What I carry
The kit list after six years of getting it wrong — what earns its weight on a long tour, and the three things I keep packing and never use.
Every kit list is really an argument about what you’re afraid of. Mine used to be built around the fear of being cold, and it weighed twenty-six kilos.
Now it’s built around the fear of not enjoying myself, which turns out to be much lighter.
The short version
| Category | Weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep | 2.1 kg | Tarp, quilt, mat. Nothing freestanding. |
| Cooking | 0.6 kg | Alcohol stove, one pot, one spoon. |
| Clothing | 2.4 kg | Including everything worn. |
| Tools | 0.9 kg | Multi-tool, tubes, chain links, tyre boot. |
| Electronics | 0.7 kg | Dynamo, cache battery, front and rear light. |
Around nine kilos before food and water. That number matters less than where it sits — low and split evenly front to back, or the bike steers like a shopping trolley on every descent.
Three things I keep packing and never use
- The second pair of shorts. In six years I have worn them twice, both times because the first pair was drying on the back of the bike.
- A book. I am always too tired. I have carried the same paperback across two countries and read eleven pages of it.
- The spare folding tyre. Except once, in Portugal, where it saved the entire trip. So it stays. That’s how fear works.
What actually earns its weight
A dynamo hub. Not for the light — for never thinking about charging anything again. It removes a whole category of decision from the day, and on a long tour that’s worth more than the 400 grams.
Good socks. Three pairs, merino, no exceptions.
And a paper map of the region, even with a GPS on the bars. It’s the only way to see where you aren’t going, which is most of how a route gets decided.