THE KIT
You wouldn't believe how many hours have gone into putting this kit together. We’ve trawled blogs, review sites and hunted out all the top deals to find the best kit for our budget. As we’re literally carrying our home on the back of the bikes, we opted for the most affordable lightweight items… with a few little luxuries thrown in to make the ride more comfortable. We are indebted to the cycle tourists who've shared their kit lists, so below is a bit of a breakdown of the stuff we’re taking.
The lot
This is it. This is all our worldly belongings for the next year or so packed into twelve bags:
– Ortlieb Bike Packer Plus Pair (black & blue).
– Ortlieb Sport Packer Plus Pair (black & blue)
– Ortlieb Medium Rack Pack x2 (red & yellow)
– Ortlieb Ultimate 6 Handle Bar Bag (black)
– Ortlieb Ultimate 6 S Plus Handle Bar Bag (blue)
The different coloured panniers were an after thought. Originally, we both had black rear panniers, but after a dry-run in Scotland, often mixing up whose bag was whose, we decided to sell a set of the black ones and buy blue. It's made life so much easier in our little tiny tent.
THE CAMP
– MSR Hubba Tour 2 tent
– MSR Hubba Tour 2 Footprint
– Vango Ultralite 900 Sleeping Bag
– Robens Caucasus 300 Sleeping Bag
– Thermarest NeoLite Sleeping Mat
– Women’s Thermarest NeoLite Sleeping Mat
– 2x Sea to Summit Silk Liners
– Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Inflatable Pillow
– Half-sized regular pillow
JEN's CLOTHES
– Specialized Riata MTB Cycle Shoes
– Merrell Salida Trekker Hiking Shoes
– Teva Women's Terra Fi Lite Leather Walking Sandals
– 4x Merino Socks (Icebreaker & SmartWool)
– Sportful Baggy Cycle Shorts
– North Face Zip-Off Trousers
– Loose 3/4 Trousers
– Ice Breaker Merino T-Shirt
– Icebreaker Merino Vest Top
– 2x Royal Robbins Casual Hiking Shirts
– Rapha Merino Jumper
– 5x Knickers
– 3x Sports Bras
– Bikini
– Berghaus Waterproof Jacket
– Berghaus Hydro-Down Jacket
– Rapha Fingerless Gloves
– Merino Buff
– Generic UV400 Sunglasses
Winter Kit Forwarded to New Zealand
– Sportful No-Rain Leg Warmers
– Mountain Warehouse Thermal Leggings
– Mountain Warehouse Merino Base Layer
– Rapha Packable Cycle Rain Jacket
– Sealskinz Waterproof Winter Gloves
– Sealskinz Merino Glove Liners
– Katmandu Wooly Hat
The tech
– MacBook x2
– Garmin Edge 1000
– 2x Garmin Vivo Activ Sports Watches
– SPOT Gen 3 Tracker
– CatEye Velo 5 Cycle Computer
– Panasonic LUMIX LX 100
– GoPro Hero 5 + Various Mounts
– 3x 1TB Harddrives
– Kindle Paperwhite
– 2x Headphones, plus Splitter
– JBL Clip 2 Waterproof Speaker
– 2x Anker PowerCore 26800 Battery Packs
– 2x Black Diamond Headtorches
Shared WASHBAG
– Katmandu Wash Bag
– Bar of Soap in Case
– Shampoo & Conditioner Sachets
– Roll-on Deodorant
– Toothpaste
– 2x Toothbrush in Case
– Floss
– SPF Lip Balm
– Nail Clippers
– Tweezers
– Razor
– Epilator (luxury item)
– Small Hair Brush
– Bobbles & Hair Grips
– Suncream
– Beard comb
– Beard oil
– 2x Microfibre Towel
THE BIKE BITS (no pic)
– 2x Son 28 Dynamos (broke)
– 2x Tubus Tara Lowrider Front Racks
– 2x Tubus Logo Evo Rear Racks
– CatEye Volt 1200 Front Light
– CatEye Volt 800 Front Light
– 2x Bontrager Flare R Rear Lights
– 4x 700ml Nalgene Bottles
– 2x Generic 500ml Bottles
THE KITCHEN
– Primus Omni-Fuel I Stove
– Primus 1L Fuel Bottle
– Primus Omni-Fuel I Maintenance Kit
– Primus ETA Pans (1L, 1.8L, 3L) + bowls
– MSR chopping board, grater & knife
– Generic spatula & tin opener
– 2x plates, mugs & Lifeventure basic cutlery sets
– 3x Tupperware boxes (1 for butter, 2 for overnight oats)
– IKEA food clips
– Food bags
– Lighters
DAN'S CLOTHES
– Giro Rumble VR MTB Cycle Shoes
– North Face Hedgehog Fastpack Walking Shoes
– Columbia Men's Walking Sandals
– 4x Merino Socks (Rapha/Ice Breaker)
– 2x Rapha Cycle Shorts
– North Face Paramount 3.0 Zip-Off Trousers
– Adidas Sport Shorts
– 5x Boxers
– Swimming Shorts
– 3x Icebreaker Merino T-Shirts
– 2x Generic Vest Tops
– Berghaus Waterproof Jacket
– Rab Hydro-Down Jacket
– Specialized Grail Fingerless Gloves
– Rapha Merino Buff
– Prescription Sunglasses
Winter Kit Forwarded to New Zealand
– Sportful No-Rain Leg Warmers
– Helly Hansen Base Layer
– Rapha Long Sleeved Cycle Jersey
– Rapha Merino Jumper
– Rapha Packable Cycle Rain Jacket
– Rapha Waterproof Deep Winter Gloves
– Icebreaker Merino Glove Liners
– Wooly Hat
miscellaneous
– LifeSystems Traveller First Aid Kit
– Various Medicines (Paracetamol etc)
– 2x Jungle Formula Deet Roll-On
– 2x 10 Litre Ortlieb Water Pouches
– Compass
– Maps
– Penknife
– Trowel
– Gold Standard Locks (to validate insurance)
– 1x Small Padlocks
– Fake Wallet
– Magic Letter
– Passsport Copies
– Passport Photos
– Notebook & Pens
– Playing Cards
– Small Sewing Kit
– Various Bungee Cords
– Various Sized Amazon Basic Packing Cubes
– Various Sized Dry Bags (Vango/Alpkit)
THE TOOLS & SPARES (no pic)
– 3x Inner Tubes
– Handful of Spokes & Nipples
– Chain Quick Link
– 2x Spare Chains
– 4x Brake Cables
– 4x Gear Cables
– 6x Brake Pads
– Various Sized M5/M6 Nuts, Bolts and Washers
– Steel Hose Clamps
– Cable Caps Ends
– Puncture Repair Kit
– Instant Stick Patches
– Tyre Levers
– Lezyne Micro Floor Pump with Gage
– Regular Pump
– Topeak Alien II Multi Tool
– 10mm Allen Key
– NBT2 (cassette remover)
– Cone Spanners
– Chain Wear Tool
– Bike Oil
– Bike Grease
– Reusable Cable Ties
– Electrical Tape
– Superglue
KIT WE'VE SENT HOME OR BINNED (NO PIC)
– MSR Deluxe Kitchen Set (sent most of it home)
– Jen's Birkenstock Classic Milano (sent home)
– Jen's 3x Padded Cycle Shorts (Rapha/FWE) (sent home)
– Jen's Ayacucho Zip-Off Trousers (broke)
– Dan's Leather Sandals (broke)
– Dan's Rapha Padded Bib-shorts (sent home)
– 2x Sealskinz Overshoes (broke)
– 2x Lifeventure All-Purpose Soap (used up)
– Lush Shampoo Bar (used up)
– 50ml Pure Organ Oil (binned)
– Exfoliating Glove (binned)
– Jen's Makeup (sent home)
– Juggling Balls (broke)
– Chain Whip & Cassette Lock Ring (binned)
– 1x Quechua Camping Tripod Stool (broke)
– MSR Tea Towel (broke)
– MSR Corkscrew (broke)
– 2L Vango Dry Bag (broke)
– 2x Alpkit Hunka Bivvy Bags (sent home)
– 1x Quechua Camping Tripod Stool (give away)
– 1x Generic Camping Stool (give away)
– Jen’s Endura Baggy Cycle Shorts (sent home)
– Jen’s Pearl Izumi Cycle Jersey (sent home)
– Jen’s Rapha Merino T-Shirt (sent home)
– Osprey Roll Wash Bag (sent home)
– Zhiyun-Tech Smooth-Q Stabiliser (sent home)
– Kindle Paperwhite (broke)
– 2x Osprey Talon 33 Rucksacks (sent home)
– Brooks Proofide (binned)
– 2x 750ml CamelBak Big Chill Bottles (sent home)