed with hiking in mind. Anything more than a smartphone, like a tablet or e-reader, is a luxury item.

Keeping your smartphone charged can be difficult, but if you keep your phone in airplane mode most of the time, it should last 3-4 days on a full charge. A reasonably-sized power bank, about the size of a deck of cards and weighing about half a pound, should be able to charge your phone about three times. That means you can go about 10 days between charges, by which time you’ll almost certainly visit a town for one reason or another and get the opportunity to recharge.

Solar panels work, but not as well as one might hope. Under ideal conditions, a solar panel the size of a magazine will provide roughly one full phone charge per day. If it’s cloudy or you’re hiking in the shade most of the time, your solar charger may not keep up with your use. A power bank weighs about the same and works more predictably.

Miscellaneous

• Cable lock
• Keys
• Wallet
• Freezer bags
• Maps?
• Book?

Depending on where you’re going, as well as how much you like to rely on your phone, you may or may not need paper maps. One advantage paper maps have over phone apps is the much larger screen, as well as unlimited battery life.

A book is a luxury item, but for less than a pound, you have entertainment every evening for as much as a month, possibly more. Like paper maps, they have an unlimited battery life.

Freezer bags are the best way of keeping your gear separate, organized, and in case of rain, dry. Bring lots of these and use them to store everything.

Conclusion

If you follow this list, you’re probably looking at a total weight of roughly 11 kg (~24 lbs). That’s not ultralight, but it’s getting close.

Going ultralight usually involves giving up something most people would consider a necessity. For example, using a tarp or bivy instead of a tent, using unworn clothing as a sleeping pad, or carrying only one pair each of socks and underwear. There are certainly advantages to going ultralight, but this list is meant as a reasonably light setup that should work for most people without giving up too much.

When it comes to packing, some of the most valuable information is knowing what luxuries you can do without, which things you especially appreciate, and what discomforts you’re willing to put up with. Our best suggestion is to start with these lists as guidelines, then go try it out! If you find there are certain things you missed, bring ‘em. If there’s something you barely used, ditch it. Afterward, you can pare down your packing list to include all the things that make a difference and none of the things that don’t.

Food groups

As a human, you should be trying to get your food groups regardless. While hiking/biking, this becomes even more important. Like it or not, hiking/biking is an athletic endeavor, and it’s much more difficult when your body isn’t a well-oiled machine.

That said, you don’t necessarily need to keep your eye on getting 100% or more of the recommended intake of everything, every single day. For the most part, you can broadly focus on three food groups: protein, fruit/veggies, and whole grains. If every meal has a decent source of each of these, you’re doing well.

Probably the hardest food group to consistently get is fruit/veggies. These don’t pack well, they spoil, they take up a lot of space, they’re delicate, and they don’t come in odor-proof packaging. It’s rare you’ll see a hiker/biker carrying 3-4 days worth of fresh fruit and vegetables with them.

While a lot of the nutritional value is lost in the process, dried fruit and vegetables can help fill the void. They’re available almost everywhere (including places you can’t buy produce), they’re dense, and they don’t go bad.

Whenever you’re in town, it’s OK to pig out on pizza or barbecue or whatever, but make sure some much-needed vegetables are part of your indulgence, as this is one of your only opportunities to have them. And while carrying a week’s worth of fruit is nigh impossible, there’s always room in your pack for a tangerine or something. Take one for the road.

Protein

After fruits and veggies, the next hardest food group to get is protein. While many good forms of protein require refrigeration (eggs, meat, dairy), many don’t (nuts, beans).

Even among foods that require refrigeration, there are many outdoor-friendly options, like jerky, spam, tuna, and powdered milk. Cheese can last a few days, depending on the type of cheese, the weather conditions, and how you store it.

While beans are an excellent source of protein, iron, fiber, and many other vital nutrients, the problem is they’re most often stored in cans. The weight of the can, surprisingly, isn’t such a problem, but the space the empty can continues to occupy is an annoyance. Fortunately, it’s becoming increasingly common to see beans come in soft plastic packages (the same is true for tuna and Spam!), and it’s also becoming more common to find instant refried beans, which cuts down on both space and weight.

Nuts and nut butters are easy to carry, dense, have healthy fats, and can be eaten on their own or used many different ways.

Whole Grains

Whole grains, for the most part, are fairly easy to carry. Some of them eventually spoil (like bread), but you’ll almost certainly finish eating them before they do. Good options here include instant rice, oatmeal, tortillas, bagels, english muffins, noodles, and instant potatoes. While some are more nutritious than others, all of them are fairly easy-to-carry and provide much-needed energy.

Staples

There are countless foods a hiker/biker can carry with them, but for now, here’s a list of good staples to choose from:

• Oatmeal, granola, cereal
• Granola/cereal/protein bars
• English muffins, tortillas, bagels
• Instant potatoes
• Instant rice
• Beans
• Jerky
• Packaged meats (tuna, Spam)
• Dried fruit
• Nuts
• Peanut/nut butter
• Powdered milk
• Powdered peanut butter
• Protein powder
• Carnation, Ovaltine, Nesquik
• Cinnamon
• Cajun/creole spice

Let’s break down a few of these:

Breads

For nutritional reasons, it’s always better to eat whole grains than white bread. Get whole wheat if you can. Most notably, whole wheat has eight times as much fiber as white bread, along with a slew of vitamins white bread is missing. Since a hiking diet is low on fresh fruits and vegetables, getting nutrients where you can is imperative.

Tortillas are the best way to go here, since they’re dense, highly portable, and can be used many different ways. It’s easy to take any food and wrap it in a tortilla. The only downside to tortillas is they can tear, especially corn tortillas.

English muffins are also an excellent choice, with bagels close behind. Unlike tortillas, bagels and English muffins are leavened, so air takes up a lot of their space. That said, they’re still fairly dense and durable. English muffins get the nod here since jam and honey will never drip through the middle.

Cereals

Oatmeal is probably the most common thing you’ll see people use, and for good reasons: it’s cheap, healthy, lightweight, energy-dense, available everywhere, and since it barely has flavor of its own, it can be prepared different ways to taste. Surprisingly, oatmeal doesn’t need cooking, not even the not-instant kind! A good soak will do the trick. The downsides to oatmeal mostly involve taste: it’s bland, mushy, and doesn’t taste good cold.

Granola is essentially toasted oatmeal, along with some oil and a sweetener, usually honey. As a result, it’s even more calorie-dense than oatmeal, though the added calories are mostly empty (not always a bad thing). Granola costs more, but it’s tastier, can be found in many different flavors, and can be eaten as a cereal or by the handful as a snack. Granola also requires no preparation.

Boxed cereals (Cheerios, etc.) present an alternative to granola. The nutritional content varies wildly, but some are quite healthy, and the variety is endless. Most box cereals are also cheaper than granola. For hiking/biking trips, our favorite is Grape Nuts: dense, relatively healthy, commonly found, and tastes great with a little cinnamon.

Finally, there are granola bars. For our purposes, energy bars (like Clif bar) and breakfast bars (like Nature Valley) will be collectively referred to as “granola bars”. Energy bars marketed for sport/outdoor activities can be quite pricey compared to breakfast bars, but the ingredients and nutritional content tend to be better. Nevertheless, it would be expensive to rely on either of these as a mainstay of your diet, and either way, most people wouldn’t count granola bars as a “meal”. For our money, a handful of granola or box cereal has essentially the same effect as a granola bar, and it’s a lot cheaper.

Meat

On the surface, it would seem jerky is the obvious answer here: light, barely takes up space, and is both calorie- and protein-dense. While all those are true, jerky is expensive, and compared to fresh meat, contains shockingly little iron. From a nutrition standpoint, protein is almost all you get, and you pay a lot for it.

Better options include tuna and Spam. While they’re traditionally sold in small metal containers, it’s becoming increasingly common to find them in plastic pouches, essentially a wrapper. Spam is hardly any healthier than jerky and contains a lot of sodium, but since you’re likely to be sweating a lot, that may not be such a problem. Tuna, on the other hand, is an excellent choice from a nutritional standpoint.

Powders

More and more, I find myself relying on powders on hiking/biking trips. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, they’re lightweight and both energy- and nutrient-dense. Best of all, powder takes the shape of its container, making it easy to squeeze into the last bit of space in your pack.

Powdered milk provides protein, calcium, and vitamin D. If you’re relying on breakfast cereal in the morning, powdered milk is almost a necessity, and it also goes well with oatmeal and granola.

Fortified chocolate powders like Carnation, Nesquik, and Ovaltine are packed with added vitamins, and who doesn’t like chocolate? For the most part, they don’t have too much sugar either. Not only can chocolate powder be used on granola, cereal, and oatmeal, but tastes great dusted onto trail mix or over peanut butter on a tortilla.

Peanut butter powder doesn’t reconstitute into peanut butter all that well, and it doesn’t taste good eaten by the spoonful. But it does well to add a peanut butter flavor to anything, like oatmeal, and when combined with a little spice, can give bland foods a Thai flair (noodles, tuna, and so on). Peanut butter is already energy and protein dense, and gram-for-gram, powdered peanut butter is even more so.

Protein powder, depending on the flavor, can act as a stand-in for any of the above. In a pinch, vanilla can act as a stand-in for milk! Protein can be hard to get on the backwoods, and protein powder is an easy, lightweight way to carry it with you. 

Spices

Variety is the spice of life, but you don’t need a lot of variety in your spices to add life to your trail food. We recommend carrying only two: cinnamon and cajun/creole. Almost everything falls into one of those two categories. If it’s supposed to taste sweet, use cinnamon. If it’s supposed to be savory, use cajun/creole.

Recipes/Ideas

These are simple enough they barely qualify as recipes, but here are a few meal ideas to get you started:

Breakfast

• Oatmeal, cinnamon, handful of trail mix, protein powder
• Grape nuts, cinnamon, powdered milk, powdered chocolate
• Granola, powdered peanut butter, powdered chocolate, handful of nuts

Lunch

• Tortilla, peanut butter, powdered chocolate, handful of trail mix
• English muffin, peanut butter, honey, raisins, cinnamon
• Tortilla, tuna, creole spice, powdered peanut butter

Dinner

• Instant potatoes, beef jerky, creole spice
• Instant rice, refried beans, creole spice
• Noodles, powdered peanut butter, handful of nuts, creole spice

The question you may now be asking is, “How do you cook and prepare this stuff?” If you’ve been paying close attention, you may have noticed none of these require cooking! We’ve written an entire article on going stoveless. If you’re interested to know how that works, check it out.

Great Divide

Western Wildlands

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Length

4,339 km

4,345 km

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Climbing

45,618 m

59,588 m

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% Unpaved

90%

80%

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More Popular

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Has a Race

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More Services

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Less Rain/Snow

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Better Scenery

Similarities

The Great Divide and Western Wildlands are similar in many ways, including probably the most important factors: distance, climbing, and road surface.

According to the figures at Bikepacking.com, the Western Wildlands has more climbing, with 59,588 m, as opposed to 45,618 m on the Great Divide. Since the routes are essentially identical in distance, 4,345 km on the Western Wildlands and 4,339 km on the Great Divide, the Western Wildlands has both more total climbing and is equally ahead in terms of climbing mile-for-mile. Both routes have virtually no singletrack and instead almost exclusively use dirt roads, of comparable quality on either route. The Western Wildlands uses paved roads a little more often, roughly 20% of the time, compared to 10% on the Great Divide.

To put it succinctly, any bike would be equally suited to either route.

From experience, it didn’t feel as if the Western Wildlands was any more difficult than the Great Divide in terms of climbing, but that could be due to using a lighter bike and bikepacking setup on the Western Wildlands, rather than racks and panniers on the Great Divide. 25% more climbing makes a difference, but it’s on the same order of magnitude. The Great Divide shouldn’t be considered an “easier” option.

The overall terrain and geography is more similar than different. On both routes, expect a dry climate and lots of hills. Arizona and New Mexico both have a fair amount of both desert and alpine forest, Utah and Colorado both spend a lot of time at high elevation, and Idaho and Montana both have a lot of wooded hills. The northern end of both routes are one and the same, although the Great Divide extends farther north.

Differences

Since the Great Divide is a much older route, it’s more well-traveled. In 2016, I met over 100 cyclists riding the Great Divide, most of which were intending on riding the entire thing. While riding the Western Wildlands in its first summer after publication, I met exactly zero people riding the same route (I did meet a few people doing road bike tours). If you like solitude, you might prefer the Western Wildlands, but if you’d enjoy the companionship of fellow riders, the Great Divide is your route (at least for now).

For the same reason, the Great Divide has more available knowledge regarding places to stay, where to resupply, and so on. Adventure Cycling publishes maps of the route, including these types of details. BikepackingRoots.com has similar information on the Western Wildlands, in digital form, but it’s less complete and at times inaccurate. But here’s a big difference: BikepackingRoots makes this information available for free. A set of Great Divide maps from Adventure Cycling will set you back over $100.

While both routes are in remote areas, the Great Divide visits towns slightly more often. Riding through cities is annoying, but both routes almost exclusively deal in small towns. That makes this an advantage for the Great Divide, since resupplying is easier and can be done more frequently. Notably, you’ll visit a town with a bike shop much more often on the Great Divide.

One major difference: the Great Divide famously has a race, open to professionals and amateurs alike. Not only does the Western Wildlands have no such race, but people are actively discouraged from organizing an underground race of their own. If racing is your thing, do the Great Divide.

As mentioned before, the terrain is more alike than different. But overall, I enjoyed the scenery on the Western Wildlands more. I preferred Arizona to New Mexico due to more red rocks and dramatic landscapes. Colorado is more consistently pleasant than Utah, but Utah’s best parts are better than those of Colorado. Idaho and Montana are the best sections of either route, but Idaho has a slight edge due to the Route of the Hiawatha and Trail of the Coeur d’Alene.

The clincher: the Western Wildlands doesn’t include central Wyoming.

Like the terrain, the weather on either route is similar. Expect a lot of warmth and sunshine, though it often gets near freezing at night. The Great Divide appears to be a little wetter, especially in the north. That means more rain, but also means less worrying about finding enough drinking water. Both routes reach high elevation, so snow is a possibility, even in summer.

Ride the Great Divide if you:

• Like meeting people
• Want to have lots of info on the route
• Want to resupply more often
• Prefer slightly less climbing
• Want to be in a race

Ride the Western Wildlands if you:

• Prefer solitude
• Don’t want to pay $100+ for route info
• Want the best scenery (both are great, of course)
• Want a little less rain/snow

Pros

The most notable benefit of building a bike is customizability. If you want a high-end carbon road frame, a mountain bike drivetrain, and V-brakes, you can make that happen. Such a bike, off-the-shelf, probably doesn’t exist. Touring cyclists often have specific wants and needs, particularly a versatile setup that can handle almost anything, and few bikes, even touring models, will come with exactly what a touring cyclist would choose.

Even if your tastes are more typical, you can make sure the bike comes with the saddle, tires, bar tape (and so on) you have in mind, rather that taking whatever the bike comes with and buying replacements. This can save you a little money, but probably not enough (more on that later).

Building a bike can allow you to make use of old parts you already have laying around. If you already have a perfectly good drivetrain, set of wheels, set of brakes, frame, etc, you can build a bike around what you have. I’ve been known to cannibalize an old bike when building a new one. This practice can allow you to stick with what you already like, save you some money, and re-using stuff is less wasteful in general.

Even if there’s a stock bike you like, your local shop may not sell it. Or you may not live near a bike shop at all. Ordering a complete bike in the mail can be a hassle, if not impossible. You may be forced to travel to the nearest dealer, which could be an hour or more away. Most parts, however, can be easily ordered online and shipped to your door.

Cons

The biggest drawback to building a bike is expense. A complete bike’s cost is much less than the sum of the costs of its parts. As one example, let’s look at the cost of a Surly Long Haul Trucker, a popular touring bike:

Complete Bike: $1,350

Frame + Fork: $515
Headset: $62
Shifters: $88
Front Derailleur: $30
Rear Derailleur: $50
Brakes: $80
Brake Levers: $30
Cables and Housing: $40
Hubs: $54
Rims: $36
Spokes: $72
Tires: $100
Crankset: $122
Bottom Bracket: $26
Chain: $35
Cassette: $28
Handlebars: $50
Handlebar Tape: $10
Stem: $50
Seatpost: $40
Seatpost Clamp: $20
Saddle: $40

Parts Total: $1,578

And after all this, you’d still have to either go to the trouble of putting it together or add the cost of having someone build it for you. Granted, these are all retail prices, and you might be able to find a good deal on some of them and bring the total price down. But the same can be said for buying a bike.

Buying a whole bike, if your local shop has one you like, is convenient. Buying all the parts individually isn’t. Not every shop will stock every individual part of a bike, much less the specific brand and model you’re looking for. Whether through a shop or online, you’ll need to order a lot of them. Making all these purchases individually is time-consuming, it can take a while before they all come in, and after that, you’ll still have to build it. It can take over a month to go from “I want one” to “I have one” if you’re building your bike, whereas simply buying a bike can take less than an hour.

Obviously, if you buy all the parts separately, they’re going to have to be put together somehow. You can either pay a bike shop to do it, which is going to cost at least $150, or you can do it yourself. The cost of the tools necessary might exceed $150, so that might not even be the cheaper option, and you’d still have to put in the work to do it. A reasonable compromise would be to assemble most of the bike yourself (70-80% of the work can be done with allen wrenches), then have a bike shop handle the rest.

There’s a lot of other hidden work that goes into building a bike. Compared to buying a bike, you’ll have to make more decisions, which means time researching each and every part, more time bargain hunting, more time considering the pros and cons of every component or combination thereof. You might come up with a particular solution that works for your needs, only to find some of the components aren’t compatible with one another (hopefully, this occurs before you buy them). Building a bike often involves dozens, if not hundreds, of hours spent online obsessing over every detail. This is fine if you’re detail-oriented, but others might prefer simplicity.

And finally, it’s impossible to test ride a custom-built bike before purchasing it. By the time you have a bike to test ride, you’ve already bought all the parts and done all the work. Because of this, it’s not uncommon to wind up purchasing some parts twice after finding out you need a longer stem, wider handlebars, etc.

How To

If you decide building a bike is a good idea, here’s how to go about doing it.

The most important component of any bike is the frame. There, you’ll need to decide between different materials, geometry, and a host of other options. Most touring cyclists prefer a relaxed road geometry with plenty of mounts and braze-ons, which allow lots of options for carrying gear. It’s also possible to use a sleeker, sportier frame if you know you’ll be carrying a lighter load. If you’re planning to stay on dirt more frequently than not, you might consider going with a mountain bike frame.

For a drivetrain, it’s usually a good idea to stick to middle-quality components with a wide range of gears. High-end components are often more delicate, tailored towards a specific use, and less commonly on hand in any given shop (in case of repair/replacement). Their benefits, especially a few ounces less in weight, are hardly noticeable on a touring bike.
Many touring cyclists prefer using a mountain bike drivetrain, even if they’re sticking to roads, for the broader range of gears. A Rohloff hub is another option. If you plan to put a non-road drivetrain on a road frame, particularly with drop handlebars and road shift/brake levers, you’ll want to double-check for compatibility.

Wheels are one of the components where you’ll least want to cut corners. A quality wheelset makes your bike stronger, lighter, smoother, and faster, and more reliable. A cheap stem probably won’t ruin your tour. A cheap wheelset easily can.

Once you’ve selected all your parts, you’ll need to find a way to put them together. Exactly how much work you do yourself and how much is done in a shop is up to you. Having a shop do all the work will cost at least $150 (and possibly much more), and doing all the work yourself will require lots of knowledge, specialty tools, and time.

Some bike shops will guide you through the entire process of having a custom bike built, including recommending parts, ordering them for you, and putting the bike together when it comes in. This option usually costs more, because you’ll likely pay full retail price for everything, and you’ll also have to pay for the build. In some cases, that may be worth it for the convenience and assurance that the bike will be top quality when finished. In other cases, it may end in disaster.

Allen wrenches, patience, and a small amount of know-how will get 70-80% of the job done. A few components, like bottom brackets, headsets, and hydraulic disc brakes, may take specialty tools to install. For those, it’s usually best to have a bike shop install them, but if you have the tools and the knowledge (or willingness to learn), go for it!

Unless you have plenty of bike mechanic experience, it might be a good idea to have a shop do a tune-up before you hit the road on tour, usually after you’ve ridden the bike for at least a few weeks. Even if you’re quite skilled, an extra pair of eyes can find small problems you missed before they become big problems in the middle of a tour.

Phone

Let’s start with the obvious: It’s a phone. You can make calls and send text messages. While you might be interested in disconnecting while you’re on a hike/tour, it’s a good idea to have a phone in case of emergencies, and it’s useful in terms of making any kind of plans along the way. Also, a well-timed phone call, or even a simple text, can go a long way towards combatting homesickness.

Depending on where you go, these features may not be available at all times. If frequent coverage is a priority, you might consider switching carriers, and if traveling overseas, you might want to do some research and see what the best options are. An entire article could be written on the subject, but as a rule of thumb, Verizon has the best coverage in the United States (particularly in small towns), and T-Mobile has lots of international partners, as well as some of the most reasonable options for international plans.

Internet Access

Like with phones, many hikers/bikers prefer to take the opportunity not to check up on Facebook every day, but the utility of having instant access to nearly all the information on the planet can hardly be understated.

Things you might want to look up include:

• Does the next town have a grocery store/outfitter/cafe?

• When is everything open?

• Are there any CouchSurfing/WarmShowers hosts nearby?

• What’s the weather forecast?

• How do you say “gloves” in Spanish?

• How far away is ____________?

• Where’s the next water source?

• Is there a burn ban in this area?

• What does poison oak look like?

• How do you treat a snakebite?

Flashlight

While not as useful as a head lamp, the flashlight on a smartphone might be just enough to keep you from needing another light source. It’s not hands-free, and not even as handy as a small flashlight, but it’s one less thing in your pack. In some circumstances, you can find something against which to prop up your phone, or a way to set it on an upper ledge so you have something like a spotlight or overhead light.

Camera

Phone cameras have come a long way, to the point that the best phone cameras are almost as good as any digital point-and-shoot camera. Compared to a dedicated camera, some of the cons include a poor flash, limited options for varying light conditions, and an inability to zoom. However, you’re probably not going to use flash often on a hiking/biking trip, and most of your photos will have outdoor lighting, which most phones handle fairly well.

Obviously, if you take photography seriously, you’ll want to bring a dedicated camera. But for the average hiker/biker that wants reasonably good pictures of their adventure, a smartphone is easy to use and does the trick.

Mapping

Almost everyone with a smartphone realizes it can be used as a GPS device, but some people may not realize the GPS features still work even when the phone is in airplane mode. GPS only listens, while the phone and data signals both send and receive data. Airplane mode shuts off phone, data, and bluetooth, but not GPS! Furthermore, GPS talks to satellites, which are always available. Phone and data signals rely on towers, which means you might be outside of their coverage.

Probably the most obvious, and also the most practical use for GPS, is being able to locate yourself. The most popular mapping apps (like Google Maps) require a data connection to download maps on-the-fly, but there are dozens of lesser-known apps that can store map information offline, meaning you don’t need a data signal at all and can leave the phone in airplane mode. A few apps also allow you to display a GPX file, essentially a route, and it can even be color-coded by elevation.

Here at PackJournal, our favorite offline mapping app is MyTrails, which has both a free and a paid version, priced at 2 Euros. Here’s how to get started:

1. Download the app

2. Select “Maps -> Create Offline”, then choose all the options for your map. You can control the area it covers, the level of detail (more area and detail will take up more space on your phone and take longer to download), and you can choose from dozens of different map sources, depending on what information and display works best for you.

3. Create a route by using a GPS tracking site like Strava or MapMyFitness

4. Save the route and export as GPX file.

5. Move the GPX file into your “MyTrails” folder on your phone, then open “Tracks” within the MyTrails app and add the route you want

At this point, you should have both a map and a route saved to your phone, and both will display offline, along with a “you are here” marker.

Fitness Tracking

Smartphones can almost entirely replace bike computers and pedometers. Also thanks to the GPS capability, your phone can be used to track your daily activity, including distance, speed, time, elevation gain, heart rate, calories burned, and almost any metric imaginable. Strava and MapMyFitness are popular options for this purpose. Some people are more data-driven than others, but almost everyone would at least like to know how far they went today.

In years past, a full day of GPS tracking would drain almost a full charge on a phone’s battery. Recently, it appears that improvements have been made in efficiency in this area, and a full day now costs about 50% of a typical phone’s full charge.

Journal

We’ve covered this at length in another article, but a smartphone is one of the better ways to keep a journal. Lots of apps allow you to write and save journals offline, then simply upload them later.

Paper journals have appeal, but if you ever want to post them anywhere, you’re going to have to retype them. By saving journals digitally, it’s a lot easier to copy and share them. Typing, even with your thumbs, is usually faster than writing by hand. And, of course, one less thing.

Music/Videos

While not a crucial function, it’s good to have entertainment with you.

One of the nice things about listening to music is it barely has an effect on your phone’s battery (by far, the biggest drain on phone batteries is the screen). Some hikers/bikers always listen to music, some prefer not to, and others might save music for those days they need a simple pick-me-up. No matter what kind of hiker/biker you are, nearly everyone likes music at least a little, and it’s good to have some tunes on hand.

Because of its stronger battery drain, watching movies/videos is something you probably won’t be able to make a habit of. And you certainly shouldn’t do it while you’re hiking/biking. But for zero days or lonely evenings, particularly when you have access to an electric outlet, it can be a good way to relax and pass the time.

Gaming

Like movies, gaming is something you probably won’t be able to do frequently. For the most part, you want to save your phone’s battery for more essential functions. Also like movies, a half-hour of playing an old favorite can be just what the doctor ordered when it comes to comfort and mental state. Best saved for times when an electric outlet is nearby.

There are other electronics you might consider bringing, like a bike computer, a higher-quality camera, or a head lamp, but all of those are wants, not needs. By paring down your electronics to a single device (and a single charger!), you can lighten your load, save on space, and generally simplify your daily routine.

Hiking

Backpacking:  Hiking with a full-sized backpack, intending to spend at least one night Wild Camping. Not to be confused with seeing Europe by train or bus (for this activity, how about “Buspacking”?).

AT:  The Appalachian Trail, a ~3,500 km (~2,200 mile) trail extending from Georgia to Maine and passing through 14 states on the Atlantic Coast

PCT:  The Pacific Crest Trail, a 4,270 km (2,653 mile) trail extending from Mexico to Canada, passing through the three states on the Pacific Coast

JMT:  The John Muir Trail, a popular 340 km (211 mile) trail in the Sierra Nevada range, which shares most of its miles with the PCT

CDT:  The Continental Divide Trail, a 4,989 km (3,100 mile) trail extending from Mexico to Canada, mostly along the Continental Divide. This trail is still only 70% complete, but many hikers have covered its length regardless.

Triple Crown:  To complete the AT, PCT, and CDT is considered the Triple Crown of American hiking. A few hundred hikers have completed the Triple Crown. Five have done it in a calendar year.

Thru-Hiking:  Hiking a long trail, often one of the Triple Crown, in a single hike

Section Hiking:  Either hiking a fraction of a long trail or completing a long trail in multiple hikes, often over the span of several years

LASHing:  Long-Ass Section Hiking. A LASH typically covers several hundred miles.

Day Hiking:  Hiking without the intent of Wild Camping, usually with a small backpack or possibly no pack at all

Slackpacking:  Backpacking with either a day pack or no pack at all. This is accomplished by having someone shuttle your gear for you, often for a fee.

NoBo:  Hiking northbound, or from south-to-north. This is a popular choice for all three Triple Crown trails, since it allows hikers to start in spring and follow the warm weather northward as summer settles in.

SoBo:  Hiking southbound, or from south-to-north. On all three Triple Crown trails, this is a much less popular choice, since the weather window is more difficult. Most thru-hikers only hike SoBo if they have to.

Flip-Flop:  To complete a long trail in one sitting, but in sections, typically two. For example, a hiker may start at the middle of the trail, hike to the southern terminus, then fly to the northern terminus and hike back to the middle. Flip-Flopping is sometimes done to handle a scheduling conflict or with the goal of having better weather throughout the hike.

Yo-Yo:  To complete a long trail end-to-end (NoBo or SoBo), then turn around and complete it in the opposite direction.

FKT:  Fastest Known Time, essentially the speed record for a trail

Ford:  A river or stream crossing that requires you to wade. Making the crossing is called “Fording”. Many hikers will Ford barefoot in the interest of keeping their shoes dry.

Posthole:  When hiking in deep snow, to have your feet fall through, leaving you buried up to your waist. This is obnoxious at best and dangerous at worst.

Rock Hop:  To avoid undesirable terrain (like snow or a Ford) by using stepping stones

False Summit:  A spot that previously appeared to be the top of a hill. Upon arrival, a hiker will discover there’s more uphill to go.

Zero Day:  A day off, in which you hike zero miles

Near-o:  To hike very few miles in a single day, essentially half a day off

Blazes

Blaze:  An indicator of some kind used to mark the location of a trail

Cairn:  A stack of rocks used to mark the location of a trail, often when there are no other landmarks around

White Blaze:  A rectangle of white paint, the signature blaze used to mark the AT

Blue Blaze:  A rectangle of blue paint, used to mark a side trail linking to the AT. A person who is Blue Blazing is hiking a side trail either just for fun or to take a shortcut.

Yellow Blazing:  Hitchhiking, often to skip a section of trail. Named for the stripe of yellow paint found on many roadways.

Aqua Blazing:  Kayaking or canoeing

Pink Blazing:  Skirt chasing

Gear

Base Weight:  The weight of a backpack, not including any food or water. Since the quantity of food and water in a backpack varies over time, Base Weight is the most common metric used to describe the weight of a loaded backpack.

Skin-Out Weight:  The weight of all of a hiker’s gear. This will include not only the loaded backpack, but also shoes, clothing, trekking poles, and anything else on the hiker’s person.

Ultralight:  There are varying definitions of the term, but a common one is backpacking with a Base Weight of less than ~7 kg (~15 lbs). Going Ultralight usually means giving up some items most hikers would consider a necessity, but some hikers consider it worthwhile to be able to hike farther, faster, and more effortlessly.

Bivy:  Derived from the term “bivouac”, essentially a cross between a sleeping bag and a tent. Meant to keep its inhabitant both warm and dry, this allows a hiker to carry only a bivy instead of both a tent and a sleeping bag.

Shelter:  If you’re on the AT, one of the 250+ lean-tos free for hikers to use as lodging. Elsewhere, your means of staying out of the elements, often a tent, but possibly a hammock, bivy, or simply a tarp.

Footprint:  A separate ground tarp for a tent

Big Three:  Your backpack, Shelter, and sleep system, combined. This will often be more than three total items (for example, a typical sleep system consists of both a sleeping bag and sleeping pad). Since these are often the heaviest items in your backpack (including the backpack itself), they’re one of the primary ways to cut weight.

Crampons:  A frame of metal spikes that can attach to hiking shoes, meant for hiking in snow and ice

Ice Axe:  A pick-shaped device used for stopping yourself if you begin to slide down the side of a snowy mountain

Gaitors:  Covers for your shoes, meant to keep dirt and small rocks from making their way inside

Camp Shoes:  Shoes used for camping, but not for hiking. Flip-flops and other light, easy-to-wear options are popular.

Baselayer:  Clothes meant to be worn next-to-skin

Midlayer:  Clothes meant to be worn in between a Baselayer and a Shell. Usually the warmest, most insulating layer, like a fleece pullover or a Puffy.

Puffy:  A down jacket or pullover

Shell:  An outermost layer of clothing, often waterproof, the better ones are both waterproof and breathable. Meant as protection against the elements.

DWR:  Durable Water Repellant, a coating used to make clothing more water resistant. Clothing with a DWR coating isn’t necessarily waterproof.

Bombproof:  A word used to describe gear that’s especially durable

DEET:  A powerful mosquito repellent. Sometimes used as a general term for bug spray.

Food/Resupply

Resupply: To purchase necessary items, usually food. This often involves leaving the trail and hitchhiking into a town.

Hiker Box:  A box of discarded gear, free for any hiker to take what they’d like or leave anything behind. Frequently found at hostels or stores near a popular trail. The cheapest way to Resupply.

Mail Drop:  Receiving mail while on trail, often a package you’ve mailed to yourself

Bounce Box:  A single box you repeatedly mail to yourself, to a location farther up the trail as you go

Bear Canister:  A durable-but-portable container for your food. Meant to keep odors in and bears (and other animals) out. In some areas, use of bear canisters is required by law.

Bear Box:  A large box, often metal, found at a campsite. Used for safely storing food in such a way animals (particularly bears) can’t get to it.

Food Bag:  A bag in which food is kept. Hikers will often hang their Food Bag from a tree overnight.

Cold Soaking:  Preparing food without using heat, by means of soaking it in water. More details can be found here.

Camping

Primitive/Wild Camping:  Camping anywhere that’s not an official campsite and has no services, often in some random spot in the woods

Stealth Camp:  To camp with the intent of not being seen, often on private property or somewhere else camping is prohibited

Dry Camp:  To camp in a location with no access to water

Cowboy Camp:  To camp with (usually) a sleeping bag, but no tent, “under the stars”. Best done on a clear night with no chance of rain.

Hiker Midnight:  Sunset, the time at which hikers go to bed

Hiker TV:  A campfire

Privy:  An outhouse. Frequently found near AT Shelters.

General Terms

Hike Your Own Hike: Sometimes abbreviated HYOH, a mantra reminding hikers there’s no “right” way to hike.

Leave No Trace:  The practice of leaving the outdoors exactly as you found it, to the point an observer wouldn’t be able to tell a human had ever been present. This includes packing out trash, burying human waste, and avoiding contact with wildlife.

Cat Hole:  A hole dug for the purpose of burying human waste

Register:  Essentially a guestbook for the trail, found at trailheads, AT shelters, and other points of interest. Signing and dating the registers is a good safety practice, since it helps locate missing hikers.

Trail Angel:  A person who helps hikers in some way, by providing rides, food, or other services, sometimes for a small donation or no charge.

Trail Magic:  Unexpected random acts of kindness found on the trail, often in the form of food. It may be as small as a can of soda left for the next hiker who finds it or as large as a full-sized barbecue feeding 50 people at a time.

Yogi:  To beg in a subtle way, without actually asking for anything, usually from tourists and other non-hikers. A Yogi phrase may go something like “Backpacking makes you hungry; you start to really miss things like chips and soda…”

Trail Name:  A name a hiker assumes while on trail. In most circumstances, a hiker is given their trail name by another hiker. While choosing your own Trail Name is frowned upon, it’s usually OK to reject a Trail Name you don’t like.

Hiker Trash:  Plural form of the word “hiker”, particularly if said hikers are in terrible need of a shower

Trail Husband/Wife:  A romantic partner that’s destined to only last as long as the hike

Trail Family:  A group of hikers that become close friends and stick together on the trail

Norovirus:  A highly contagious virus that can easily spread between hikers. Can be prevented with basic cleanliness, which explains why hikers in particular are more likely to get it.

Giardia:  A gastrointestinal parasite, usually contracted by drinking unclean water. Symptoms can take up to two weeks to appear and usually last 2-3 days. Giardia is most characterized by uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea, both of which will often be yellow and foamy.

Vortex:  Usually a town, but can be any point of interest that draws hikers. So named because hikers tend to get “stuck” when they realize how nice it is to eat hot food, take a shower, and sleep in a bed. Leaving a Vortex and getting back on the trail is difficult for some hikers.

Work for Stay:  Doing chores instead of paying to stay at a hostel or hotel.

Benefits

Before one bothers learning how to manage without a stove, it’s a good idea to look at the benefits and consider whether it’ll be worth it.

Weight

We’ll start with the obvious. Every thing you carry weighs something. There are many types of stoves, and they can vary dramatically in weight, but the most popular types of stoves will add an additional 200-350 g (7.1 - 12.3 oz) for the stove itself.

Of course, the stove isn’t the only thing necessary for cooking. You’ll also need a pot or pan, likely made of some kind of metal, and you’ll need to carry fuel. Pots and pans can vary a lot in weight, but for our purposes, we’ll assume a relatively light 350 g (12.3 oz).

Fuel makes just as big a difference here. Like everything else, fuel containers vary in size and weight, the type of fuel itself varies in density, and you’ll even be carrying different amounts of fuel during your ride/hike as you use up your fuel or purchase more. One of the most common ways to carry fuel is in a disposable 225 mL (8 fl. oz) container, which itself has an empty weight of 150 g (5.3 oz). For our purposes, we’ll conservatively assume an “average” fuel canister is just under half-full, bringing its weight to 250 g (8.8 oz)

To recap:

• Stove: ~275 g (~9.7 oz)
• Pot: ~350 g (~12.3 oz)
• Fuel: ~250 g (~10.6 oz)
• Total: ~875 g (~1.93 lbs)

Carrying a stove requires you to carry just under 1 kg, or just under 2 lbs. For an efficient hiker/biker, this could represent as much as 10% of their packing weight, possibly more than other heavy-hitting items like pack, sleeping bag, or tent. All because you want your food to be hot instead of lukewarm.

Space

Often overlooked, space is arguably as important as weight, if not more so.

Saving space in your pack means hiking with a better-balanced load and means biking with a more streamlined, aerodynamic profile. The folks over at CyclingAbout have done excellent experiments demonstrating the relative importance of weight vs. aerodynamics when cycling (short version: aerodynamics wins, and it’s not close). How you carry your weight is as important as how much weight you carry.

In addition to being sleeker and more balanced, if you save enough space, it’ll save you even more weight! By cutting down on the volume you carry, you can get away with a smaller backpack or with ditching a set of panniers and/or a rack. Your backpack, racks, and panniers are among the heaviest things you carry.

A stove, pot, and fuel canister combine to take up about as much space as a soccer ball. Ditching them will either make your pack considerably more voluminous or will allow you to dramatically cut down on your carrying capacity.

Simplicity

Not having to jam as much crud in your pack makes your morning routine shorter, makes it easier to find what you want in the middle of the day, and you’ll get your camp set up faster in the evenings. Not to mention you’re less likely to lose something when there’s less to keep track of.

Uncooked food can’t come out burned or under-cooked. You won’t have to spend extra time, up to three times a day, cooking food instead of simply eating it. You won’t have to find somewhere to buy another fuel canister. You won’t ever have to worry about running out of fuel. If you’re traveling by plane, you won’t have to stop at a store to buy fuel before you start your adventure. Not to mention the smell of hot food is a critter magnet (never cook dinner where you camp).

There’s a certain beauty to the simplicity of hiking/bike touring and the lack of responsibilities. Wake up, eat, hike/bike, eat, sleep. Repeat. No cooking means one less thing to worry about.

How to do it

If these benefits sounds like they’re worth mostly eating lukewarm/cold food for weeks or months at a time, read on.

What to eat

A complete list of good things to eat on the road/trail is enough to merit its own article, but we’ll hit the high points here. Here are a few staples that are worth carrying:

• Oatmeal, Granola, Cereal
• Dried fruit
• Nuts
• Peanut/nut butter
• Tortillas, bagels, English muffins
• Instant potatoes
• Instant rice
• Beans
• Powdered milk
• Powdered peanut butter
• Protein powder
• Carnation, Ovaltine, Nesquik
• Jerky
• Packaged meats (tuna, Spam)
• Cinnamon
• Cajun/creole spice

There’s a common theme here: density. All of these foods pack a lot of energy without taking up much space.

Quite a few of these can be combined in creative ways. Peanut butter + Carnation + cinnamon + tortilla makes for a satisfying snack or lunch. Powdered peanut butter + Carnation + protein powder tastes like a Reese’s milkshake, with more protein and vitamins, but less sugar and fat. Potatoes, rice, beans, and meat can go together in almost any combination.

Adding flavor to your meal goes a longer way than simply warming it up. Spices weigh less than sauces, and a small vial of spice can last months. Nearly every trail food falls into two spice categories: cinnamon and Cajun. If it’s supposed to taste sweet, use cinnamon. Savory, use Cajun.

A lot of things on this list, like oatmeal, rice, and potatoes, are typically cooked. Which brings us to…

Cold Soaking

A surprising amount of food doesn’t need to be cooked in order to be prepared. Anything with the word “instant” in the title falls into this category, as well as a few things without the moniker.

Cold soaking, as the name implies, refers to soaking food in cold or lukewarm water. While cold plain oatmeal may not appeal to some, you’d be surprised how good cold oatmeal can taste once you add cinnamon, dried fruit, nuts, and possibly some kind of powder (like Carnation or peanut butter). Not only does adding to a dish make it more interesting, you’ll be getting all your food groups.

When it comes to cold soaking, some instant foods work better than others. In descending order:

1. Instant potatoes: You could almost eat these dry.
2. Oatmeal: Admittedly, it’s better served hot, but the taste and texture is identical to cooked oatmeal.
3. Instant rice: Only loses points because it takes a while to soak, sometimes as much as an hour.
4. Noodles: It can be done, but there are better options. No matter what amount of water you use and how long you let it soak, the texture will always be a little strange.

Since these staples form the basis of many popular packaged instant meals (Backpacker Pantry, Mountain House, Knorr Sides, Hamburger Helper), you can prepare any of them without a stove. But of course, you don’t have to buy them! Get some instant rice, throw in some beans, tuna, or jerky, add Cajun spice, and you’ve got yourself a meal.

How to cold soak

For the most part, it’s easily done. Put food and water in a container and let it soak!

For your container, a screw-top plasticware, between 0.5 and 1 L, is the best option. A decent one will be cheap, lightweight, durable, microwave-safe, and leakproof. Not only does this allow you to carelessly stuff a soaking meal in your pack, letting it soak for hours without a second thought, but such a food bowl also doubles as a backup water bottle.

Different foods need soaking for different amounts of time. Instant potatoes and oatmeal are truly instant, whereas rice and noodles take longer. Some foods need more water than you might expect (potatoes), and some less (oatmeal). The good news is even if you make a mistake, the food isn’t ruined. You can either drink or pour out excess water. If you didn’t use enough water, add more! If food isn’t done soaking yet, wait longer. If you think your food soaked for too long, most likely, you’re simply a picky camper.

Since your food is likely to be soaking for an hour or two (it’s almost impossible to leave it soaking for too long), one trick is to leave it in a mesh pocket or lash it to your pack. In either case, leave it directly exposed to sunlight. If you’re using a clear container, your food will be warm after being in the sun all day. Depending where you are (like the desert), you might even need to blow on it!

In some circumstances, like a cold rainy day, this obviously won’t work. Sadly, the days when you’ll most want hot food are the days your food will be coldest. Similarly, it’s impossible to make a hot breakfast by this method, but there’s a workaround: sleep with it. While this will only make your oatmeal as warm as the inside of your sleeping bag (about room temperature), it’s an improvement over near-freezing.

Worth noting: We only recommend this method if reasonable precautions are taken to keep your sleeping bag and tent odor-free. Your bowl’s lid should be sealed tightly, then placed inside another sealable container, ideally an odor-proof container. Depending on the wildlife in the area, this may still be inadvisable or dangerous. We absolutely do not recommend this method in bear country.

Breaking the pattern

The above list of suggested stoveless foods is only a starting point; there are lots of foods that pack well, provide good nutrition, and importantly, hit the spot. A longer list will be coming in a future article about how to cook (or not!) on the road/trail. A savvy hiker/biker may manage to go several weeks without a stove and only eat the exact same meal a few times. Mixing it up makes trail food more exciting, but at some point, you’ll be craving a hot meal.

Luckily, this isn’t hard! You’ll visit a town every few days to buy groceries anyway, so you should be able to get a hot meal equally often. Obvious choices include fast food, cafes, and restaurants, but many grocery stores and gas stations sell ready-to-eat hot meals, often of surprisingly good quality (of course, everything tastes good after enough hiking and biking). A trip to the grocery store is also a good time to indulge in foods that don’t pack well, like dairy, fresh fruit, cold beverages, and baked goods.

If you stay in a hostel, there’s a good chance you’ll have access to a kitchen. Buy something you know how to cook and make it! Even better, make a little extra and eat the leftovers for breakfast. If you want to make friends, make a lot extra and share.

The wild card here is MREs. Not a cost-effective option, nor widely available, they could still be a fun change of pace every once in a while. We feel like we could write an entire article on MREs alone.

And finally, if you’re lucky, you might run across some trail magic or get taken in by a friendly stranger. Obviously, you can’t count on this, but some of the best meals you’ll ever eat are the ones you’ll get for free.

Paper Journals
It wasn’t long ago that keeping a journal meant carrying a physical journal. While there are more high-tech solutions available, there’s something to be said for putting pen to paper. A lot of people choose to go hiking/biking in order to “unplug” and keep their screens put away as much as possible. Paper journals also have the advantage of unlimited battery life. Unfortunately, paper journals can’t get wet, but the same can be said for almost any other means of keeping a journal.

For the more artistically inclined, paper journals can do double-duty as a sketchbook, or even a scrapbook! It's also a lot easier to jot down notes in different formats, like a list or a timeline. And finally, there's something about being able to pick up your notebook, the same one you carried with you on the trail, that brings back memories much better than staring at a text document on a screen.

Smartphones
In the interest of saving weight, many hikers and bikers now choose to keep a journal on their smartphone. This is an elegant solution; you were probably going to bring a smartphone anyway, why not make use of it? For most people, typing with your thumbs is marginally faster than writing on paper, which means keeping your journal up-to-date won’t take us as much of your time. As speech-to-text technology continues to improve, even more time can be saved. It’s even possible to dictate journal entries while hiking/biking, then use only a small amount of free time to edit for autocorrect mistakes.

The most obvious downside to keeping a journal on an electronic device is the battery drain. It can be difficult to keep electronic devices charged while in the bush, and using a device for an additional daily purpose, especially one where the screen is always on, will only make this problem worse. In order to save battery, try turning the screen’s brightness all the way down, use an app with a dark color scheme, or if possible, change the color scheme within your app of choice.

Online Journals
Whether you're keeping your journal on paper or in an electronic device, many people like to publish their journals online. Doing so generally boils down to three choices: create your own website, post on social media, or use one of many free blog sites. Of course, there's no reason you can't do two of these, or even all three!

As far as which blog site to pick, there are almost too many options to count. Some are specifically made for hikers and bikers, and a few platforms manage to combine some social media elements with a simple online journal. If you're interested in connecting to other hikers and bikers and reading their journals, you might give one of these sites a try.

It should come as no surprise that you won’t have a data connection at all times while on a long-distance hiking/biking trip. If you’re specifically keeping an online journal, that leaves you with a few options (in progressively worse order):

1. Write your journals in an app that allows you to save them offline, then copy-paste/upload them later.
2. Wait until you have a connection, then write your journals all at once.
3. Write in a paper journal most of the time, then re-type them later.

Option #1 works best for most people, except for those who prefer to avoid using electronics as much as possible.

Option #2 has the downside of frequently causing you to get days or possibly weeks behind in your journals. By the time you finally get a chance to catch up, you may have forgotten quite a bit, or you simply might not feel like it anymore. This also requires you to write your journals in marathon sessions, which few people would want to do mid-adventure. When you take the luxury of a zero day, you want to enjoy it, not spend half the day on something you “have” to do.

Option #3 works, but requires you to write all your journals twice. This might be OK if you wanted to keep electronics use to a minimum and you don’t mind re-typing all your journals after it’s over. Speaking from experience, it’s difficult to motivate yourself to work on your journals after it’s over.

Video Journals
Of course, not all journals are composed of the written word. A few hikers/bikers prefer to keep a voice recording of their adventure (there’s an app for that), and now that carrying a video camera is incredibly easy (smartphones again!), keeping a video journal is an increasingly common and attractive option.

Once again, a chief downside is battery drain, and with video, storage comes into the mix. Recording video uses both a lot of battery and a lot of hard drive space. Those who plan to keep an extensive video journal will likely need to bring extra storage, though SD cards are awfully lightweight and small.

While taking a video is about as easy as pushing a button, turning your raw footage into something watchable will take many hours of “post-production”, likely after the adventure is over (some folks manage to do this mid-adventure!). This may not be an ordeal if you were only planning on making a five-minute highlight video, but if video is your primary means of documenting the voyage, make sure editing video is something you already enjoy before putting all your eggs in that basket.

In addition to simply using a smartphone, there are lots of options for taking video, and which one you choose depends on how you view the tradeoff between video quality and the need to carry more stuff. Some cameras are specifically dedicated to filming outdoor adventures and can be mounted to a pack, handlebar, bike helmet, or almost anything imagineable, leaving your hands free for hiking/biking. Nowadays, some people even use a drone to film themselves!

All this and we haven’t even talked about photography. We’ll save that for another article, along with a more detailed discussion of videography.

“Big Three”

Warm, dry conditions

• 40 F sleeping bag/quilt
• Inflatable or foam sleeping pad
• 1-person tent
• 50 L backpack

Cold, wet conditions

• 30 F sleeping bag/quilt
• Sleeping bag liner
• Inflatable sleeping pad
• 1-person tent
• 60 L backpack

While it typically consists of more than three items, the “Big Three” refers to your pack, shelter, and sleeping system. Nearly half the weight of your pack will come from these few items. If you’re interested in saving weight, this is where to splurge on ultralight gear.

Even some warm, dry areas can get down to nearly freezing at night, but a 40 F bag will be warm enough at least 90% of the time, and it’ll weigh less than a warmer bag 100% of the time. There will probably be only a few nights that you’ll wish you had a warmer bag, and there’s no law against wearing all the clothes you have while inside your sleeping bag.

If you're going hiking somewhere cold and wet (like the Appalachian Trail), we recommend a slightly warmer bag, plus a sleeping bag liner, which will add roughly another 10 F to your sleeping bag. A bag that's 10 degrees warmer will add less weight than a liner, but the ability to layer your sleep system is well worth an extra ounce or two. After all, it’s not going to be below freezing every night. Also, even the warmest sleeping bag won’t keep you warm while you’re taking down your tent in the morning. Instead of sleeping in a thicker bag, sleep in thicker clothes, because they keep working even after you get out of the bag.

We at PackJournal like inflatable pads, due to the added warmth and the much smaller size when deflated, but foam pads have their advantages. If you’re on a budget, or you’re worried about springing a leak, you might prefer a foam pad. Foam also makes for a good butt pad when sitting down to take a break during the day. In cold conditions, the added warmth of an inflatable pad is almost a necessity.

We like tents over hammocks since they can be used even when there’s not a tree around. For hikes in warm/dry areas, you might consider using the fly and footprint only, leaving the body of the tent at home. This will usually cut the weight of the tent in half, at the expense of letting in cold air and/or bugs at night.

If you stick to this packing list, 50 L should be enough for warm conditions, unless you plan to routinely go five or more days without resupplying. A larger pack not only weighs more on its own, but also encourages you to pack more than you need, since you have a lot of extra room. If you’re hiking somewhere cold and wet, you’ll probably need the extra space in a 60 L pack to hold the extra layer of clothing and sleeping insulation.

Clothing

Warm, dry conditions

• Short-sleeve running shirt
• Long-sleeve “warm” shirt (wool or something)
• Waterproof/breathable jacket
• Hiking/athletic shorts
• 2 pair athletic underwear
• 2 pair hiking/athletic socks
• Trail running shoes
• Bandana
• Sunglasses

Cold, wet conditions

• Short-sleeve running shirt
• Fleece/down pullover
• Waterproof/breathable jacket
• Hiking/athletic shorts
• 3/4 length rain pants
• Tights
• 2 pair athletic underwear
• 2 pair hiking/athletic socks
• Trail running shoes
• Beanie
• Water-resistant gloves/mittens
• Bandana
• Sunglasses

This may not seem like enough clothing to some (no full-length pants?), but for staying warm, you have a secret weapon: hiking. As long as you’re moving, you’ll feel a lot warmer. Since your legs are doing most of the work, they’ll almost never feel cold.

Two pairs each of socks and underwear are enough, provided you rinse ‘n wring the pair you’re not wearing, daily.

Some folks still prefer hiking shoes/boots, but a sturdy pair of trail runners will give you almost as much support, more flexibility, more breathability, and they’re much lighter in weight. If you want extra support, try using supportive insoles. Best of all, you can carry the stock insoles in your pack and swap them out when you finish hiking for the day. Switching from stiffer, supportive insoles to flexible, cushioned ones makes it feel like you put on a whole new pair of shoes.

If you don’t want cataracts by the time you’re 50, bring sunglasses. Preferably polarized.

A bandana has many uses, as a headscarf, head band, neck warmer, handkerchief, towel, dish pad, bandage, the list goes on. They’re cheap, weigh next-to-nothing, and take up almost no space. Bring one.

Food/water

• Spoon/spork
• Plasticware bowl with screw-top lid
• Odor-proof bag/canister
• 1 L water bottle(s)
• Squeeze water filter

A spoon is usually all the silverware you need; you’re not going to be eating fork-and-knife food on the trail.

A plasticware bowl with a leakproof screw-top lid is invaluable. Almost everything you eat on the trail is either finger food or best eaten in a bowl. Being able to seal your bowl for hours at a time allows you to prepare food by cold soaking, and in a pinch, your bowl can serve as a backup water container.

If you need to carry a lot of water, nothing beats a large bladder in terms of capacity vs. weight of container. That said, bladders are unwieldy and have the possibility of tearing (we’ve seen it happen). If your bladder tears in the wrong place at the wrong time, that could be life-threatening. Instead, we recommend carrying plastic 1 L bottles, as many as you need. Bottles made from other materials are much heavier, more expensive, and aren’t appreciably more durable (plastic bottles are as durable as necessary). Leftover disposable bottles are nearly as good as name brand bottles, and they’re both lighter and a lot cheaper (essentially free). Make sure to bring at least one bottle that easily fits under a bathroom tap and at least one bottle with a wide mouth.

We could write a whole article on water treatment, but for now, we'll simply say squeeze filters are one of lightest, cheapest, and most reliable solutions. There's a reason they're overwhelmingly the most popular choice on the trail.

Except during mealtime, all of your food, and everything that might smell like food (like toothpaste), should be kept in some kind of odor-proof container. If you’re in bear country, you may want to carry a bear canister (in some places, this is required by law). All of your food should be inside its own sealable container (a freezer bag will do), and all of those should go inside the odor-proof container. An odor-free camp is a critter-free camp.

We at PackJournal are big fans of going stoveless. It’s not so much the stove we mind carrying, it’s the fuel.

Toiletries

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Unscented camp soap
• Loofa
• Sunscreen
• Lip balm

Obviously, if you need more than what’s listed here (like medication), bring it.

Camp soap, if you’re not familiar, refers to all-purpose liquid soap that can be used for nearly anything: body wash, shampoo, laundry detergent, dish soap, etc. In a pinch, it can even be used as toothpaste (a travel-size tube of toothpaste is worth it). It’s best to get unscented camp soap if you don’t want critters invading your campsite. Most camp soaps are eco-friendly, so you don’t even have to worry about spilling it on the ground or in a stream.

A loofa may seem like a greenhorn thing to bring along, until you consider its many uses. When you can’t take a proper shower, scrubbing off in a stream, even without soap, will get you impressively clean. A loofa can also be used to scrub almost anything else: dishes, stained clothes, sap on your pack, and so on. As long as you’re OK scrubbing yourself with something that’s not 100% clean (and when you’re hiking, what is?), a loofa works wonders. And they’re light, cheap, and scrunch down to take up almost no space.

Electronics

• Smartphone
• Phone case
• Power bank
• Charging cable

With their many uses in a small package, you’d think smartphones were designed with hiking in mind. Anything more than a smartphone, like a tablet or e-reader, is a luxury item.

Keeping your smartphone charged can be difficult, but if you keep your phone in airplane mode most of the time, it should last 3-4 days on a full charge. A reasonably-sized power bank, about the size of a deck of cards and weighing about half a pound, should be able to charge your phone about three times. That means you can go about 10 days between charges, by which time you’ll almost certainly visit a town for one reason or another and get the opportunity to recharge.

Solar panels work, but not as well as one might hope. Under ideal conditions, a solar panel the size of a magazine will provide roughly one full phone charge per day. If it’s cloudy or you’re hiking in the shade most of the time, your solar charger may not keep up with your use. A power bank weighs about the same and works more predictably.

Miscellaneous

• Pocketknife
• Wallet
• Trekking poles
• Cigarette lighter
• Paper maps and compass
• Book
• Trowel
• Freezer bags

The usefulness of a pocketknife is hard to understate. That said, a cheapo pocketknife with only 1-2 features will likely be enough for a thru-hike. There’s simply not much need for tools out in the woods.

Trekking poles not only help you stay more stable on tricky spots like rock gardens or stream crossings, but they take about 10% of the weight off your feet. At the end of a long day, that makes a big difference.

Go to an outdoors store and you might find many different fire-starting kits. If you find one that’s cheaper, lighter, smaller, and more reliable than a cigarette lighter, buy it. Until then, bring a cigarette lighter. You probably won’t need to start a fire, but it’s good to have in case of emergency.

Depending on where you’re going, as well as how much you like to rely on your phone, you may or may not need paper maps or a compass. One advantage paper maps have over phone apps is the much larger screen, as well as unlimited battery life.

A book is a luxury item, but for less than a pound, you have entertainment every evening for a month, possibly more. Like paper maps, they have an unlimited battery life.

In the interest of “Leave no trace,” bring a trowel. Don’t be that guy. In addition to helping you keep the wilderness pristine, many trowels double as a backup tent stake, which you should probably bring anyway. In the end, it’s virtually no additional weight.

Freezer bags are the best way of keeping your gear separate, organized, and in case of rain, dry. Bring lots of these and use them to store everything.

Conclusion

If you stick to this list, you should end up with a skin-out base weight of 9-10 kg (20-22 lbs), depending on the weight of the individual items you have. Considering this includes things that won’t go in your pack (like shoes and trekking poles), your pack should be light enough.

Ultralight hiking usually involves giving up something most people would consider a necessity. For example, using a tarp or bivy instead of a tent, using a backpack and/or unworn clothing as a sleeping pad, or carrying only one pair each of socks and underwear. There are certainly advantages to ultralight hiking, but this list is meant as a reasonably light setup that should work for most people.

When it comes to packing, some of the most valuable information is knowing what luxuries you can do without, which things you especially appreciate, and what discomforts you’re willing to put up with. Our best suggestion is to start with this list as a guideline, then go try it out! If you find there are certain things you missed, bring ‘em. If there’s something you barely used, ditch it. Afterward, you can pare down your packing list to include all the things that make a difference and none of the things that don’t.

Pros

Shifting
On most bikes, a grip shift is used. This may not seem like a big deal, but it’s nice to wear mittens without shifting getting any more difficult.

Since the chain doesn’t need to hop gear-to-gear, it’s nearly impossible to miss a shift, and gear changes happen almost instantly. Also, say goodbye to dropped chains.

A Rohloff allows you to shift even when the bike is entirely stopped. In fact, shifting is a little smoother if you’re either pedaling lightly or not at all, so you eventually get in the habit of backing off your pedal stroke for half a second while you shift. This may not seem like a big deal, but it’s hard to understate how convenient it is to be able to shift down after you’ve come to a complete stop. I find myself doing this at least once or twice per ride, usually after some kind of sudden or unexpected stop. When your bike is fully loaded for touring, it sucks having to start off in the wrong gear, especially on an uphill or in a busy intersection.

The Rohloff has 14 gears, each roughly 13.6% higher than the previous one, for a total range of 526%. That means the highest gear ratio is 5.26 times greater than the lowest gear ratio. For comparison, that provides about the same range as a mountain bike, with more gears and a smaller step size than modern 1x11 mountain bike drivetrains. Exactly what are your highest and lowest gear ratios is determined by the relative size of your front and rear cogs.

For touring purposes, the range of gearing is more than enough, the spacing between gears is a reasonable size, and the convenience of shifting at any time is more valuable than you might think.

Maintenance
Perhaps the greatest advantage of a Rohloff drivetrain is the lack of needed maintenance.

A Rohloff can be used with a belt drive, eliminating the need to keep your chain clean and lubricated, as well as the need to replace your chain after stretching. A belt drive will eventually break and (obviously) need replacement, but in that time, you’d likely go through 3-4 chains. Unless your tour involves crossing multiple continents, a new belt will easily last start-to-finish with no maintenance whatsoever. Even if you decide to carry a spare belt, they’re lightweight, flexible, and easy to stash in your panniers.

Even if you’re using a chain, the low maintenance of a Rohloff is still a draw. With no derailleurs, there are fewer delicate components and moving parts that might break. Derailleur hangers, in particular, can bend after taking a strong hit, wreaking havoc on your shifting. A Rohloff drivetrain doesn’t require a derailleur hanger, and you can’t bend one when you don’t have one. The hub itself is the only moving part in the drivetrain, and the Rohloff Speedhub has an incredible track record of never breaking down.

Even your shifting cables will last an extraordinarily long time before breaking, but we’ll revisit that topic later (unfortunately).

Wheels
An often-overlooked benefit to a Rohloff hub is the effect it has on your rear wheel.

Most rear wheels are dished, meaning the spokes are asymmetrical when looking straight down the rim. This is to make room for the cassette on one side of the rear hub. Generally, a wheel will be stronger if the spokes are able to flare outwards. That’s possible on one side of a dished wheel, but not on the drive side. As a result, wheelbuilders take the strength where they can get it on the non-drive side, but there’s no way around the fact that a dished wheel isn’t as strong as a symmetrical one.

To make matters worse, a rear wheel needs to be stronger. On most bikes, roughly two-thirds of a rider’s weight will be on the rear wheel, vs. one-third on the front. Most touring setups follow roughly the same proportions: smaller panniers up front, larger ones on the rear, and possibly an extra duffel bag or tent on top of the rear rack. The rear wheel is also the drive wheel, adding torsional forces into the mix.

To make up for the weakness of a dished wheel, the additional weight, and the torsion due to the driving force of the bike, most wheelsets are built with more spokes on the rear wheel. Even then, the rear wheel is much more likely to experience some kind of failure than the front wheel. In addition, this results in the wheels having a total of three spoke lengths between them: front, rear drive side, rear non-drive side. A prudent touring cyclist will carry at least one each of these spokes, perhaps two.

A Rohloff system has no rear cassette, and therefore, the rear wheel can be laced symmetrically like a front wheel. This makes for a much stronger wheel and reduces the amount of lengths of spokes in use. Chances are the front and rear will still have different spoke lengths, since the hub flanges will likely be different sizes, but that’s still one less thing to keep track of.

I’ve toured over 30,000 km using 32 spokes on both front and rear, and not once has a wheel even gone out of true. While good rims, good spokes, and a skilled mechanic were all key contributors to that, I’m fairly certain the rear wheel’s symmetry, thanks to the Rohloff hub, was equally important.

Cons

Weight
A Rohloff hub is heavy. Exactly how heavy depends on the model, but roughly 1.8 kg (4.0 lbs) is typical. Mind you, that’s only for the hub; including the shifter, brake levers, belt drive, and front and rear cogs would bring the total to roughly 2.4 kg (5.3 lbs). By comparison, a Shimano 105 drivetrain has a total weight of 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs), comparing all the equivalent parts (leaving out crank arms, bottom bracket, and cables). That’s an additional 0.9 kg (2.0 lbs) on the bike.

People spend a lot of money to reduce the weight of their bike by 100 grams, and this component alone adds nearly ten times that. While touring bikes aren’t lightweight to begin with, an entire kg is enough to notice.

The additional weight gets added almost exclusively to one place: the rear hub. In some cases, this may not matter, but most touring bikes are already too tail-heavy, and the Rohloff only makes that problem worse.

Efficiency
There are varying reports on this, but the general consensus is a Rohloff hub is, on average, less mechanically efficient than a traditional chain-and-derailleur system. Rohloff claims their drivetrain is more efficient, but most third-party tests seem to indicate it’s less.

The difference is somewhat minor; the total energy loss is generally estimated to be an additional 1% compared to a traditional drivetrain. Considering each gear is 13.6% higher than the gear below it, that makes a difference of less than 10% compared to being one gear slower. That said, if some especially long days were 1% easier, you’d notice.

The Rohloff hub’s zero-maintenance properties probably mitigate this difference, perhaps to the point of being more efficient in the field, while still being less efficient in the lab. In a traditional drivetrain, chains can stretch and rust, derailleurs can get caked in mud, and a poorly-tuned bike may have the chain rubbing on the derailleur, or the derailleur may be holding the chain somewhat in between gears. None of this is an issue for a Rohloff hub, which performs nearly the same in all conditions.

All that said, after riding both systems, a traditional system feels like there’s less energy loss when I’m stomping on the pedals. It’s also strange how quickly the rear wheel slows to a stop when you spin it on a workstand. Rohloff claims this isn’t an issue when the hub is under load, but I have my doubts.

Maintenance
Rohloff hubs don’t need maintenance often, but when they do, good luck!

Nearly any service needed is going to require you to take your bike to a shop. And not just any shop, either. From my experience, only about half of all bike shops will even attempt to work on a Rohloff hub, and even then, they might have only one guy who knows how. Don’t expect a quick turnaround when your Rohloff hub needs maintenance.

Due to a shoddy job building the bike (long story), my shifting cable snapped after an unusually short 3,000 km of riding. After trying for 20 minutes, I couldn’t even figure out how to remove the old cable. Fortunately, I was just outside a mid-sized town and managed to hitchhike to a bike shop. The mechanic there tried installing a new cable for an hour, then told me to come back the next day. He was eventually able to install the new cable correctly, and it lasted over 20,000 km.

Replacing a cable while on tour is a major hassle, but if you start your tour with a new cable (installed by a competent mechanic), you can complete all but the very longest of tours with peace of mind and without even carrying a spare.

Rohloff hubs also need their oil changed every so often. Rohloff recommends doing this every 5,000 km, or once a year minimum. I’ve gone 30,000 km and three years between changes without experiencing a problem, but the shifting and pedaling felt a lot better after the oil change. Like replacing a cable, this is something you won’t want to do on tour, but if you get the maintenance done beforehand and start your tour fresh, there should be no problems.

Compatibility
The Rohloff hub is obviously a specialty item, but nearly everything used with it - shifter, belt, front and rear cogs, disc rotor - are also specialty items. If you’re ever in need of a new rotor, you can’t simply get a new six-bolt rotor and stick it on. You’ll have to special order a Rohloff-compatible one.

I’ve only had to replace two of these: the belt and the rear cog. The cog had to be done by a shop, but the belt I replaced myself while on tour. It’s easier than installing a new chain and requires no tools.

Not only are most of the parts on your bike going to be specialty items, the same is true of the frame itself. With no derailleur, belt tension has to be achieved through other means. Most commonly, this is done with either slider dropouts (see above) or an eccentric bottom bracket (see below), both of which will add even more to the additional weight caused by the Rohloff hub. If you want a bike with a Rohloff hub, you’ll have to start with a frame that’s compatible. Most aren’t.

Price
Rohloff hubs aren’t cheap, usually running about $1,300. You can buy a perfectly good touring bike for less. Considering that’s $1,300 being spent to make your bike heavier, possibly less efficient, and in some ways more difficult to maintain, it’s worth asking whether or not it’s worth the money.

Verdict

I love my Rohloff hub and the bike it’s on. Valeria was built with the goal of being a bike that would last a lifetime with minimal, if any, upgrades made along the way. Five years later, we’re still on schedule, and she remains my favorite bike to ride, even if she’s not my fastest.

If I were to start over from scratch, I’d probably stick to a traditional drivetrain. Rohloff hubs are awfully expensive, and for my money, $1,300 needs to be an upgrade with no drawbacks.

Whether or not a Rohloff drivetrain is right for you is something you’ll have to decide for yourself. If money’s not an issue and you like the idea of a zero-maintenance bike, both in terms of a drivetrain and a stronger rear wheel, a Rohloff hub is an excellent choice. If you like widespread compatibility and you spend frugally, maybe not.

Pros: strong, easy to repair, compliant, cheap
Cons: heavy, limited range of tube shaping

First, a clarification: we’ll be talking about chromoly steel. Hi-ten (high-tensile) steel is a cheaper material used on the kinds of bikes you find at discount stores. If care enough about your bike to read an article comparing frame material, don’t get this.

Compared to hi-ten steel, chromoly is much stronger, which allows frame builders to use less of it and still make a frame of considerable strength. Hi-ten steel isn’t much heavier by volume, but frames made from hi-ten steel are heavier due to needing more material to achieve the same strength, and even then, chromoly frames are typically stronger.

Of the four materials examined here, steel has the longest history and is still in widespread use. For many applications, chief among them touring, cyclists prefer steel to any other material due to its high strength, ease of repair, smooth ride quality, and low price point.

However, steel (even chromoly) is the heaviest frame material, isn’t particularly stiff, and has limitations on the ability to shape tubing to give different qualities to different parts of the frame. Butted tubing refers to tubing that has a different thickness inside the tube at different points (the outer diameter will typically remain constant), which can make the frame more flexible, whereas straight gauge tubing will be stiffer, but beyond that, steel has few options when it comes to changing the ride quality.

That said, the ride quality of a steel frame is usually considered one of its advantages, especially for long-distance touring. Steel is strong-but-flexible material, which gives it the ability to soak up vibrations on rougher surfaces. The result is a ride that’s frequently describes as plush, smooth, and comfortable. This isn’t great if you’re trying to win a race, but if you are, you’re probably not riding a heavy steel frame anyway.

Pros: Lightweight, stiff, relatively inexpensive
Cons: Harsh ride, limited durability

Aluminum first started becoming popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Previously, almost all bikes were made of steel. Aluminum frames offered the advantage of being lighter than steel frames by about a pound.

While aluminum has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steel, it has a lower strength-to-volume ratio, which means more aluminum must be used to make a frame as strong as steel. In addition, aluminum frames will generally use much larger tubing to make the frame stiffer and prevent the softer metal from bending.

In the end, aluminum frames are generally stiffer than steel ones. This is great if you’re trying to win a sprint, but many cyclists find the stiffness of an aluminum frame “harsh”, as opposed to the plush, smooth ride steel provides.

Despite high stiffness, aluminum has low strength and no fatigue limit, meaning the strength of the frame begins to slowly deteriorate the moment it bears any weight. While a quality aluminum frame can last a decade or more, the ride quality will change over time, and an aluminum frame is unlikely to last a lifetime. This also makes aluminum frames an unlikely choice for bikes that will carry heavy loads, but some manufacturers have made burly aluminum frames that hold up well for touring.

Aluminum remains a popular choice for both road and mountain bike riding due to its light weight, stiffness, and relatively low expense. It may not be the best choice for all-day comfort, life-long longevity, or especially heavy loads, though some aluminum frames are built with these goals in mind.

Pros: lightest weight, aerodynamic, customizable for different uses
Cons: expensive, impossible to repair

The material most often used by professional cyclists, carbon fiber is renowned for its especially light weight and, in many cases, aerodynamic profile. As opposed to other materials, carbon fiber is (surprise!) a fibrous material, made from weaving microscopic fibers into a material that’s both stronger and stiffer than steel.

In addition to these properties, carbon fibers can be woven into different patterns that promote either stiffness or compliability, as desired, in different parts of the frame, and even in different directions (eg. stiff torsionally, but flexible laterally). The strength and stiffness of a carbon tube is determined not only by the architectural shape of the tube, but by the weave pattern of the fibers on a microscopic level. As such, carbon tubes can be made into almost any shape imaginable without sacrificing strength, allowing for the frame to be made into especially aerodynamic shapes, if desired.

Due to the customizability of carbon fiber, down to the microscopic level, carbon frames can be made as strong, stiff, or compliant as desired. While steel is typically the strongest material, a carbon frame can be made equally strong. Similarly, a carbon frame can be made as stiff as, or stiffer than, an aluminum frame. Most often, carbon frames attempt to strike a balance between lightweight, strength, stiffness, compliance, and aerodynamics, but frames that specialize in one of these fields are also common.

Carbon fiber is an expensive material, and while it can be made very strong, it’s difficult to fully repair. While many manufacturers advise against it, a cracked carbon frame can be repaired, but you’ll have to mail it to a specialty repair shop, costing you heavily both in terms of money and time.

Pros:  Strength, smooth ride, light weight, no weaknesses
Cons:  Expensive!

Sometimes considered the crème de la crème of frame materials, titanium has almost no drawbacks.

Professional racing cyclists don’t use titanium, since carbon fiber can be made lighter and more aerodynamic, and therefore faster. Titanium isn’t far behind in any category though, and has all the strength and reliability of steel. A quality titanium frame will last a lifetime without ever feeling outdated.

While titanium can’t be customized for specific applications like carbon fiber, it’s common to see butted tubing (like steel) or oversize tubing (like aluminum) used to give the frame specific properties for specific purposes. However, titanium’s greatest advantage is its lack of disadvantages. A titanium frame is versatile enough to win a criterium, then strap on 80 pounds of gear and ride from coast-to-coast.

All this comes at a price: Titanium frames aren’t cheap! Only a select few manufacturers make titanium frames at all, and essentially every bike with a titanium frame will be high-end or custom.

Ratings

OK, so carbon is light, steel is strong, but how much lighter and stronger are they? Let’s take a quantitative approach.

For our purposes, we’ll grade every frame material on a 0-10 scale based on criteria: strength, weight, stiffness/compliance, aerodynamics, and reparability. In each category, the best material will get a 10 (even if it’s still not perfect). Every other material will get a score proportionately accurate to a 10.

For example, if steel is the strongest and titanium is 90% as strong, steel will get a score of 10 and titanium a 9. If carbon is the lightest and steel weighs twice as much, carbon will get a 10 and steel will get a 5.

While no two frames are identical, we’re assuming a “typical” frame of middling quality for each material. Let the throwdown begin!

Strength

First, a clarification: strength and stiffness are two different properties. Stiffness means how much force it takes to bend a material at all, even if it returns to its normal shape. Strength means how much effort it takes to bend a material permanently.

In particular, steel is known for high strength, but low stiffness, meaning it can be easily flexed, but it’s hard to permanently bend. Aluminum, by contrast, is the opposite. It’s hard to bend at all, but once you do, it often stays bent.

Strength is the property that’ll most determine the longevity of your bike. If you want to keep your bike a long time, invest in a strong frame. Strength is also important to people who intend to carry a heavy load on their bike, whether that’s camping gear for a long trip, or simply themselves.

It’s worth noting that there are two main types of strength - impact and fatigue. A material with a high fatigue strength will stand up to lots of “ordinary” use before failing, while high impact strength means a bike can take stronger catastrophic damage before failure. These aren’t always correlated; for example, carbon has a high fatigue limit but lower impact strength, while aluminum has reasonably high impact strength but essentially no fatigue limit.

These scores are a subjective attempt to combine both types of strength. A frame of any material can be beefed up until it’s stronger than a typical frame of any other material. Take these scores as a general rule, not an unbreakable law.

Steel: 10
Titanium: 9
Carbon: 7
Aluminum: 5

Weight

This one’s fairly straightforward. How much does it weigh?

Like all of these categories, we’re going with a “typical” median value. Some steel frames can be surprisingly light, and other frames might be made bulkier than normal, whether for the purpose of improving strength, or perhaps simply in the hands of a less skilled frame builder.

The frame of a bike is only a small portion of its weight, and while one material might be twice as heavy as another, it’ll still only add 1-2 kg, maximum, to the weight of the bike. Steel frames, the heaviest material, weigh less than twice as much as comparably strong carbon frames.

It’s also common to see the main frame and the fork of a bike made out of two different materials. In particular, the fork of many bikes is carbon, regardless of the material of the rest of the frame.

Carbon: 10
Aluminum: 8
Titanium: 8
Steel: 6

Stiffness/Compliance

Stiffness and compliance are inverses of one another, like light and heavy, hot and cold. Stiffness is great if you’re trying to win a sprint, but compliance is much better for all-day comfort.

Aluminum and some carbon frames are stiff enough to minimize any energy loss in the transfer from pedals to tires, but are so poor at damping vibration you could probably tell if a coin under your tire was heads or tails. Steel, titanium, and some carbon frames are excellent at flexing, just barely, under stress and can soak up all the micro-bumps on a rough stretch of pavement, but the tradeoff is energy loss when hammering on the pedals.

For that reason, our score here is a subjective one. Which frame material is the best of both worlds? Because of its high adaptability, carbon can be made stiff where it counts (like the down tube and chain stays), but compliant where it matters most (like the seat tube and seat stays). Other materials can attempt to do the same by changing the diameter, shape, or butting (progressive thickness) of the tubes, but there’s only so much you can do with a continuous material like metal.

Since this is primarily a site for touring bikes, we’re favoring compliance over stiffness, but we’re giving the highest ratings to the materials that allow for the most fine-tuning.

Carbon: 10
Titanium: 9
Steel: 8
Aluminum: 6

Aerodynamics

Increasingly, it’s understood that aerodynamics is a bigger factor than weight when it comes to the speed and efficiency of a bike. Similar to weight, the frame itself is a small factor in the total aerodynamic profile of a bike; the rider plays a much bigger role. In the case of touring bikes, the size and placement of panniers also plays a much bigger role in aerodynamics than the frame itself.

Carbon is the winner here, since it can be easily molded into different shapes without greatly sacrificing strength. Since titanium and aluminum can make up for lower strength by adding more material without adding too much weight, they come in ahead of steel.

Carbon: 10
Titanium: 8
Aluminum: 7
Steel: 6

Reparability

Frame failures are rare, but they can happen, usually as a result of a crash. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (see Strength), but it’s nice to know that if something happens to your bike, you can get it fixed and continue on your way.

Steel is by far the easiest to repair. Almost any mechanic with a welding torch can get a steel frame back to rideable quality. Titanium and aluminum need more specialized tools to weld, and you’ll likely need to send your bike to a specialty mechanic, but it can be done.

A metal frame is more likely to bend, rather than break entirely. And that means it can be bent back. A frame that’s been noticeably bent should be replaced, but bending the frame back into place might be good enough to ride on for a few days. The lower the fatigue limit (like aluminum), the less safe this is, and the more likely the frame is to bend again. Primarily for that reason, we’re ranking titanium slightly ahead of aluminum, even though they’re equally difficult to permanently fix.

Carbon, by contrast, doesn’t bend; it cracks. More familiarity with the material has resulted in carbon frames getting much stronger over the past several years, but there’s no changing the fact that once a carbon frame cracks, it shouldn’t be ridden until fixed. Also, while a cracked frame can be repaired, carbon remains effectively irreparable in the field.

We're cutting all the scores in half for this one. While it's important, it's something that rarely, if ever, comes up.

Steel: 5
Titanium: 3
Aluminum: 2
Carbon: 1

Final Score

Carbon: 38
Titanium: 37
Steel: 35
Aluminum: 28

Of course, these scores aren’t meant to be taken too seriously. Half of the categories were fairly subjective, and one rider might consider one category much more important than another, whereas we gave equal weight to most categories. There’s no bike, nor frame material, that’s best for everyone.

We also didn't take cost into account for the purpose of this score system. It shouldn't be surprising to see the most expensive materials at the top, but it's worth pointing out the most expensive wasn't the winner, and the cheapest material scored nearly as high as anything else.

Considering the slant we at PackJournal have for touring, it may be surprising to see carbon scoring highest. Again, we threw out cost as a factor, and that alone would most likely move steel to first place on the list. “Steel is real” still rings true, and often gives you the best bang for your buck.

That said, carbon utility bikes have come a long way. Once thought of as delicate and only suitable for barely supporting a 60 kg professional cyclist, there are now carbon frames capable of standing up to all the punishment of a ‘round-the-world tour. Throw in all the other benefits that come with a carbon frame, and it proves to be one of the best materials available, provided it’s optimized for its intended use. There aren’t many complete touring bikes with carbon frames on the market, but it’s a growing trend. Some of the best touring bikes available are carbon frames, and it’ll be exciting to see what the future holds for this material.

Unsurprisingly, titanium scores highly, but one might expect titanium to be the runaway winner. Jack of all trades, master of none, titanium’s greatest advantage is its lack of disadvantages, but its greatest disadvantage is its lack of advantages. For any specific purpose, there’s always something better, but for all purposes, it’s hard to beat titanium (except for the price).

Aluminum, while low on our list, shouldn’t be thrown out entirely. Worth saying again, how a frame is made matters as much as, or more than, its material. Aluminum is still an especially popular material for mountain bikes, where the cushion provided by suspension and wide tires essentially mitigates aluminum’s greatest weakness: its “harsh” ride and low fatigue limit. On a mountain bike, the suspension and tires will take the punishment instead of the frame.

In conclusion, think about what’s the most important quality for your bike to have. Speed? Unbreakable strength? Comfort? Longevity? What’s your budget? Answering those questions will help you pick a frame material that’s best for you.

Two years ago, I had the idea to ride a bike across a couple continents. I already had a perfectly good touring bike, but I decided it would be worth it to get one where I could start from scratch, selecting each part of the bike for maximum reliability, ease of repair, and availability. In no way was I interested in a flashy bike with all the latest trendy components. The idea was this would be a life-long bike that would never need replacing.

After some research, the choice was narrowed down to two bikes. A local shop was a dealer of both, so without intending to make a purchase, I went in to ask their advice. They heavily favored one, and they were so convincing, I placed an order! The deciding factors were a lot more control over how the bike turned out, and it was a lot cheaper than expected. Only one thing - they wanted a $1,000 deposit. No problem, that would come out of the price later anyway. I paid up.

The bike was due to arrive on April 11. I decided to start my tour in mid-May and bought a plane ticket for May 13, giving me a month with Valeria (I'd already named her!) before I left, both to get used to her and to make sure everything was working.

Valeria was completed five weeks late. Yes, after the flight. During that time, the bike shop made zero phone calls, neither to the customer or the manufacturer. The extreme tardiness was in no small part due to the bike shop's negligence, including:

• Placing the order two weeks late after failing to schedule around an employee traveling to a conference.
• Failing to maintain any communication with the manufacturer.
• Waiting until the frame arrived (late) before ordering necessary parts.
• Failing to have said last-minute parts shipped overnight.
• Not checking if all needs parts arrived with the frame, setting off yet another round of ordering parts and waiting.
• Once all parts arrived, waiting an extra day or two to begin assembling the bike.

When I arrived to pick up Valeria, there were a few surprises:

• The tires weren't what I ordered.
• The tubes weren't what I ordered.
• The stem was the wrong size. When I asked why it wasn't 100 mm, I was assured that it was, even though the size was printed on it.
• The saddle wasn't what I ordered.
• The lights weren't what I ordered.
• The headset spacers weren't what I ordered. When I'd originally been talked into ordering expensive ones, and now that the order had been changed, the same person told me they were a waste of money.
• The brakes weren't even the same type of brakes that I'd ordered.
• The price had increased by over $3,000. You can buy three perfectly good touring bikes for that much. Better, in fact, because they would have more reliable components.

There were also a few parts I'd never had a chance to specify, the seatpost for example, due to the lack of communication with the shop. So I got whatever they decided I was getting.

I asked why so much of the order was changed, and they said they weren't able to get the correct parts. They added, "I didn't think you would come in to pick up the bike." In short, they pulled a fast one in the interest of making a sale. Rather than let the customer get them somewhere else, they decided to change their order without telling them.

I got them to replace the brakes (with wrong ones again, more on that later), then headed straight from the store the airport for my second flight, rescheduled a week after the one I'd missed. Had I even a couple days, I would've refused the sale. Getting a bike from another shop, online, Craigslist, a garage sale, anything would've been a better experience.

For that matter, if I'd been told, "It's going to come in five weeks late, $3,000 over budget, half the parts won't be what you asked for, and you'll visit several bike shops for maintenance within the first month after the sloppy work we do putting it together," I would've cancelled the order, even if I had to eat the $1,000 deposit. That's probably exactly why they make you pay one. They know they're likely to screw up, or intend to screw you over, and now they've got you.

I felt that the shop should have to make up for their tardiness, and also that the bike came in wrong. At a rate of $10/hour, that came to more than the bike was worth. At $60/hour (the rate most shops, including this one, charge for labor), they would owe a small house. At a hospital's hourly rate, you could probably put Google out of business. Asking for a free bike is a lot, but I think most people would agree with the following:

• A customer's time is as valuable as the shop's.
• No one should have to pay for something that isn't what they asked for.
• I should've been in Alaska a week already.
• It was too late to start all over somewhere else. The bike was needed now.
• The bike shop was a large part of why I was late for my tour.
• The bike shop's sneaky dealing was the reason I only learned about the incorrect parts a week after my tour was supposed to start.
• A $3,000 price hike, with no warning, is ridiculous.

In short, a bike was needed now and I shouldn't have to pay for this one. Both of these things were the fault of the shop. They should be the ones to take the hit.

After 20 minutes of haggling, I received a 28% discount. I'm curious what they would've done if a customer simply didn't have the extra amount they wanted to charge. Or what if the bike was for a week-long tour that couldn't be rescheduled, and by finishing the bike five weeks late, they had caused the customer to miss it entirely?

Here's how the same situation plays out in a restaurant:
"Sorry your meal took so long, you didn't get what you ordered, the food wasn't cooked properly, the waiter was dishonest to you, and you were overcharged. I also understand you missed the movie you'd already bought tickets for. Your meal is on us tonight, and here's a coupon for next time. Would you also like a round of drinks, or maybe dessert?"

As I mentioned, the brakes were wrong a second time. Instead of the well-known, reliable ones I asked for, I got something visually similar from the same brand. Just like always, I wasn't told. I only noticed in the Andes, when the brake pads wore out. Not a single inhabitant of South America had even seen or heard of these brakes before. The Andes is a bad place to not have brakes, so I bought new ones.

I also had to replace a lot of the parts I didn't ask for, and even a few that I did.

• A dynamo hub that didn't produce a charge: $400
• A headlight that didn't light up, or at least didn't work with the dynamo: $200
• A taillight that didn't work under any circumstances: $30
• A USB port that didn't have enough power to charge anything: $200
• A front rack that couldn't hold up to 25% of its weight limit: $400
• Brakes that were sold to me under false pretenses: $120

It would've been great if I could've returned these right away, but getting the bike late prevented that from happening. Again, something that would've worked out differently if the shop had been on time. Two years later, now returned from my voyage, I went to the bike shop to return these items. Since I'd already had to replace them all while on tour, the intent was a refund, not an exchange.

Here's what happens when you spend $20 at Target:
"I used this a few times, and I don't like it."
Or...
"I changed my mind; I don't want it anymore."
"Sounds like you're not 100% satisfied! Here's your money back. Thanks for shopping at Target! Is there anything else we can do to help you?"

This is what happens when you spend $1,000+ in this bike shop:
"None of these parts worked the way they're supposed to, and you sold me the wrong brakes."
"Tough shit!"

Buying everything online is cheaper, faster, more convenient, and no one changes your order without permission. And if your order is delayed, you get an email! When you spend extra and take the time to visit a specialty store, you should expect a level of customer service at least on par with Target. And when you buy an item that costs five times what a perfectly good one costs, it should come with the reassurance that in the rare event that it doesn't work, you get your money back.

Part of the problem is Bike Mart primarily caters to recreational riders, people who want to have a bike that's a few grams lighter for their weekend group rides, not people who use their bikes. You'll talk to someone who did a few amateur races in college and watches the Tour de France, not someone who's replaced a broken spoke in the pouring rain or tried to find a replacement part in a third-world country. There's more money in selling the latest, most expensive high-tech gear, which will become obsolete once next year's model is out, rather than selling something that's always worked and always will.

When I first got Valeria, a reader of my blog emailed Bike Mart and asked what caused the five week delay and all the mistakes with the order. After receiving the 28% discount, I wrote to the guy explaining that Bike Mart had done something about it. I went ahead and forwarded the email to the shop, so they'd see that I appreciated the gesture, in an attempt to bury the hatchet. This is what I received in response:
"Love your math 5200 is 28per of 10000" (note: the original price was $7,200 and was reduced to $5,200) "Hope you can ride better
Good luck. you will need it
Sent from my iPhone"

For a moment, let's forget that he was challenging the math ability of a calculus teacher who scored 800 on the math GRE.
Instead, let's focus on who wrote this - the owner of the store. The highest employee possible. He skipped over the word "original" next to the word "price," he's yet to discover what punctuation is, and he insults his customers, even after they do him a favor by placating other customers for him. Because it was the owner of the store, there's no way to spin this into "Not representative of the values held by Bike Mart." Quite the opposite, in fact. Dishonesty, lack of communication, sloppy work, extreme tardiness, and contempt for the customers is what Bike Mart is all about. You heard it from the top.

The owner's name is Jim Hoyt and his email address is jhoyt@bikemart.com.