Cass Gilbert

Treating your air mattress and sleeping bag as a complete system, rather than two separate entities, frees up a considerable amount of space on your bikepacking rig. It also helps trim back valuable weight. We head into the hills with Sea To Summit’s Ember Eb1 quilt and UltraLight Insulated Mattress, to find out if this lean setup is enough for a comfortable night’s sleep.

Ok, so Nancy is 5’5”. So not so little. But the bike, shod as it is with 29+ tires, is certainly big. So how did the two get on? Read on to find out… and glean a few tips for bikepacking with a similar setup.

Having trouble cramming everything into your soft bag setup? Sometimes a small set of panniers can help take up the slack. Out on Bolivia’s backroads, we try a set of Swift’s ninja-black Hinterland Jr. Ranger Panniers for size…

Situated on the eastern slopes of the Bolivian Andes – between the barren, treeless altiplano and the vast swathes of the Amazon – lies the densely forested Yungas. Its deep, subtropical valleys and steep sided mountains are home to both the Death Road and the coca leaf. Within these crumpled folds are also some of the most challenging riding in the land…

Cycling atop the salt crust of Bolivia’s iconic Salar de Uyuni – and the more petite but perfectly formed Salar de Coipasa – is an undisputed highlight of many a South American journey. Two years ago, I traversed their high altitude, bleached white canvases. This year, I returned with my family…

We take Endura’s Singletrack IIs bikepacking in Bolivia, where they prove their worth as a tough-as-nails pair of shorts with handy bonus features – whether you’re in the saddle pedaling, or pressing your way through a hectic Sunday market.

With its unusual frame geometry, eye-catching truss fork, 29+ wheels, and rigid-specific design, the Jones Plus sets out to rewrite the rulebooks. We took this unconventional rig bikepacking, trail riding, and touring, and were more than a little surprised by what we found…

Thanks to a fantastic trail network carved by the hard work of volunteers, along with acres of National Forest and BLM land prime for camping, the American Southwest possesses some of the best long distance bikepacking routes in the world. And for the very same reasons, it’s also peppered with the finest long weekend escapes you could wish for, each one a compressed, time-friendly adventure just waiting to be savored.

Feeling the itch to head south? Make the most of the American Southwest desert season with our guide to fine tuning your bikepacking rig for a winter adventure. Glean techniques on repairing tubeless tires, helpful tips to get you started, a suggested packlist to get you going, and ideas on where to ride.

Bear Paw Wilderness Designs’ PyraTent 2 is an ultralight, two person pyramid-style tarp, that doubles as a solo shelter with palatial space for stashing gear.

One of three short films commissioned by outdoor co-op REI, Fast Forward is a beautifully shot account of Divide record holder Lael Wilcox’s attempt to race the Arizona Trail. But more than this, it’s an insight into her philosophy on life, her motivation to ‘ride fast’, and an inspirational story that will doubtless have you reaching for your bike, whether it’s to race, or explore the world.