# where to pack your sleeping bag?



## el maestro (Nov 12, 2004)

hello all, just wondering where folks put their sleeping bags if no racks are being used. below is a pic of my current bikepacking set up, and I'm using an old man mountain rack that has my one person tent, sleeping bag, and pad bungee cord-ed to it. 

it's not a bad set up, but if I could save some weight, I'd consider a revelate sweet roll, or something along the same lines. my main concern would be as to whether or not I could fit the contents of my front rack in the sweet roll.


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## lextek (Mar 24, 2004)

I don't think all your gear would fit in/on sweetroll style carrier. I could be wrong.


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## bmike (Nov 17, 2009)

Harness and drybag, upfront, holds my sleeping pad folded lengthwise and then rolled to the shape of the bag as a stiffener and my bag stuffed inside along with camp clothes and anything else I might have that compresses.


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## Spinymouse (Jul 11, 2010)

Sleeping bag in my Carradice Camper Longflap saddlebag. Not much room left for anything else in the Carradice's main pocket. Still, the load is snug and steady.

Tent wrapped up in my sleeping pad in a Revelate Harness out front. They look like they were all custom made to go together like that. Stable and secure, but bulky.

Frame bag in the middle to hold food, etc.

Looking for a way to make my sleeping setup smaller. It all just takes up too much room. I'm sure that a modern sleeping bag will be less bulky than my trusty 30-year old Cat's Meow. And I don't need a two-person tent just for myself. Working on ideas...


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## Mark_BC (Sep 19, 2012)

I would put it in a sack then strap it to the side of your front rack like I did. This is a big sleeping bag for winter conditions mind you so yours will probably be smaller.


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## Quitou (Sep 1, 2014)

Depends on the season. For warmer temps (40-50F) my 800fill down bag goes in my seat bag in a waterproof stuff sack as needed. It's the size of a Nalgene bottle, so for really wet trips like my recent ride in Iceland, it goes inside my waterproof backpack with my camera gear, etc.

Normally, for cold weather riding (0-20F) it goes on my bars in a Bedrock Bags Entrada bag.

I will also admit, I go extremely light when possible.


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## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

See this trip report for details, but tl;dr version is that my sleeping bag goes in the seat bag because that's pretty much the only place it will fit.

I'm in the Washington cascades where it can get down to the 30s w/ sideways rain/sleet any night out of the year, so I use a Marmot Helium. It's a fairly common choice for a 3 season bag for women 'round these parts.

I'm envious of the microscopic bags seen in all these trip reports... until I'm crawling into my magic puffy down cloud on a cold night, lol.


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## Addy Marx (Jul 18, 2009)

*Sleeping Bag inside the bivy, tarp, cook pot and stove (when used) go in the seat pack.
*Clothes go in the handle bar roll.
*Tools, tube, stans, steripen, toiletries, wind layer, go in the frame pack.
*snacks, sunscreen, sleeping pad (this time) went in the bar pouch.
*food and bear spray in the back pack.


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## bmike (Nov 17, 2009)

verslowrdr said:


> See this trip report for details, but tl;dr version is that my sleeping bag goes in the seat bag because that's pretty much the only place it will fit.
> 
> I'm in the Washington cascades where it can get down to the 30s w/ sideways rain/sleet any night out of the year, so I use a Marmot Helium. It's a fairly common choice for a 3 season bag for women 'round these parts.
> 
> I'm envious of the microscopic bags seen in all these trip reports... until I'm crawling into my magic puffy down cloud on a cold night, lol.


I fit a down 30d bag and insulated pad and more into my front harness / bag. Carry a Tarptent, usually in the seat bag.


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## bmike (Nov 17, 2009)

Addy Marx said:


> *Sleeping Bag inside the bivy, tarp, cook pot and stove (when used) go in the seat pack.
> *Clothes go in the handle bar roll.
> *Tools, tube, stans, steripen, toiletries, wind layer, go in the frame pack.
> *snacks, sunscreen, sleeping pad (this time) went in the bar pouch.
> *food and bear spray in the back pack.


thats a hot looking rig.


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

30 degree kelty Galactic down bag, Thermarest Prolite 1.5 regular, Exped pillow, and spare clothes all go in a 20 l dry bag and get strapped to the bars via a Revelate Sling. I put the bag in a compression stuff and roll it up in the pad, that gives me about 1/3 of the pad/bag's width for clothes/extras.


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## TobyGadd (Sep 9, 2009)

Like others, mine goes in a dry bag with my pad and bivy sack. Revelate Sling holds it all together.


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## pimpbot (Dec 31, 2003)

Spinymouse said:


> Sleeping bag in my Carradice Camper Longflap saddlebag. Not much room left for anything else in the Carradice's main pocket. Still, the load is snug and steady.
> 
> Tent wrapped up in my sleeping pad in a Revelate Harness out front. They look like they were all custom made to go together like that. Stable and secure, but bulky.
> 
> ...


I should try that. I usually pack my ultralight (and ultracold) sleeping bag in a bar bag that hangs under my stem. Seems to me that the goofy thing is thin and light enough I should just roll it up with my tent.

My tent is not so ultralight (just under 5 pounds, two person Kelty car camping tent), but I'm hoping to find a smaller 1 person ultralight one some time soon... or maybe for next season. I'm actually kinda broke right now, and going through a separation, so finances are up in the air.


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## pimpbot (Dec 31, 2003)

pimpbot said:


> I should try that. I usually pack my ultralight (and ultracold) sleeping bag in a bar bag that hangs under my stem. Seems to me that the goofy thing is thin and light enough I should just roll it up with my tent.
> 
> My tent is not so ultralight (just under 5 pounds, two person Kelty car camping tent), but I'm hoping to find a smaller 1 person ultralight one some time soon... or maybe for next season. I'm actually kinda broke right now, and going through a separation, so finances are up in the air.


Just as an experiment, I tried rolling my sleeping bag and short old skool Thermarest into my tent bag. Whaddya know? It all actually fits in the tent stuff sack!!

So, now I have this 8 pound tent roll that contains my sleeping bag, tent stakes, plastic stake hammer, and pad. I'll keep it strapped to my rear pannier rack on top, between the bags. Same weight, but at least it's only one thing to pack, and not three.

I can probably do without the plastic stake hammer.


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## Addy Marx (Jul 18, 2009)

bmike said:


> thats a hot looking rig.


Thanks! It worked out perfectly for that trip.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

dan p said:


> hello all, just wondering where folks put their sleeping bags if no racks are being used. below is a pic of my current bikepacking set up, and I'm using an old man mountain rack that has my one person tent, sleeping bag, and pad bungee cord-ed to it.
> 
> it's not a bad set up, but if I could save some weight, I'd consider a revelate sweet roll, or something along the same lines. my main concern would be as to whether or not I could fit the contents of my front rack in the sweet roll.












If you want to carry that much stuff up front I'd stick with a rack like you are using. It will support the weight better.

I've got a roll style bar bag from Porcelain Rocket with a pouch on the front. I put a sleeping bag and most of my clothes in there and a bunch of misc stuff I want easy access to in the pouch - ie. bear bangers, food, TP/hand sanitizer, etc...

I try and keep as much of the heavy stuff as I can in my framebag to minimize the impact on how my bike handles. My bar bag and seat bag are for light bulky items like sleeping bag, clothes, tent, sleeping pad, etc...


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## Quitou (Sep 1, 2014)

Weather often plays a roll in where things go. For my very rainy trip in Iceland recently, my bar bag was used to house my wet tent, wet socks, wet...anything. It allowed me to pack all of my sensitive gear, like my sleeping bag, in my backpack within the shelter of my tent. Then, at the last minute, I'd hop out of the tent, break down the tent, and shove it in the bar bag. At day's end, while still raining, I'd reverse the process. So, there was no good place for the sleeping bag outside of my backpack.


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

Quitou said:


> Weather often plays a roll in where things go. For my very rainy trip in Iceland recently, my bar bag was used to house my wet tent, wet socks, wet...anything. It allowed me to pack all of my sensitive gear, like my sleeping bag, in my backpack within the shelter of my tent. Then, at the last minute, I'd hop out of the tent, break down the tent, and shove it in the bar bag. At day's end, while still raining, I'd reverse the process. So, there was no good place for the sleeping bag outside of my backpack.


That's the same reason I use the dry bag on my bars. I can pull my tent out of seat bag and get it all set up then just toss the bar bag in the tent and unpack/repack inside.


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## kai_ski (Apr 24, 2013)

If the front triangle is big enough, I like to strap my tent underneath the top tube. That way I can keep dry stuff in dry bags in the seat bag and/or bar bag.


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## Iamrockandroll13 (Feb 10, 2013)

TobyGadd said:


> Like others, mine goes in a dry bag with my pad and bivy sack. Revelate Sling holds it all together.


+1

I just strap the drybag to my bars with Salsa anything straps though, thinking about getting a harness with pockets made though for a few longer rides next season.


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## Nico_SB (Jan 21, 2014)

Like some of the others, I use a Revelate Harness to hold a dry bag under the bars. The dry bag contains my quilt, inflatable sleeping pad/pillow, and all of my spare clothes (pair of socks, down jacket, thin long johns, thin fleece, gloves, hat). Dry bag + contents weighs about 4 lbs at most.

I'd advise against packing your shelter/bivy/groundcloths in with your sleeping bag/warm clothes. The idea is to keep your insulation pieces dry at all costs. 
Wet + down insulation = no bueno.


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## dave54 (Jul 1, 2003)

In really nice weather I have not used a bag at all. A set of heavyweight base layer and slip into a one person bivy tent. Works as long as the nights are relatively warmer than normal.

Unfortunately, I have also spent a cold night when the weather gods did not behave and do what was forecast...


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

I don't need a sleeping bag most of the time as it never drops below 21'C usually 27 to 28 at night and 32 to 35 during the day, I just carry a silk liner and hammock. I have a S2S Spark that packs up to 4" diameter which I have used at altitude in Borneo and in Western Australia in Winter or NZ in summer. Bags and liners go in a bar roll with clothes and other stuff I want to keep dry. I haven't really done any bike packing when it has been approaching or anywhere near freezing 12'C is about the closest I've got. 
If it is just an over nighter or a couple of day I don't always bother with the bar roll.


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## willapajames (Dec 18, 2005)

pimpbot said:


> So, now I have this 8 pound tent roll that contains my sleeping bag, tent stakes, plastic stake hammer, and pad...
> 
> I can probably do without the plastic stake hammer.


Yeah, totally ditch a hammer! Unless where you live is totally devoid of rocks or sticks. Even then, you can use your shoe if the ground is hard to pound stakes into.


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