Our Gear
Clothes
Update: 24.06.2018
Clothes are an ongoing thing and can be easily bought anywhere we travel. One of our best purchases was our Quechua jackets and while not down they pack ok and are super warm.
Merino T shirts, bike socks and thermal wear – perfect as they keep you nice and warm and don’t smell after wearing them for extended periods of time….. plus they dry super quick which is important when your on the road and cheap from Aldi at around $12 AUD each
Quick Dry long sleeve shirt – perfect for going out and quick to dry if wet
Boots
Update: 24.06.2018
The boots are still going great; my boots (David) get a bit more wear and tear then Em’s with the soles wearing away a bit and a small section of stitching coming apart; but to me this is normal for what they have been through. They are not totally waterproof but only after extended periods of rain.
After a bit of research we settled on a pair of Forma Adventure boots and so far they have been excellent, with good fit and we will update
The other issue we have realised is that being a “not so common” brand if we ever needed parts we simply couldnt get them while OS. To this we should of bought an MSR which we have seen is available in most countries Also I had to make up some “extensions” to raise the height of pot from the heating unit as even on the lowest setting it was still to hot and we couldnt simmer; by raising the height of the pot this reduces the heat.
We had a Primus multi fuel stove for the last 20 years and it has done us proud with the only real issue having to replace the fuel bottle O-ring. In saying that I felt it was time to upgrade to a newer model so we purchased a Soto Muka Stove which doesn’t require priming and runs off Unleaded petrol. With the Primus we simply had a clear thin plastic tube with some washers secured to one end, I would simply “dunk” the tube into the fuel tank, suck up some fuel, keeping an eye on it through the clear tube, trying not to swallow any, and siphoning some into the fuel canister……
At the time of writing this 25.02.2017 we still haven’t used the stove so we will report as we go.
Camping Equipment
Update: 24.06.2018
The Soto has been OK……just.
First issue we found was that (and this is our best guess), as the fuel quality in South America may not be 100% there is a fine “mesh filter” which sits under the “jet” and this would continually keep gett
ing blocked. We could only assume it was contamination in the fuel resulting in the blockages. It was a pain trying to remove the small filter using a needle, cleaning it and replacing it. I have now lost the piece and so far it keeps working…..so far. The pump unit has worked well, albeit it had a plastic guide which fell to pieces; I contacted SOTO who have posted a new unit to home in Australia……. there is no use posting stuff to South America…… it never turns up!
Chairs
Updated: 24.06.2018
We never took any chairs and instead when needed we simply sit on our panniers……which so far for us has been fine….. not for everyone we know but OK for us.
The chairs we currently use are Aldi specials, they cost $25 AUD and have a year warranty, although I cant see us returning them to Aldi Australia if one broke in Peru!. In saying that, from what I see we will probably end up purchasing Helinox versions…. unfortunately at approximately $120 AUD. I know they take up space and only minimal weight and that people use their pannier boxes, rocks etc to sit on but for us the chairs have been great and worth the space they take up.
Tent
Update: 24.06.2018
So much to say; overall the tent has been great, we have put it up and down 300 days out of the year. After so many times we can set it up in around 5 minutes, while packing up takes a bit longer. The “Zip Sliders” (metal parts) on the inner door zips wore and I have replaced them with new sliders and now no issues. After 3 days of big winds down the Patagonia one of the “Peg Ties” ripped off the tent; but this was easily repaired; other than these things, we havent had any other problems. We dont store the bike in the “Garage” part as they are designed to, as it becomes to cumbersome, but this area is great to sit in, especially when the weather is bad. For future travels we will source a smaller tent with a similar add on vestibule to store equipment. The tent, with our clothes bag also forms part of the “backrest” form Em while on the bike; grey bag on top.
The tent we purchased was the Redvez Atacama Expedition Motorcycle tent for a number of reasons. Em wanted a tent where she could stand up in as she had enough of trying to live out of small 2 person tents where trying to get dressed was a chore. I would be happy living in a small tent but I can understand Em’s thoughts. We have purchased the protective layers for the tent and garage so while a great addition they also add extra weight; as well as the waterproof bag. We also purchased the green color as others had reported trying to “sleep in” with the Yellow version was nigh on impossible once the sun came up and how bright it became.
Advantages: Can park the bike inside offering security, can be stood up in making life just that little bit more comfortable, Provide sufficient room for 2 people, For times when its raining outside we can set up the chairs inside and keep dry and easy to set up and erect.
Disadvantages: Weight, I believe we will find the overall weight and size of the tent too cumbersome for our travels, but we will need to learn this lesson as we go along.
Sleeping Bags
Update: 24.06.2018
No problems so far with the bags; the zips can be a bit of a pain getting stuck … not a “Show Stopper” just annoying. Combined with the Sea to Summit linner and some clothes they have been nice and toasty even at -5C. They pack down well and after being stuffed and “unstuffed” 300 days out of the year there doesnt appear to be any problems.
Again after some research we settle on the Exped Comfort 600 sleeping bags, one left zip and one right zip with the intention that if we ever wanted to join them we could. Problem was supply in Australia is less than that of the OS market and while we got left and right versions they were different zip versions which initially didn’t zip together. It became an issue to swap one over again so I had to modify one zip so they could work together; while not ideal it works and so far the bags have been great
Sleeping Liners
Update: 24.06.2018
These are great and have held together really well…… we would definitely buy these again if we had to.
We settled on the Sea to Summit Coolmax Liner which while designed for Hot and Humid conditions in wicking away moisture will also increase the temp range of the Sleeping bags. They can also be used on their own if it’s a really hot night as we regularly experience in Australia. We have found them great and of excellent quality, as with all Sea to Summit gear. http://www.seatosummit.com.au/
Sleeping Liners
Update: 24.06.2018
These are great and have held together really well…… we would definitely buy these again if we had to.
We settled on the Sea to Summit Coolmax Liner which while designed for Hot and Humid conditions in wicking away moisture will also increase the temp range of the Sleeping bags. They can also be used on their own if it’s a really hot night as we regularly experience in Australia. We have found them great and of excellent quality, as with all Sea to Summit gear. http://www.seatosummit.com.au/
Pillows
Update: 24.06.2018
The Sea to Summit pillows are still going great and have been a great purchase.
We met a couple at a Horizons Unlimited meeting who used memory foam pillows and we thought we’d give it a try and so far they have worked out well. We bought a pillow and cut it in half and then had two Pillow cases made to suit. They fit into the lid of our panniers and tend to pack down the contents and keep them secured. Do they take up more space than a “blow up” type, yes they do but for us a good nights sleep is important and they work well.
We did end up sending our original pillows home and we bought a blow up Sea to Summit pillow each. They are the same size as the memory foam ones and just as comfortable. Plus they take up half the room.
Lighting
Update: 24.06.2018
We gave the Lenzer headlamps away…… they were just to big and we bought simple “Everyready” type from the local Hardware store. These have been great and pack down really well.
We also got rid of the LED light strip we were using inside the tent….. we just use the headlamps now.
We use Led Lenzer H7R2 headlamps which require batteries; they are a little cumbersome and I feel we may end up changing these for rechargeable type head lamps which we can charge off the bike during the day.
For the tent we bought a simple 1.3m LED flexible strip with simple dimmer control. We use the 12 volt plugs we have fitted to the bike to operate the lights and simply plug the light in, with the neutrino black box setup to shut down at 10.9Volts so that the battery of the bike can never be discharged too much. With the light on full we can easily sit in the tent at night and read or catch up on the computer work and being LED they draw small amounts of power.
Cooking Utensils
Update: 24.06.2018
The Sea to Summit stuff is excellent and is one of our best purchases. The pot we had to replace purely through normal usage and it split on one of the collapsible seams. This is just normal wear and tear and to be expected after a year. The photo shows the Pot lid with tape on as it cracked.
We have also added a Frying pan; while Sea to Summit also do one we couldnt find this in South America. We bought a “Non Stick” pan and took the handle off. We then bought an MSR pot lifter which fits the frying pan just fine and packs away well
We use the Sea to Summit Kitchen X-Set31 which is made up of collapsible cups, bowls and cooking pot. So far they have been great and pack down and take up little space. We also use Alpha Light knife and fork and use the luggage plate on the bike as our cutting board and preparation area when cooking. We will update our thoughts on these as we go along.
Wine Container
We enjoy a bottle of wine so it was important to have suitable containers. We purchased a Touratech twin bottle holder (at the time we couldn’t get 2 single units) and cut it in half and mounted them on the back of the pannier so that a litter container could be mounted. The thought process was we would buy a bottle of wine and rather than run the risk of the bottle breaking in our luggage we would empty the contents into an aluminium flask and that way at the end of a long day while camping we could enjoy a nice wine….. that’s the idea anyway.
Computer Laptop
Update: 24.06.2018
Laptop is still going well, we cracked the touch screen when we dropped some shopping/ food onto it but it still works as a computer. I put a thin piece of board in the carry case to provide extra protection and we pack the computer on top in the panniers and after numerous falls it remains in good condition.
We have a Microsoft surface pro Laptop that we were given for free and intend to use for the trip. As of yet we haven’t worked out how we are going to pack it or where we will pack it but once we do we will provide you with all the info, as we progress….
Hard Drives
We purchased a Samsung T3 Portable SSD 500GB to be used in conjunction with the computer to store info. We are uploading the majority of info up to the cloud and have been looking at services such as Drop Box and Google Drive. At the time of writing we still haven’t worked through this and will advise how it all goes as we go along.
Little Bits and Pieces
Update: 24.06.2018
Flint for lighting the stove and fires ….. perfect little tool.
