Well, This is going from a email answering type column to an tips and tricks corner.
I have not received an email in a couple of weeks, guess I should of thought about this a long time ago when I got a huge in flux of emails. Regardless, I have had a couple of conversations with some friends and the subject has been the same, how do I get into bikepacking on a budget.
SO, I decided to put together a list of the minimal items needed for you to go bike packing on a budget.
Now, my bikepacking kit was an investment for me. I have spent probably a good $500 plus dollars getting all my things together. BUT, if you can get rolling and have a good time for much less.
Shelter:
I recommend an 8 dollar tarp that you can trim and cut to the perfect size you would need to cover you in a rainstorm. Group that with a $19 Camping hammock you can buy at Any Army Navy store and you got a pretty good inexpensive light shelter option that would work great for the area we live in.
Unless your camping in the cold, you can get by with a small blanket in Florida. I even made it through the night with just a small $5 blanket I got at Food Lion that folds up pretty small and the temps were in the 50's. Sure I was fully dressed and sure I stuffed my shirt with newspaper to stay warmer, but I did make it through the night. You can find some Sleeping bags that work in temperate weather that fold up small in the 60 to 80 dollar range. But again, if your camping and its not in the 50's, you can skip the sleeping bag.
I would then recommend getting the highest volume Camelback pack you can afford, or worst comes to worst use a back pack and put your hydration bladder in it.
A good rear rack is about 30 bucks and can carry up to 25 lbs. Combine that with some bungees and a pair of Waterproof stuff sacks and you can pretty much rig up a rear bag on top of the rack and tie a front bag to your handlebars.
So let's do the math:
$8 tarp
$19 hammock
$30 rear seatpost mount rack
$5 Blanket
$30 2 Large Waterproof stuff sacks.
$10 Bungee kit
Grand total assuming you already got a backpack or hydration bladder if not add 50 bucks or so to the number and you get : $97.00.
Not Bad right?
Its not hard to get out there and have some fun with bikepacking. Do some over night trips and just enjoy your local system or trail. Create an overnight adventure for yourself and it does not have to be expensive. The most important part of all is being creative; you would be surprised what you can do on a budget.
Laters,
LOS
2 comments:
Sounds about right. I'll share too:
Hammock(new): $150
Sleeping bag (several years old): $60
Sleeping pad: $20
Rear rack and bag: (on sale and slightly damaged): $30
Handle bar bag (large): $40
New bigger Camelbak: $50
That is $350 in gear (only $270 recent purchases cause I had the sleeping bag and pad for years). The sleeping bag is not an ultra light/small bag and if truley needed will need to be swapped for a model that will pack smaller.
For cooking I'm going to try Sterno. It's about $2.00 for a container that lasts about 2.5 hours. One Sterno contaner should be good for a 2-3 days worth of hot meals if cooking for 15 minutes or less at a time. If that doesn't work out I'm going to try a homemade alcohal stove. My pot will be an old military canteen cup.
Now that a route has been established between Croom and Santos we need to plan a trip!!
Rob, join my on my hobo cross rematch. Meet me at Santos, LOL, ride with me from there to Clermont. I would be coming into Santos around 12pm on Saturday? Maybe you can get dropped off then ride home?
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