Bikepacking Gear

Kicking off our 2022 Bikepacking Awards series, we recognize the products that have most impressed us throughout the past year. Dig into the Bikepacking Gear of the Year with 49 awards in 11 categories, including our Top Six Bikes, Best New Components, Best Tools & Gadgets, and more. Plus, find a list of bikes that are already on our radar for 2023…

It’s that time of the year again when we share our Editor’s Dozen gear lists. To kick things off, here’s Neil Beltchenko’s video showcasing 12 of his favorite products that he tested in 2022. Watch it here…

Launched in the spring, the Supernova M99 DY PRO is a unique dynamo-powered headlight with a turbo-charged “high beam” mode and high-end build quality. Kyle Ponce has been testing one on roads and trails around Germany throughout the fall to find out how its innovative design holds up to the rigors of bikepacking. Find his review here…

The new Rogue Panda Ripsey Seat Bag is a dropper-compatible saddle bag supported by a unique injection-molded harness and aluminum saddle rail clamp that provides the best tire clearance we’ve seen from a dropper seat bag. In advance of today’s crowdfunding campaign launch, we’ve been testing out a prototype to see how it fares against the competition. Learn more here…

In this series, we take a look at bike industry standards that have materialized over the years and ask: are they worthy innovations or marketing hype? Find the first two of three videos below, where we cover a dozen topics ranging from Boost hub spacing, wheel sizes, and tire widths to ultra-wide drop-bars, modern geometry, and suspension stems. Plus, find the corresponding results from our reader survey here…

Originally a road standard, flat-mount disc brakes have become the norm for hydraulic drop-bar groupsets. This comes with a common limit of 160mm for the brake rotors, which can be inadequate for bikepacking. Find some background on the topic and details on two aftermarket adapters designed to allow larger 180mm discs on many framesets here…

The PNW Loam Lever was just updated with more adjustability and a larger thumb pad. We’ve been testing one out for the last few weeks to see how it stacks up against the original, which we’ve been using for the last four years. Find our thoughts and a detailed comparison in this review…

In this Make Your Own Bikepacking Gear (MYOBG) tutorial, Greg Maino shares a simple 10-step guide to creating lightweight pogies that are designed to be perfect for chilly mornings and wet rides alike. Find it here, complete with a materials list, detailed photos, and step-by-step instructions…

The new Sweden-made Ass Savers Win Wing is an ultralight clip-on mudguard that’s unlike any others we’ve seen. We were a little skeptical about the design before seeing one in person, but we put two of them to a full-blown test for this review. Find out how they fared here…

The Bags by Bird Better Half Framebag is a unique take on a wedge-style bag that features two expandable flip-top lids with quick-access bungee closures. Miles has been testing out two sizes over the last year to find out just how practical the design is. Find his review here…

Best known for their line of handmade hip packs, Washington’s High Above just launched some new bike bags, including a stem bag, top tube bag, and handlebar bag. They sent over the entire collection ahead of the release so we could take a closer look. Find our review here…

The latest top tube bag from Denver, Colorado-based maker JPaks takes trailside snacks to a whole new level with a high-capacity design and recycled RX30 X-Pac construction. Find Miles’ thoughts on the new JPaks SnakPak Footlong EXT and a comparison with other plus-sized top tube bags here…