Pan-Am Bike Tour Packlist

compose Logan Watts
time Jun 4, 2013
comment 29

Edit: For my latest, and much lighter pack list, click here. Although I think this kit was close to perfect for a long haul trip, on shorter tours and bike packing trips in the near future I plan on culling this down to a lighter variation, which will mean less wear and tear on the bike (although my Surly Troll was built ‘apocalypse tough’). So, here is the list as well as some notes, highlights and things I’d change:

Bike Panniers and Gear

For the bulk of my luggage I chose Carradice after reading many reviews and weighing out the benefits of the popular and waterproof Ortliebs. All-in-all, I really liked the feel and classic nature of cotton duck. It’s breathable, reparable and sturdy. Although I had a couple of small issues (more to come), I will definitely use these again.

• Carradice Super C front panniers
• Carradice Super C rear panniers
• Old Man Mountain Pioneer front rack
• Tubus Locc rear rack
• Ortlieb Ultimate 6 Compact handlebar bag
• Ortlieb Rack Pack

Tools and parts

• 3 spare tubes (Schwalbe 13)
• Topeak Mountain Morph pump
• 6 spare spokes (stored in my seat post with foam)
• Leatherman Juice C2
• Lemolo Baggage Tool Roll containing the following:
• Set of Park Tool alan wrenches
• Chain tool extracted from a Crank Bros tool (doubles as a spoke wrench)
• Portland Design Works 3wrencho (perfect for 15mm Rohloff axle bolts)
• Extra tire lever
• Torx T20 (for Rohloff) and T25 (for BB7 adj.) wrenches
• Park Tool tire boot kit
• Park Tool tube patch kit
• Small double sided wrench for rack bolts and Rohloff bolt
• Several zip ties (random sizes)
• Various extra rack bolts, nuts, a few chain links, and a few other small parts
• Tube of Phil Wood grease
• Small bottle of chain lube

Sleeping and Camping

Big Agnes is my choice for the bedroom. I plan on reviewing this stuff in more detail, but for now I can say that I love my Air Core mattress.

• Big Agnes Fly Creek UL3 tent
• Big Agnes insulated Are Core sleeping pad
• Big Agnes Pitchpine SL 45 degree sleeping bag
• Thermarest Compressible Pillow

Clothing and Footwear

After a lot of research and experience with typical jerseys, I chose wool for my shirts and undies. Pretty awesome because it never stinks, even in 105 degrees of tropical funk. But, I am a sweater and they take a little longer to dry out than polyester. I may consider eliminating one pair of footware.

• 2 Icebreaker merino wool short sleeve shirts
• 2 random tshirts
• 2 Icebreaker merino wool boxer briefs
• Icebreaker long sleeve wool shirt
• 1 pair Patagonia long johns
• 1 Exofficio travel boxer
• 1 pair Kuhl Revolver pants
• 1 pair Prana shorts (for riding)
• 1 swimsuit
• 2 pairs Smartwool Phd wool socks
• Mountain Hardware Typhoon rain jacket
• Gore Path pants
• Keen Commuter II clipless bike sandals
• Merrell hiking shoes
• Chaco sandals

Kitchen

I would consider replacing my Whisperlite stove with a Primus Multifuel… maybe. On lighter trips, I’d take a Trangia. It seems like alcohol was readily available in Central America.

• MSR Whisperlite International stove with fuel bottle and small spare parts
• GSI Pinnacle Backpacker cook set (sans the 4 bowl/cups)
• Sea to Summit Alpha Light Utensils
• GSI foldable spatula
• Small sponge for cleaning
• Salt and pepper shaker
• Snow Peak titanium mug

Photography and Electronics

After much debate, I sold my larger Nikon DSLR and chose to dedicate myself to the Fujifilm X100 APS-C camera with a fixed 35mm equivalent lens. I don’t regret choosing this camera as it was a joy to use, lightweight and very easy to carry in my Ortlieb Compact handlebar bag (which was great as a carry around camera bag). The X100 is fantastic for documentary-style photography and creates wonderful files, but is sub-par to a DSLR when shooting movement, wildlife and some landscapes.

• Fujifilm x100 camera
• Apple Macbook Air 11″
• Sigma 2209 bike computer with altimeter
• My Passport backup drive
• 8 8gb SD cards with waterproof case
• iPod Classic
• Chargers and accessories

Other

• Black Diamond Spot headlamp (90 lumens)
• Hunting knife
• Sleeping pad repair kit
• Clothesline with caribeners
• Steripen Adventurer water purification
• 3 water bottles
• Alite Monarch chair
• Portand Design Works DZ taillight
• 1 Sea to Summit ultralight dry-bag
• 6′ bike cable
• Combination lock