absolute bare bones camping - what's the least you've used?

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Simple question - what's the very least amount of stuff you've used when touring on the bike. Imagine B&Bs and hotels aren't an option, and that you've got to camp.

I thought I'd got mine down to a fairly minimal set up last year - think it was this (afaicr):

1. Highlander Blackthorn 1 - a roll-in, roll-out canvas coffin essentially.

https://www.jacksonscamping.com/prodzoomimg8377.jpg

2. Ten quid Tesco ruck sack.

3. Tiny Tears cooking set (just a small saucepan / kettle that fits in the saucepan style deal).

4. Sleep roll.

5. Fold out tablets stove - about the size of a fag packet, deck of playing cards - slightly bigger but you get me.

6. Tesco sleeping bag - goes down really small, but there will of course be warmer, smaller, lighter ones out there.

7. Sundry items of food and water (also wet wipes, bog roll, etc.). Water is the killer. You need a brew but even a pint of water is heavy and bulky.


But I think that was basically it. I want to try and do it with much less if I can, but I really don't know if it's possible to do that without turning feral and basically becoming more animal than human.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[doggone]

Consider forgetting the cooking altogether, in the UK you can still get your tea/coffee fix easy enough.
Up to a week is really not a problem with just tent, sleeping bag waterproofs and a towel.

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[Copycat73]

gellert solo tent
sleepin bag 4 season
pack packer air bed
bottle water..,
that's the lot but I would camp for one nite only.
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Whatever I post I have no citation and no intention of providing one..
caveat emptor

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Pretty much same as mine then. I want to do more than one night though - 4 or 5 max. Might schedule a B&B night just for a shower and proper bed though, at some point - maybe on homeward leg.

Anyway, thinking about it, I reckon if I went with the tent / sleep mat / sleeping bag combo I could easily ditch the sleep bag. I really didn't need it, and found I was taking layers off to get in it. What's the point of that?!?!? Might as well keep the layers on and not bother with the bag. Or even have some thermals stashed, and put those *beneath* your "day" layers. I think that would be a smaller and lighter solution than lugging a sleeping bag around.

So far then I've ditched all cooking crap and the sleeping bag. Theoretically at least. Not sure how this would "pan" out in practice.

Haha.


____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[LessIsMore]

I’ve toured France two-up on a Vespa with not much gear, but since I wasn’t camping I don’t have much advice for you. However, I also cycle, and there are many cyclists who tour with very little equipment indeed. One of them I know only as Mr Iik, an ascetic Slovene who roams far and wide – very wide, since he covers 150 km a day for weeks at a time – with less than 4 kg of gear including the clothes on his back.

He sleeps on plastic bubble wrap, subsists on ketosis and one good local meal a day, takes neither GPS nor phone, and even encodes his itinerary on a cue-sheet to save the weight of maps, like this.

Start here if you think he might have a good idea or two.

[Northern Monkey]

[The Shaggy D.A.]

For long weekends, I get by with...

Argos Pro Action Hike Lite tent
3/4 length air mat
Sleeping bag
Silk liner
British Airways finest business class blanket
Poundland's finest £1 picnic rug
Mini Trangia kit + small bottle of meths
Mini LED torch
Spare undies, socks, T-shirt
Toiletries/drugs in a ziploc

Food I procure along the way, but I need my coffee fix in the morning, and if I get hungry later I carry a few small bottles of water, some porridge, some Smash, some Noodles, some Cup-a-Soup.

It all goes in the panniers (sleeping bag, air mat and blankets in one side, tent and rest in the other) but If I feel like having more I pop a small rucksack on the pillion with a cargo net. Any more and I'd be trading comfort for minimalism, and since I'm not actually carrying the stuff on my back, it matters not that a few bottles of water are a couple of kilos extra.

If the warm weather were guaranteed, I'd lose the sleeping bag and stick with the silk liner/blanket.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3526686/biketent2.jpg
____________________
Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[........................]

Don't ditch the cooking crap. If you're stuck out and about and can't find a bed for the night, never under estimate the morale boosting power of a hot meal and a cuppa. Do you really need to save space that much not to carry a mini trangia?

[doggone]

It's not just the stove though, you have to have other utensils and think about washing up
I managed two weeks in Germany and Austria without cooking anything, it was heavenly to have proper tea when back in Kent though.

[The Shaggy D.A.]

[G]

I took a petrol stove to go around Europe with.
Broke it on the first day before I'd even used it and did just fine.
I had budgeted for eating the local food at resteraunts and so on - and was happy to get some local bread/meat/cheese/desserts/etc. Pretty much just used my (locking) swiss army knife for cutlery.

However; if I've got a motorbike, I wouldn't be that bothered about being incredibly economical with stuff - maybe if it was a pushbike, but then the panniers on my push bike (which I'll often do 20-30 miles on in a day just shopping and the like) are the equivalent of a woman's hand bag half the time, never mind the motorcycle chain and various other bits, so maybe not!

I have wondered about various ways to use the bike as tent in the past.
With draping a tarp right over, you'd have to worry about the engine being hot if you've just parked up.

Not much use here, but there's a design for push bikes where you take one wheel off and use that to hold an end open.

On sleeping bags - I've got one that takes a roll mat inside it in a pocket. It saves spaces because there's no down on the bottom (on the basis you're compressing it, so it's not very effective anyway) and means you don't roll off your mat, which I'm prone to do.

I wouldn't wear a rucksack on the bike, but do like keeping a small backpack as a 'tank bag', which valuables etc can be kept in and easily taken off when leaving the bike.

[stinkwheel]

That style fo tent is fine. I used a Vango banshee 200 for my Round Britain tour. Also a backpacking therm-a-rest and a snugpak jungle sleeping bag. Within reason, that's about as small as you can go and still be in a tent without having to stash the rest of your gear outside.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/rbr/DSCN0730.png

The alternative is knocking together a basher of some sort or hammocking.

If I've gone lightweight for cooking gear, more for backpacking than motorcycling, I use a homemade meths burner (a type called a penny stove) and a 2-cup stainless teapot stolen from a service station. The stove and its fuel fits inside the teapot. I have a pyrex mug because I hate plastic cups (I also drink wine out of it), swiss army knife and a spork.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/66480019.jpg

The super lightweight way of cooking is to light a fire.

I usually take my Borde Bomb petrol stove though. The stove + Potstand + spork, lighter and SAK fits in the plastic tub. The mess tins are Czech army issue which gives you two nesting pots and a lid that doubles as a frying pan. Soap and socurer inside the mess tins. Old fashioned green soap can be used for cleaning the pots, your clothes (shave it into the hot water with a knife), yourself and for changing tyres.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/rbr/DSCN0801.png
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[thx1138]

basic tent, sleeping bag, burner, mess tin

roughest I've camped without a bike, is one of those army surplus sleeping bags, with the arms and zip halfway down to stick legs out of, and a waterproof cover

slept in a ditch outside of reading when hitching back from Glastonbury in the rain, warm and dry, quite happy.

but the waterproof stuff all flaked off,and I haven't seen them to buy for a donkeys years.

[Az]

Tank bag, throw over panniers and a tent bungee'd down. That was enough for two-up camping for the weekend. In our luggage we had a stove, cutlery, clothes, waterproofs, bike lock, bike cover, sleeping bags, blow up beds and more i've probably forgotten about.

https://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy178/AzAndBikes/IMG_1802_zpsafbf89f7.jpg

[chickenstrip]

I slept in just an army slug at Le Mans in about '88. Woke up soaked and freezing at about 5am - not recommended!

I tried a Rab bivvy bag (eVent fabric) when backpacking in the Lake District, up on the fells. Weather was fine, but the bag felt very clammy and I decided bivvy bags weren't for me.

Most of my current camping kit comes from my backpacking kit now - lightweight, compact; it transfers very well to bike touring.

My main tent is a Vaude Power Lizard, but for longer trips I like the Vango Banshee 300 - bit roomier, I ain't gettin' any younger.

To keep your kit to a minimum, you need to consider multi-use items. Just as an example, i use a w/proof roll top bag to carry some kit - at night, I stuff my jacket and trouser liners in it, wrap a thin fleece pullover around it, and that's my pillow.

https://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b550/nicknicklxs/DSCF1604_zps08f4bf0d.jpg~original

[Peirre oBollox]

Another compact cook set ........ the most minimal cooker - the Clikstand www.clikstand.com. It's a clever selection of laser cut stainless steel and uses a standard Trangia burner (if you're a masochist, you can try and make a coke can burner that works reliably, but while I've made loads, they never work well for long). Clikstand sell the windshield, but you can make your own from thin aluminium. It packs away into a standard 12cm 'Zebra' billy (as used by his holiness Ray Mears) into which it fits perfectly. For weight freaks, it packs well into a ridiculously expensive titanium pan (can't remember which make). The clikstand itself weighs 98g without burner.

All packed:
https://www.zen15400.zen.co.uk/clikstand/001.jpg

Cut down trangia pan handle and matches live in the billys little fry pan:
https://www.zen15400.zen.co.uk/clikstand/002.jpg

The disassembled clikstand, burner and windshield live in the pan:
https://www.zen15400.zen.co.uk/clikstand/003.jpg

All the bits:
https://www.zen15400.zen.co.uk/clikstand/004.jpg

Stand sides slot together:
https://www.zen15400.zen.co.uk/clikstand/005.jpg

Burner shelf ''cliks" into place:
https://www.zen15400.zen.co.uk/clikstand/006.jpg

Burner in:
https://www.zen15400.zen.co.uk/clikstand/007.jpg

Windshield sits on the outriggers:
https://www.zen15400.zen.co.uk/clikstand/008.jpg

Pan sits on the clikstands supports:
https://www.zen15400.zen.co.uk/clikstand/009.jpg

Fry pan in place:
https://www.zen15400.zen.co.uk/clikstand/010.jpg

All packed away again:
https://www.zen15400.zen.co.uk/clikstand/011.jpg
____________________
I accept no responsibility for swearing, drinking, motorcycle riding or your pregnant teenage daughter.

[Llama-Farmer]

Not on a bike... but me and a friend occasionally used to go out into the Peak District with a day sack full of food & drink, sleeping bag & basha or a bivi bag and, apart from the clothes we were wearing (and that wasn't excessive, walking boots, walking trou, tshirt & lightweight waterproof jacket) that was it. Often would go out Friday afternoon and back sunday evening.

Wouldn't choose to go so light in future, but we didn't need any more.

Depends how long you're going for and where, as to how much you need.
____________________
Current Bike: 1999 Honda CB600 FX Hornet
Next Bike: I want a CBR-RR. And I want an F800 GS-A. And a VFR 800. Can I have all 3?
Dream Bikes: Honda VFR750R RC30, Honda NSR500, Ducati 996 R

[tatters]

I spent 2 months riding/camping across Canada, With a Vango Tempest 200 tent, 3/4 thermarest, Vango Viper 500 sleeping bag, Vango microfiber pillow plus a silk sleeping bag liner. And cooking each night with a mini trangia meths stove.

Very impressed with the tent in heavy downpours it stayed waterproof and even more important in Canada it stayed bug proof even with sand flys about. Also lasted the whole trip with everyday wild camping use.
____________________
Past:NRG50,AF1125(x2),NSR125RR,ZZR250,CX500,VFR400,KR1S,ZZR600(x2),CB400N,YZF1000(x2),KH125,Z200,FX400R,CBR954RR(x2)GPZ500S,GT550,VFR750F(x2),RD350N,XR650R,CBR600F,CB250,KDX250,YZF750R,CRM250,400EXC,KLR650,TTR600RE,DR350S,R100GSPD,RGV250,VMAX1200,DL650,KZ750 Present:G650XC,C12,CRF450X,1190ADV

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

My aim is to get everything into a single medium-to-large ruck sack, and to go for 3-4 nights

I'm currently (still) thinking some sort of waterproof sheet / tarp shelter and sleep roll will be the minimum kip arrangements (must also include inflatable pillow of some sort). It will basically involve sleeping rough - but I think I can do it in almost as much comfort as if I had a tent and sleeping bag.

Cooking stuff - not sure about this. I intend to use fire rather than stove, so might just have a single small, very light saucepan (for noodles / brew).

My latest theory is that pitch is everything. Get that right and pretty much everything else falls into place. Iow, if you can find the right spot, you can basically have a comfortable night. Abundant dry wood, good kindling, out of the sight line of landowners / bailiffs, etc. Decent shelter from wind, but enough elevation to be out of damp, perhaps foliage coverage for further shelter. Etc. etc. One of the downsides is you need to expend a lot of time pinpointing The Ideal Spot, which will probably be at the end of the day (or late afternoon) when most knackered. Also you may need a suitable bike to get to the spot. So something light with clearance. For me a 250 - perhaps TTR? Basically an off-road-ish bike that actually has a seat rather than an ass crack reamer. I'm talking about incursions deep into forested locations. Etc.

Just dreaming at the moment. But would be into stripping my set up right down.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[G]

Or a CRM250?



You can make dirt bike seats more comfortable if needed - my KTM 690 was worse than the average (thinner, thanks to various design features not leaving much room), I've done a good few long days as stock (5 hour trips with just stops for fuel) as well as 3000 miles after got some gel inserts.
And the same was fine for wild camping - don't really need clearance to get in to woods etc. Some kinda-appropriate tyres helps, but I just had the Sahara's on when wild camping.

[chickenstrip]

As to stoves, I just use a gas canister type in the UK - MSR Pocket Rocket. You're never very far from somewhere you can pick up a canister, and I usually carry two, which is enough for all my needs for about 12 days, including cooking.

I did a 100 mile stretch of the South West Coast Path and met a guy using a little home made wood burner stove - he just collected a few twigs and bits from around his pitch and had a brew on every bit as quickly as me. Not sure how he'd have faired if everything had been soaking wet though. He also just had a home made tarp, rigged up with a trekking pole, and a bivvy bag.

He certainly must have been comfortable enough - the fecker snored all night!

I did try my own tarp construction along his lines, made from an old tent I had knocking about, but it was a bit small:

https://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b550/nicknicklxs/DSCF1173_zps22950146.jpg~original

The plan was to use it with the Rab bivvy bag, but never tried it in the end.

[stinkwheel]

[chickenstrip]

[J.M.]

How big are you? I took an almost identical tent to Spain with me. I found it to be too small for my liking. Also, if the weather was poor outside, I was unable to (comfortably) take many things inside shelter with me. It was manageable though

I purchased one of these as a replacement now, but I've yet to use it: https://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9275647.htm
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2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900