Upgrade for my touring packing set up

[sjlannoo]

Exactly what I was considering lately!  There are some partial frame bags that look pretty roomy, and I do want to keep frame cages for water bottles and/or a Sigg bottle for my stove.  Thanks for the recommendation.

[Westinghouse]

You can make your own panniers which are much lighter than some that I have seen on the market. You can take those dry bags they sell in Walmart in the camping section. The tough thick plastic ones that are reinforced.  Roll it down three times tight. Connect hooks securely below that you can connect to the rack. You need backing in there and stiffening and all that. But it is much lighter than your average pannier and it is just as watertight as an Ortlieb pannier. Much less expensive.

[sjlannoo]

Wow; thanks for the idea! 

[froze]

I would just keep what you have, you said they still work like a dream, so why buy something else and take a chance you might not like it?  Plus, there's the old saying, if it ain't broke why fix it?  You could spend a lot of money and not get anything as good as what you already have.  Buying larger bags only encourages you to carry more crap.

You need to take an inventory of everything you have.  The two biggest areas to cut weight is your tent, and the air mattress.  Modern tents have lost at least half the weight that they were in the 80s, you could reasonably lose at least 3 pounds of weight from that alone; and a lighter air mattress could save you at least a pound.  But there are other areas within your pack you could save a half pound or so, which will add up to pounds.

Instead of spending money on new bags that you don't need, try figuring out another way to cut weight.

[John Nettles]

Instead of spending money on new bags that you don't need, try figuring out another way to cut weight.

My better half always says I could just lose weight and that would not cost anything 

[davidbonn]

Instead of spending money on new bags that you don't need, try figuring out another way to cut weight.

I think it is important to make a spreadsheet with a list of everything that you are bringing and weigh everything you put on that list.
Don't include food, water, and fuel in that list as that will vary widely over time.

Most people also wildly overpack on clothing.

One advantage of a list is that it can help you see the ridiculousness of some of the things you are carrying when you actually consider what they weigh.

[John Nettles]

One thing I did years ago to help me lighten my load was to put everything in a zip lock bag before the start of a tour.  As I used an item, I trashed the zip lock bag.  At the end of the tour, I saw what was still in the zip lock bag and gave serious thought as to whether I needed that item for the next tour.  I repeated the procedure for the next tour.  Over about 4-5 tours, I probably halved what I was carrying. 

Today, I just use a printed packing list and mark off what I used that day on tour.  But I still review the unmarked items at the end of the tour, to consider if I need them.  It is usually stuff like a first aid kit, a spare tube, tools, etc. that I did not use but those are things you probably need to take regardless.

Tailwinds, John

[sjlannoo]

Great thoughts, all; thank you for considering all the things. 
My thoughts on changing front panniers come from trying to fashion a secure attachment on the front rack for the Beckman panniers.  They are constructed to best fit on the BG rack.  Because my bike now has disc brakes, I had to put spacers in the eyelets.  I've used padded clips and while the bags do stay secure, it's a holy pain to get them that way.  I'm considering smaller front panniers that I can attach to the forks.  I'm older now, and my tours are shorter (for now!) so I haven't needed the volume for packing for longer trips. 

[davidbonn]

One good source for inspiration, from trad to rad, is the Bikepacking Baggregator:

https://bikepackbaggregator.com/bikepacksetups

[sjlannoo]

Thank you!  So cool; just what I was looking for!

[davidbonn]

People have successfully managed long-distance tours with just good-sized rear panniers (e.g. 20L+) and a small handlebar bag (6L).  So if All Your Stuff won't fit in such a configuration you might, just might, be overpacking.

Probably one of the most awkward things to carry in bike bags are tent poles.  Usually (if I even bring a tent) I will strap them to the top of the rear rack or along the top tube, but they generally will stick out past the end and that can be awkward at times.  Some tents have shorter-length poles that are easier to pack.

I usually use a tarp and bivy sack and no poles -- I've found I can (almost) always improvise an a-frame setup without poles so that saves weight and complexity.

When you make a list in a spreadsheet you can easily find the heaviest items, which are the best place to start for saving weight.  Usually the big three heaviest items are your shelter, sleeping bag (or quilt), and sleeping mat.  Swapping out a lighter tent or sleeping bag probably will save you more weight for the effort and time than anything else.  On the other side of it, saving an ounce or two on a multi-tool or cookpot isn't nearly as good a return on time and money.

Probably the other heavy item(s) are your bike bags themselves.  Which for obvious reasons tend to be heavy and overbuilt.  But those are in practice harder to swap out for lighter-weight ones.

[Westinghouse]

Adjusting the weight of food and water you must carry is another method for reducing weight. It is probably common sense to anyone. I would imagine most people are not cognizant of adjusting the amount of food and water they carry with them. Most people drive. People on bicycles usually do not cross continents.

Determine distances between locations where you can obtain food and water. Or just water, only water. Determine how long the trips will be from location to location. Calculate how much food and water you will need to traverse each distance. The shorter the distances between locations where services are available, the less food and water you will have to carry. For example, it is unnecessary to carry a gallon of water and 3 pounds of food where the next waypoint is 10 miles down the road. In that situation you might need only 32 ounces of water and a can of beans at most. If the next service location is 30 miles away, of course, there would be a need to carry more food and water. And so on and so forth. If you are mindful of that way of reducing weight, you should move on a bit more easily at times.

The question of reducing weight for cycling and long distance bicycle touring was raised on other forums. One of the answers to the question was this. Lose body weight! Many people in western civilization are overweight. Some fall into the category called obese. Not grossly obese but just far too overweight and the extra weight is not healthy weight. It is usually a product of inactivity and over consumption of processed foods and highly refined carbohydrates, refined sugar, which are toxins. If there is any issue with being overweight, follow instructions for losing a few pounds.

[davidbonn]

Given where most people ride in North America it is reasonable to expect you'd hit a decent grocery store at least once a day on average.  Yes, there are some routes and some sections where that is not true.  But it is a rare situation where there isn't some plausible resupply available for longer periods than three or four days.  My Food Plan changes dramatically in those places.

In practice on long journeys people lose weight rapidly in the first few weeks but then hopefully stabilize.  Yes, you'll be pushing less weight in those circumstances.  But I see a lot of "bikepackers" who are carrying ridiculous loads of 30kg or more and that just makes the whole experience a lot less fun.  It doesn't help that often I see the least fit and least experienced people carrying those ludicrous amounts of stuff.

Generally I'd say if your dry carry weight (not counting food, water, and fuel) is more than 15kg you need to do a rethink of what you're carrying.  With skilled planning and some experience you can reasonably expect to travel comfortably on 10kg.

Adjusting the weight of food and water you must carry is another method for reducing weight. It is probably common sense to anyone. I would imagine most people are not cognizant of adjusting the amount of food and water they carry with them. Most people drive. People on bicycles usually do not cross continents.

Determine distances between locations where you can obtain food and water. Or just water, only water. Determine how long the trips will be from location to location. Calculate how much food and water you will need to traverse each distance. The shorter the distances between locations where services are available, the less food and water you will have to carry. For example, it is unnecessary to carry a gallon of water and 3 pounds of food where the next waypoint is 10 miles down the road. In that situation you might need only 32 ounces of water and a can of beans at most. If the next service location is 30 miles away, of course, there would be a need to carry more food and water. And so on and so forth. If you are mindful of that way of reducing weight, you should move on a bit more easily at times.

The question of reducing weight for cycling and long distance bicycle touring was raised on other forums. One of the answers to the question was this. Lose body weight! Many people in western civilization are overweight. Some fall into the category called obese. Not grossly obese but just far too overweight and the extra weight is not healthy weight. It is usually a product of inactivity and over consumption of processed foods and highly refined carbohydrates, refined sugar, which are toxins. If there is any issue with being overweight, follow instructions for losing a few pounds.