Friday Debrief: Tarptent Dipole, Z Cage, Crossing Tasmania, and More…

We started “The Debrief” on our YouTube channel last year as a way of highlighting the week’s news and things that caught our attention on the website, in the conversation, and elsewhere around the community. To take this a step further, we’re posting a weekly Debrief here on the site to highlight all of those things and more, including upcoming events and interesting things our readers shared in the comments. Check out this week’s findings below.

Bits & Bobs

New products that are worth highlighting but didn’t make the Dispatch…

Tarptent Dipole Li

The new Tarptent Dipole Li tent is their “most luxurious dyneema tent yet,” according to the brand. It’s designed to maximize useable space, has room for long/wide sleeping pads, uses a fast and stable four-stake setup, and pitches with trekking poles or optical support poles. The Dipole Li comes in one and two-person models and is available now.

$699-$799 / Made in China / Details

Limited Edition Purple Wolf Tooth Pack Pliers

The Wolf Tooth Pack Pliers are a nifty multi-tool with a master link tool and storage, plier jaws, tire levers, and valve core tool. The pliers keep shut thanks to a slick magnetic closure and pivot on a single anodized bolt. They just added a limited edition purple option that won’t be around for long.

$32.95 / Made in USA / Details

Zefal Z Adventure Cage

The new Zefal Z Adventure Cage is an adjustable bottle/cargo cage made to fit a wide range of cylindrical objects. It can fit bottles 66mm to 92mm in diameter, which are held in place by a wide Hypalon hook and loop strap. The cage itself is made from fiber-reinforced polypropylene, and it has four attachment points for various mounting options.

€20.79 / Made in France / Details

New Ibis Hakka MX Colors

The Ibis Hakka MX just received a long-awaited refresh and is now available with the brand’s new logo in three new colors, including this lovely purple they’re calling Wizard Potion. Framesets are $2,699, and complete SRAM Rival 1 or Shimano GRX builds are priced at $4,599 and $4,899, respectively.

Details

Buckhorn Bags Waxed Canvas Panniers Restock

Arkansas-based Buckhorn Bags just opened up preorders for 50 pairs of their waxed canvas panniers. The panniers are constructed from US-made #10 waxed duck cloth, lined with a custom natural white ripstop laminate fabric, and all attachment points are made from hard-wearing Hypalon. The panniers ship with Voile Nano straps for attaching to the top of the rack, as well as cam straps for the lower attachment points. There are still some panniers up for grabs and they are expected to ship early December.

$295 / Made in USA / Details

More New Austere Buckle Colors

Following last week’s launch of their limited edition Halloween buckles, Austere Manufacturing just added some new Powder Blue and Orange cam buckles to their webshop. As always, Austere’s buckles are CNC-machined from billet aluminum in Washington, use a titanium pin, and are impossibly strong and durable.

$24.92 / Made in USA / Details

Rogue Panda Gila Dry Bag

Arizona-based Rogue Panda Designs just added a new double-ended dry bag to their line of universal bikepacking bags. The Gila Dry Bag pairs up perfectly with their Canelo Handlebar Harness (or any other handlebar harness), is made from Ecopak or X-Pac, and has a seam-taped construction. The Gila dry bag comes in small, medium, and large sizes.

$60 / Made in USA / Details

In Conversation

Exchanges and ideas that caught our attention in the site’s conversation section…

Tiny Bikes Have More Fun

There’s a lot of great discussion going on in our recently published Velo Orange Neutrino review, including a helpful chat about compatible gearing, unique builds, and more. If there is one thing everyone seems to agree on, it’s that tiny bikes with tiny wheels are a whole lot of fun to ride!

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Panorama Cycles Recycles with C7 Composites

Panorama Cycles from Quebec just announced a partnership with C7 Composites that will divert unused frames, tested parts, and production rejects from the landfill to be recycled instead. “All of our prototype/test frames, some production scraps, and damaged bikes that could not be repaired will be sent to C7 composites. They will be transformed and can have a second life in another form,” according Panorama Cycles. Learn more about their sustainability plan here.

Across Andes 2021 Film

Across Andes is the first self-sufficient bikepacking race to cross the longest mountain range in the world, traveling 1,100 kilometers over seven days from Chile to Argentina. In partnership with Specialized, the organizers put together a 34-minute film documenting the 2021 event and the riders’ experiences.

Payson McElveen Crosses Tasmania

After 32 hours of near non-stop riding, Payson McElveen rode 360 miles across Tasmania, following a route stitched together with the help of Emma Flukes, the creator of the Tassie Gift route and annual bikepacking event. Nice work, Payson! Find some before and after photos below.

Wish We Were Here

Shedding a little light on a route one of us is dreaming about riding at the moment…

Miles Arbour: Australia

I have yet to travel outside of Canada or the United States, and I’m looking forward to changing that early next year with a trip to Australia. I haven’t planned much of anything yet, but I’m incredibly excited to work in some bikepacking, relaxing, and visits during our time there. Winter came fast here in the Pacific Northwest, so March can’t come soon enough.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, some photos from last week’s Tassie Gift event in Tasmania from photographer Andy Rogers…

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Andy Rogers (@fameandspear)

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