Bikepacking Gear

There are three reasons we chose the new Crankbrothers Stamp pedals for our ~900 mile trip across Cuba: 1. Dave said he put 3,000 miles on his and they are still going strong; 2. They have a 5-year warranty; 3. They are thin, light, and come in two sizes — small and humongous.

MSR recently released the Trailshot, a new type of water filter that employs a one-handed squeeze operation in a pocket-size and lightweight package. We took it on a month long tropical adventure through Cuba to see if it would meet the needs of two thirsty cyclists…

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 2 is a minimal, pyramid-style shelter, constructed in the US from top grade cuben fiber and rated for four season mountain use. But given its eyebrow-raisingly high price tag, is it really worth the investment? After using it for several months, bikepacking across both the Bolivian Andes and the Georgian Caucasus, here’s why we think it is…

MSR claims to have rolled in the best features from both the much-loved PocketRocket and the ultralight MicroRocket to offer a lighter, more versatile sequel. Here’s our thoughts after using the Pocket Rocket 2 ultra-compact canister stove for a couple months as well as a comparison to the Snow Peak LiteMax Ti.

In the bike industry’s ever-evolving world of standards — if there is such a thing as a standard nowadays — it appears that 1x drivetrains are here to stay. But, chainring mounting standards are all over the place. So Wolf Tooth went and created another one. After we had a chance to put some miles on their promising new CAMO chainring system, hear why it might be of particular interest to bikepackers…

In the spirit of the holiday season, here’s our list of outstanding bikepacking gifts, each handpicked from a horde of new — or shiny — products that came out in 2016. Find gifts in six categories ranging from stocking stuffers under $25 to ‘money no object’ investments, and stealthily share them with your partner or family.

Redesigned and released this week, the new Mountain Feedbag sports a new closure system, more volume, and a few other nice tweaks. Our thoughts on the new model after testing it in Kyrgyzstan and beyond…

With just four bits and a wrench, the Blackburn Switch Multi-tool might seem a little over simplified on first glance. But there’s a lot of practical utility built into this little gadget…

Building on the concept behind their popular Mr Fusion, Porcelain Rocket has been working on a new seat pack, one that’s dropper-post compatible — called “Albert”. Find out how it got its name and get a unique look into its long design process – trials that involved endless brainstorming, seven prototypes, and months on the trail – and at the production version, coming this fall…

Mike Howarth tests the new Apidura Saddle Pack Dry in some of the wettest and muddiest conditions in the UK.

Lee Vilinsky and Cherry Fitzsimmons took the new Arkel Seatpacker on the boggy singletrack and rocky trails of Scotland. See how it fared in this detailed review …

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.