Life In The Saddle

On my previous long distance bike tours, I have always used a dry bag stuffed with clothes as my camp pillow, but on my recent #NorthWestRoad trip my touring partner had a lightweight inflatable camping pillow; he convinced me it was worth the additional weight—providing you with a better night's sleep and less of a sore neck and shoulders when you remount your bike the following morning. The search started for the best lightweight camping pillow for bikepacking. The results led me to the impressive range from Sea to Summit, and I decided to trial the most lightweight inflatable camping pillow within the range: the Aeros Ultralight Pillow (size Large) , as well as the most luxurious within the range: the Aeros Down Pillow (size Deluxe) . Review – Aeros Ultralight Pillow The Aeros™ Ultralight Pillow is designed to be superlight, compact and comfortable. Made from durable 20D laminated polyester, the pillow has a curved shape to fit around your shoulders whether you are sleepin...

Camping and cycle touring or bikepacking are the perfect ways to explore this summer—offering a sustainable, hassle-free, and low-cost adventure.  From my experience on past bikepacking tours and camping trips, I have compiled this list of my Top 10 products for both outdoor pursuits. It is a mix of compact gadgets and more luxurious accessories—all of which can help make your camping experience that much more enjoyable.  1 – Voited CloudTouch Camp Blanket  This is the ultimate camp blanket—if I had one as a Scout, I would have been the envy of the entire troop. It is insulated, water and stain resistance, machine washable, and made from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles.  The CloudTouch 4-in-1 PillowBlanket is a luxurious outdoor blanket that is built to last. It uses recycled 50D Ripstop REPREVE® on one side, and luxurious CloudTouch™on the other. CloudTouch™ is a 100 percent recycled high-loft insulation fabric that is soft and fluffy, with the feel of real wo...

My JetBoil MiniMo Cooking System has accompanied me on more adventures than I can count—it is a compact and efficient gas cooking set-up. The release of the new super-fast boil JetBoil Flash with integrated Java coffee press looked to be the perfect secondary solution for shorter trips—where I wanted fresh coffee on the go, with a super portable stove. The JetBoil Flash Stove uses JetBoil's patented FluxRing technology to deliver an incredibly fast boil time of less than 100 seconds for a full fill of 500 millilitres. The flux technology works by minimising heat loss from the burner and transmitting the maximum amount of energy into the cup. The FluxRing cup screws directly onto the base burner unit and is insulated by a neoprene jacket with inbuilt heat indicator. The cup cosy also has an integrated webbing handle strap. Each JetBoil Flash comes with a support stand for the propane gas cartridge, and a heatproof plastic lid. The cover that pops onto the base of the unit f...

Your choice of tent for bikepacking or bike touring makes a notable difference to comfort and speed, both on and off the bike. Go too big, and you'll be carrying extra weight. Go too small, and you might struggle to get a good night's sleep. The Vaude Power Lizard SUL 1-2P Tent looks to be the perfect size for the solo cycle tourer. A spacious one-man tent The Vaude Power Lizard SUL 1-2P is branded (as the name suggests) as a large one-man tent, or a small two-man tent. I have heard of people using it for both, and the footprint of the internal area is similar to other super-light 2 person tents from brands like Nordisk and Telemark. For me though, the tent is the ideal size for comfortable solo bike touring or hiking; and that is what I have used it for to date. Weighing in at 1,100 grams (including pegs), it is minimal in weight; and it has a tiny pack size (34 x 12 centimetres).  Small enough and light enough not to be a burden to a solo explorer, it has en...