Tents, locks, kickstands, gear protection, and hauling stuff

[Westinghouse]

1. No need for a tent in a covered shelter. A little bug spray keeps the blood suckers away. Mosquito coils are excellent with no wind.
2. Carry the lightest strongest locking device you can.
3. Secure all gear camped over night. Leave nothing to chance.
4. Add front panniers. You will never regret it.

[Ty0604]

Some disparate questions that really are connected.

My broken record intro: I'll be doing a modified TransAmerica, starting May 2022 -- the Eastern Express to Kansas, traditional TA the rest of the way.

1.  I have a good ultra-light hiking tent that I'm happy with but it's not free standing.  I've the impression that free standing is preferable so that when camping in places with a picnic shelter, for example, it's common to set up your tent inside the shelter.   I plan to camp whenever possible.  So, do most use free standing?  If not, are you happy with your stake-requiring setup or, if you had to do things over, would you opt for free standing?

On my first tour I used a Eureka Spitfire Solo, it’s not freestanding and I didn’t have any issues with it. There was one or two times I couldn’t stake it in the ground so instead I used the cordage for tie downs and tied each end to a solid object nearby. I now have a Nemo Hornet which is freestanding but I only ditched the Eureka because the Nemo is lighter.

2.  My previous bike had a kickstand.  I loved it.  My new bike doesn't.  The extra weight for a kickstand seems like it would be weight well spent.  I'm hesitant to add it because I'm new at this and keep thinking that there must be great reasons that most (?) don't use one.  For those who do, is there a specific brand/model that you'd recommend?

Why do you need a kickstand? Any solid object can act as a kickstand. If there’s nothing nearby just lay the bike down. It’s extra weight for nothing IMO.

3.  Locks.  Currently I use a chain lock.  When camping, I see myself chaining my bike TO my tent so that hopefully I would hear someone messing with it and wake up.   For those who camp a lot, how do you protect your bike from theft while you're sleeping?

I don’t worry about it. I’ve crossed 46 states by bike and have over 50,000 touring miles. I’ve never brought a lock or felt like I needed one.

4.   When camping in city parks and campgrounds, do you remove your panniers,  handlebar bag, etc and keep your gear inside your tent at night?

I only remove my lights and Garmin. Everything else stays on the bike. I zip tie my panniers to the rack so they don’t vibrate off on rough roads. Otherwise I don’t see the need to take anything off of the bike.

5.  Finally, my goal is to use the Ortlieb  6 liter handlebar bag and the Back Roller classic panniers for all of my gear, except that I plan on attaching with bungee cords the tent and sleeping bag on the rear rack, and my repair tools carried in a small case under the seat.   However, my bike shop expert tells me that having all of the weight on the back is a bad idea -- less ride stability; instead, he recommends using front panniers AND rear panniers to distribute weight more evenly.
BUT, I've done a lot of distance hiking and I'm 99% sure that I can carry all of my gear using just rear panniers, so adding front panniers would also mean adding 5-8 lbs just for the front  rack and front panniers.
So....?  Thoughts?

Don’t have any opinion on this subject. Have fun and good luck!

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[staehpj1]

1.  I have a good ultra-light hiking tent that I'm happy with but it's not free standing.  I've the impression that free standing is preferable so that when camping in places with a picnic shelter, for example, it's common to set up your tent inside the shelter.   I plan to camp whenever possible.  So, do most use free standing?  If not, are you happy with your stake-requiring setup or, if you had to do things over, would you opt for free standing?

On my first tour I used a Eureka Spitfire Solo, it’s not freestanding and I didn’t have any issues with it. There was one or two times I couldn’t stake it in the ground so instead I used the cordage for tie downs and tied each end to a solid object nearby. I now have a Nemo Hornet which is freestanding but I only ditched the Eureka because the Nemo is lighter.

I'll mention that the Spitfire is especially well suited to staking out with limited anchors.  One at each end does it in a pinch since you don't need the fly held out tight when under a roof.  Some tents require more anchor points just to stand.  Usually that is manageable, but take it into consideration for the tent you have.  In a pavillion or gazebo there can be support poles, picnic tables, or you can run cords off the edges of the floor to the surrounding dirt.  Still if you have a tent that requires a lot of anchors just to stand it may be a hassle.