Thanks Mark (Pedalhead). I will be doing just that. Plus point it's rigid and although a Retro Resto, I'm not having it hung on the wall! It'll be great to see where this bike can take me...Great Blog! Too...& Yes it was yourself where I had seen the custom thread for the frame...

Thanks for the replies! Some useful info on the useful additions there... I may be a little ashamed to admit I've not yet done a BikePack & I know on paper it may seem a bit of a 'I want all the gear' approach. But that's not the case. I've rode MTBs since the 90's, racing & general riding. ...

I'm thinking of asking a local framebuilder to look at a frame for me, a bit specific for Bikepacking. I know he likes building interesting projects. So a few questions if I can? May not go this route so any suggestions to off the peg would be welcome... I did see on here I think somebody who had a ...

Thanks! I'll take a look at the list you've mentioned & begin to study people's Kit list...first up though is a suitable Bike!! I'm working on that...

I'm only beginning to look at BikePacking, so bear with me...(No Pun Intended) I'm a regualr on Retrobike, but fancy doing some exploring now...I got digging through my Camping gear (which isn't much) & wondered what kind of Mat people are using that goes much! Smaller than my AlpKit one here......