Our camping experiences are split into the following categories:
The Camping Map below shows the places we have stayed; be it in a formal campsite or informal wild camp (tent symbol), or in a hotel or hostel (building symbol).
The following Table lists some of the key pieces of equipment we take bicycle touring, and have proved themselves on tour. The items that have made this list are tried and tested by us, and are recommended.
| Item | Brand / Model | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Tent (Cycle Touring) | Hilleberg Staika | One of the best investments we've made. Strong and dependable, and goes up very quickly and easily, and is 100% totally free-standing; no pegs required. In fact so good, that when the red one wore out after 12 months continuous (daily) use, we bought another, and when that one wore out, we bought another! |
| Tent (Hiking #1) | Hilleberg Rogen | A lighter and slightly smaller version of the Staika. |
| Tent (Hiking #2) | Hilleberg Nammatj 2 | Four season for hiking. |
| Sleeping Pads | Thermarest XTherm NXT | Super comfortable, warm and light(ish). |
| Hiking Sleeping Bags: | Cumulus X-Lite 200 (XL) with extra down front & back (Mike), and Aerial 250 (Judith) | Super lightweight and small, and very warm for size. Good quality. |
| Cycle Touring Sleeping Bags: | Sea to Summit Trek III | Slightly heavier, but very durable and very warm. Good quality. |
| Cycle Touring Stove | MSRXGK-EX with 900 ml fuel bottle | Bomb-proof dependable stove that can be used with a variety of fuels (usually unleaded petrol) |
| Hiking Stove | PrimusOmnilite Ti | Lightweight multi fuel stove. |
| Pot (Cycle Touring) | MSR Alpine 2 Stainless Steel Pot Set (2L & 1.5L) | Very durable, but slightly heavy. |
| Pot (Hiking) | EvernewTi U.L. Pot 1300 | Super leightweight, very good quality, and the volume has worked out well too |
| Water Filter | MSR Guardian Purifier | Following years of successful use of the MSR Miniworks EX filter, the Guardian is new for 2017. Very quick to filter large amounts of water. That said, one plunger has failed (replaced under warranty), and one membrane cartridge has also failed. We replaced it with the same. |
| Water Bottles | Nalgene 48 oz Wide Mouth Sustain Silo Bottle Klean Kanteen 32 oz and 64 oz wide mouth |
MSR Guardian Water Purifier fits directly to the Nalgenes and Klean Kantean for direct filtering. |
| Water Storage Bags | MSR Dromedary Bags (10 & 4 L), and Dromlite Bag (6L) | Dromedary bags are very good quality (our 10 L bag was bought in 2000 and still goes on all our cycle trips). The Dromlite bag is lighter and seems like it would be less durable (good for hiking). All bags don't give water a taste. |
| Lighter for Stove | Light My Fire Swedish FireSteel | Lights the stoves easily, never runs out, can be used in cold and wet weather, and can be taken on planes (replaced our first one after 18 years!) |
| Torches | Petzl Tikka Plus Headlamp with rechargable Core battery | Good hands-free light, and a red light to retain night vision. |
| Mugs | Snow Peak H450 Titanium Double Walled Stackable Cup | No plates required |
| Cutlery (Hiking) | ToaksTitanium Spoon | Good lightweight spoon, with nice shape (not as sharp as Sea to Summit titanium spoon). |
| Cutlery (Cycle Touring) | MSRAlpine Tool Spoon | Good stainless steel spoon, will last forever! |
| Flasks | ZojirushiSM-KB36XA 0.36-Litre Stainless Steel Vacuum Mug | Great for very cold days on the bike! |
| DayPacks | Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Day Pack | Super small and light, and they can pack quite a load. Surprisingly comfortable too. |
| MultiTool | Victorinox Swiss Champ Penknife | Having tried the Leatherman Charge tti on quite a few tours now, we're back to the tried and tested Swiss Army Knife as it seems to suit our purpose better |
| Bike Tool | Wera Zyklop Mini 3 Ratchet & Syntace (Wera) hex bit set | Great piece of kit. |
| Multisized Wrench | Knipex 150 Adjustable Plier Wrench | A single wrench for all sized bolts |
| Bike Lock & Cable | Abus Frame Lock 4850 with Amparo 4850 Cable | No need to worry about locating the lock as it's always attached to the bike. |
| GPS | Android Smartphone | Locus Map 4Android app is perfect for our planning and recording actrivities due to the available maps, routing function, POIs, in fact everything. |
| Bike mount for GPS | RAM Quick-Grip™ XL Phone Holder with Ball, and handlebar bracket | Very good quality and durable mount for different sized phones, allowing easy access. |
| Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) | Ocean Signal rescueME PLB1 | Bought specifically for the Bibbulmun Track walk we did in WA in 2020 due to the lack of mobile coverage along the trail. It's tiny and also provides your GPS position to rescuers. |
| Dynamo Power Adaptor | Igaro D2 and S1 USB Power Converter | Powers the navigation phone! |
| Portable Solar Panels | Anker PowerPort Solar Panels (21W) x 2 | These are great solar panels; much lighter and efficient than the previous Goal Zeros that we had. |
| Hiking Backpacks | Osprey Exos 48 / Atmos AG 65 Lite (Mike) and Eja 48 / Gregory Jade 53 | It's amazing how the modern packs are so much lighter and more comfortable than the packs we had 20 years ago (although they won't last nearly as long). |
| Hiking Poles | Leki Sherpa (Mike) / Cressida (Judith) | We only started using hiking poles in 2024, and found them to make a huge (positive) difference; much less strain on the body/knees. |
| Trowel | BoglerCo Ultralight Backpacking Trowel | Over the years, we've always carried some sort of trowel for digging catholes. These have ranged from stainless steel folders, to plastic gardening trowels from the hardware store. The Bogler trowel bought in 2024 has been a super find, and has performed flawlessly in all kinds of ground including, sand, clay, rocky, rooty, everything. It's unbelievably strong for its weight. It cannot be faulted. |