After this weekends WRT, i imagine everyones kit got throughly tested.

Just wondering out of everything you brought along, what one piece of kit wouldn't you have left without, which piece should you have left at home, and what did you wish you had have packed but didnt?

Lightweight goretex over mitts were a godsend coming down hellfire pass.

Think the only thing I didn't use was my beanie(too tired to find it hidden at the bottom of my dry bag) but I had a buff anyway.

Next year I'll consider packing a tumble dryer. (I think I had everything i needed, barring alcohol)

I carried too much food and should've taken my waterproof compact camera instead of the DSLR. I didn't need the iPod and I should've taken two more guylines and two more pegs for the tarp. Sealskinz socks were a genius idea for wearing in the evenings when I had to put wet shoes back on. I'd also like some way of charging my phone like a PortaPow or Power Monkey.

Otherwise, I used everything else I carried, except the first aid kit. Perfect.

Gore waterproof shorts were superb, (thanks to pedalhead for that discount link) all day of rain and still sat in the pub with a dry backside, recommended.

Pleased with my Dynamo hub setup, feeds a small Duracell USB pack which then keeps the garmin running, it was always showing 100% charged whenever I took it off for stops. took all the wet thrown at it too.

Not a great fan of Raceface Cranks after this weekend

Good:

The Fargo was superb, with only one short steep climb too much for its not low enough gearing, point it at anthing trail/track like and it just flies along.

The Midge net was a winner.

Bikepack.eu Seatpack was great, yeah it moves a bit but I never noticed when riding, not having anything on my back all weekend has, at least in part, contributed to having no back ache whatsoever, which is damn unusual for me after long multiday rides. Saying that I'm looking forwards to giving Ian's new seat-mounted dry bag carrier that I won a go next time I head out.

Not so good:

Endura Strike gloves were useless.

Would have been nice to have tested out the Laser Comp tent, but that's easy to say after a warm dry night in a bed!

Stuff that worked:

Zpacks tarp - kept rain off a treat on Saturday night
Wildcat Tiger seat pack - held my gear very solidly at the back of the bike. Not once in 160 miles did it come loose or sway about.
Singlespeed - oiled the chain three times, that was it.

Stuff that didn't work:
Balloon bed - It only weighs 60g, which is great. But the balloons I was using were, I realised, quite a few years old and not as rubbery as they used to be. Cue a series of successive bangs, some cursing, and two hard nights sleep :( Emergency use only I think, with some fresh ballloons. Will be packing the NeoAir next year and accepting the extra 200g in weight, enhanced comfort and convenience of being able to inflate it easily rather than the faff of inflating 5+ balloons and trying to knot them.


edit: @Nick - congrats on winning the Tiger seat harness - I'll send you some instructions over

Blizzard bag worked well in that I kept relatively warm with only minor condensation on second night. Makes for a light 385g (and cheap) setup with no sleeping bag or bivi bag necessary just neoair underneath.

I'd have loved an extra layer for Sundays riding, have never been that cold for that long! But didn't dare dig into our dry evening clothes.

Matt who I was riding with will be bringing spare (V) brake pads in future - all 4 were down to the metal.

Another vote for Gore waterproof shorts, the only ones that in my experience actually keep you dry.

I had huge problems with condensation in my Nemo Gogo Elite bivy on Saturday night. Very humid conditions, tons of rain but virtually no wind was a bad combination. Fortunately, I had opted for the Drishell material on my PHD Minimus sleeping bag. This was the first time I had to test it out for water resistance, but happily it did the job nicely....



I think other than that, my MLD head bug net was a godsend! Oh, but Avon Skin-So-Soft was not...totally useless for me and a mate who also used it.

Nick...I totally agree on the Endura Strike gloves. I had some a while back & they were completely useless. For a "waterproof cold weather glove", they are neither waterproof, nor very well insulated .

Good:

Laser Comp :D could pack my kit into drybags before attaching to bike and get changed in the dry, then drop tent last thing.

Another vote for Gore Paclite shorts and also my mountain equipment windstopper gillet and matrix paclite jacket.

Salsa Vaya did really well with a few mods.

Bad:

1st - Salsa anything cages breaking

and I guess finding a suitable pitch for the tent. rules out building sites, grain silos, bus shelters, pubs, barns and weddings.

also, whats all this complaining about gloves? I didn't wear any, not even steaming down Bwlch-y-Groes at 48mph :D

G

Never leave home without my trusty old Inbred and it never missed a beat again

Bad - trying to use poncho as tarp!
Poundland pillow that exploded late at night when I lent on it (tent or maybe hooped bivi next year)

Good - Karrimor xlite air matress I tried for the first time, really comfy

For some reason I looked at my sealskin socks on Saturday morning and left them behind

Probably saved my life - My patagonia nano puff pullover, managed to keep this dry when almost everything was wet and wear it at night

jury is out on the bikepack.eu seatpack. it worked ok but i think i would rather have something i could take off the bike easier at night so will consider a salsa minimalist rack and a drybag. Also the useless anodizing on my easton seatpost got rubbed off pretty bad by the seatpack

Things that worked:

Everyone looked at my heavy bike an thought "what a wally, he's got far to much weight". However each evening when I sat in my dry clothes, eating like a king sat in a 3 person tent (shared with two others) I was feeling very smug.

At no point did I get cold or wet apart from feet.

Blue medical gloves, kept my hands warm. I wore them all day Sunday and they did not get holes.

The bit of plastic milk bottle that we used as a tyre show when my mates rim bust.

My hand made frame bag was great. It held lots of stuff and didnt get in the way at all.

Things that didn't

I had too much food that I didnt eat.

My feet were wet and almost cold at points. I would like sealskins or similar to keep me dry.

Worked:

Downlight 660 bag (amazingly well given only rated to +14) inside Hunka on top of Exped Synmat UL
Alpkit drybags
Bikepack.eu Seatpack (apparently swings a bit, but didn't notice anything riding)
Buggybags frame bag, as dry as a dry bag
Shimano MW-81 boots - neoprene cuffs kept water out even when knee-deep in various bogs. Studs great for pushing uphill too
Endura Baa Baa merino top - warm when wet
Spot tracker - Mrs B knew where I was when no phone comms
Heater Meals - a bit weighty but most welcome 'instant, no flame' hot food under tarp at 22:00 and breakfast at 04:00 without leaving bivy.
'Fudge tea' - instant brew with 'milk & two sugars' (recipe available on request)
Pince-nez glasses
Alfine 11-spd hub
Nobby Nic tyres
MYOG handlebar rack/water bottle holder
Getamap - turned out a really cheap way to produce 'disposable' maps

Didn't work:

Garmin Etrex 20 - 'frozen' screen took over an hour to resolve :evil: (Though performed excellently after fixing)
'Waterproof' matches - total failure