8 Must Have Items for Bicycle Touring & Bikepacking

Hi everybody, I'm Erik from Wheels2Wonder and in this video I will show you our eight must-have items we take on our bicycle, touring and bikepacking journeys throughout the world. All the items have been extensively tested and have their own specific reason to be here on this list. I will sprinkle in lots of useful tips and tricks how to get even more value out of using these items. So let's start with number one. Filtration. Clean drinking water is essential for health. Unfortunately, contaminated water can potentially lead to a range of discomforts and illnesses. When going out on adventures in the wilderness, rural areas or even cities, access to clean drinking water can be difficult depending on the circumstances. Water filters are an effective way to remove the most direct and harmful contaminants from the water, making it safe to drink. We use the Katadyn B3 water filter which we upgraded with the more sturdy Hydra-Pak Flux soft bottle. The B3 is a compact filter with special fibers that hold back the bad stuff while still keeping a nice flow rate. It couldn't be easier to use. With the bottle, you scoop up the water from the source, screw the filter on and you can immediately start drinking or fill up the other water containers you have. The cleaner the water is you put in, the better the filter keeps on working in the long run. Shaking the filter around in some clean water from time to time is an easy way to keep the filter clean. A top tip here is to never let your filter freeze because it may break from the water freezing and expanding. Putting it inside your sleeping bag when the temperatures plummet is a good way of preventing the filter from freezing. The Hydra-Pak Flux soft bottle is a more durable container than the one that Katadyn offers with this filter. We use the original one as a lightweight backup and extra water container in case we might need that or something bad should happen to the Flux bottle. Number two, coffee. I know that for a lot of you a good brew is an essential need while out on tour. A tasty cup that is made fast and easy is the holy grail of making camping coffee. The question we got asked most on our videos is what is the coffee mugs you guys are using. And here it is. This is the Silus hot mug coffee chair. It's a very straightforward and easy to use system. All contained in one simple form factor. You fill the mug with the dose of the ground coffee of choice or what you are able to find on the road. It's not always easy to find good quality coffee but if you can go for a coarser grind with this style of french press mug. I will get to that in a minute. Pour on boiling water and experiment with letting the water cool a little bit before pouring if the flavor isn't to your liking. Give everything a good stir and let it brew for at least three minutes. Go up higher for better possible results. When you determine the brew is done, get the strainer and press it down gently until you feel you can't get no further. And enjoy your fast and easy cup of coffee. This type of coffee maker always lets through a little bit of the fine grounds. The coarser the grind will help you to have a cleaner cup in the end. If you are a coffee connoisseur the best alternative for superior taste we tried is the AeroPress. It's a bit more cumbersome with extra parts to move around but it's fairly easy to use when you get the hang of it. It uses dedicated filter papers which make for a cleaner tasting cup in the end. But they might be difficult to source depending where you are in the world. There are special reusable filters available too. If you have some good coffee the results can be really next level. We absolutely love the flavors we're getting out of this little press. Making coffee for two is always a hassle so it's not really ideal for more than one person in need of the black gold. Number three carrying. Space is always an issue on the bike. We like to pack as light and compact as possible making extra space a highly sought after commodity. We use a lightweight backpack for extra room when the need arises. For the most of the time that's extra food which always takes up a lot of room on the bike. After having tried different sizes we landed on this 24 liter four monster backpack. Slightweight, sturdy, affordable including two water bottle pockets. It's water resistant and it's kind of the perfect size and model for use as a day pack of the bikes as well. It has plenty of room for bulky groceries or for a hike in the mountains or around town. We can pack some extra layers, water, some food and an extra camera for example. A nice extra compartment up front is a great addition to get a little bit more organized and separate some items. The straps are adjustable but fairly thin. Not the most comfortable when the loads get heavier but not too bad at all. The only thing I don't like is the little stuff sack that is dangling on a thread inside the bag. Would have been nice to see a foldable pocket which could double as an extra compartment. We tested a smaller and a lighter even cheaper option from Decathlon and if you don't need that much space there's a really easy recommendation. It's about 10 liters and it's a nice little bag but for us just a little bit too small. Number four, disease control. Ticks can harbor serious and detrimental diseases. Inevitably you're going to run into them sooner or later if you're out in nature. After having tried many tick removal devices over the years the best one is from Enetropet. It's a simple but effective design made from surgical steel. It has a front opening which you place over the tick. The front narrows and ends in a small channel that lifts the tick and catches the beak and the head. With a controlled pull the tick is removed. The key here is not having the tick spill its stomach contents which is prevented by how this tool works. Good ways of minimizing tick bites are if you see signs of deer, be vigilant, avoid long grasses, ferns or similar plants ticks use to grasp onto their victims. Wear socks over your pants sleeves so it's harder for them to find your bare skin and use a repellent to further discourage them from taking hold. I suggest check often when in tick country. We might do even up to full two body checks a day and we check our legs and arms throughout the day as well. Number five, footwear. Of course you can use almost any kind of shoe to pedal on a bike. What I like is an all-around shoe that's comfortable and has lots of traction on uneven surfaces. We are cycling and camping in nature all the time and there are often slopes and loose ground where there's a possibility to slip and hurt yourself. After having tested a multitude of shoe models a trail runner is kind of the perfect type of shoe for me. Lightweight, flexible, easy to dry, great traction, it's great on and off the bike. My trail runners of choice are the Alta Lonepeaks and ever since my step to watch a Silverdrop shoe a must for me is a shoe with no race at the heel. The Lonepeaks also offer a wide toe box which is great for toe splay. Aiding in the normal ergonomics of the foot, I find they give just the right level of cushioning for all-day cycling and multi-terrain use. Essentially these are beefy barefoot sneakers with great grip. They're a bit on the pricey side and therefore I use them until they almost fall apart. I love them so much that I found a pair at a really nice discount and I already have them ready to replace the old ones when they are done. Shoe fit is really personal and there are many brands out there to try from. Mowdy had good success with an affordable trail runner from Decathlon, so for a good pair of trail runners you don't necessarily have to break the bank. My tip here is to buy them half a size up. I like to wear them as a loose-fitting sneaker that I can tie down when the needs be. And when it gets cold you have some extra room to put a layer of socks underneath without the shoes cutting off the circulation by becoming too tight. Number six, sleeping in thermal layers. We love multifunctional items which work well in different functions. Because we're out for long periods the weather is a constant factor and being cold is next to being miserable. That's why we always carry a set of thermal underwear as a base layer when the inevitable time comes to put them on for extra warmth. What dawned on us is that they also make for the perfect pajamas. After having wrestled with different sleeping bag liners to keep our sleeping bags and mats clean from our sweaty skins and wanted to add a bit more of extra warmth to the sleeping system we came to the conclusion that they are more hassle than they are worth. We thought why not use our thermal layers as pajamas and get way more use out of them than being stored away for those cold days. And they work better in our experience than the sleeping bag liners that always seems to get entangled while we twist and turn at night. The ones you see here are basic ones from Decathlon. A nice option is a quarter zip turtle neck shirt that can provide some extra warmth around the neck while also being able to open up for ventilation. I like a soft merino wool fabric as it provides more warmth especially when damp from sweat. An important tip here is to never wash your merinos with hot water or they might shrink. So I always wash them with lukewarm water and a bit of biodegradable soap. For my feet I use a nice pair of homemade warm socks and for my head a thin beanie that doubles as an extra warm layer or sun protection underneath my helmet. As extra I have a buff which is great for all kinds of uses and here I use it three times folded as a sleeping mask. Number seven exercise. Being out on the bike is a great way to work out but limited in effectively targeting all muscle groups especially big parts of the upper body like the shoulders, upper back and arms are not specifically targeted. A cheap and lightweight resistance band is a great addition to be able to do lots of different exercises. This one here is from Decathlon but they can be found everywhere nowadays. Some really nice and effective exercise moves include front raises, side raises to target the shoulders, pull apart exercises for the upper back, bicep curls and the overhead extension to train the triceps. This gives me a nice base to target the muscles I want to keep in shape. A tip to take it to the next level is using a tennis ball against the wall or on the floor to get a trigger point massage. I was surprised how many painful knots I found across my body but with a few deep massages resolve the deeper tensions. I know it looks weird and perhaps I'm just getting old but give it a try and feel for yourself how effective it can be. Number eight, action camera. I know that many of you are interested in filming your adventures and an action cam or 360 camera is a great way of catching the ride. Having multiple camera angles is key to make interesting video sequences and keep the viewers engaged. The PGYTECH handlebar mount is the best action camera mount for bicycles I have tried. You can get really creative with it mounting it all over your bike. The included insert that lets you mount to a smaller diameter is great for chainstays, racks, forks etc. It's very well made, easy to use, sturdy and stands up to the elements. It comes with a 4 to 20 thread connector which you can swap out for a GoPro mount making it almost universal for any kind of small camera or accessory. I keep on finding new angles to try out and it just makes it that much more versatile and fun to use. It's just great to have a variety of shots in post that you can get creative with. Some of my favorite angles are the tire top down shot, the low force shot, the chainstay cassette shot and the handlebar follow shot when cycling with a partner. Now I would like to learn from you in the comments down below what your must-have items are. If you liked the video, give it a thumbs up and consider subscribing if you haven't already. And if you want to go more in depth into the gear we take on our adventures, check out the videos linked up here. Thank you for watching and I hope you have a great day.