Solo Motorbike Camping Adventure Gear Review

G'day. I've just returned from a solo motorbike camping trip where I went from the east coast of Australia along the bottom over the west coast to the Indian Ocean and back via the northern territory to the east coast. That follows on from an earlier trip this year where I headed to the west of New South Wales through Victoria, did a loop around Tasmania back through the Victorian high country and up the east coast of Australia. As I do more of these long trips I work out what works what doesn't, well for me anyway, and hopefully that might help you work out what works best for you. I did do a gear review after the first trip this year so I'll leave a link below for that and you'll see the difference from what I learned from the last one to this one. We'll start with bags and panniers. The panniers are the Royal Enfield Himalayan ones. They can hold up to 26 litres in each one so there is ample storage. They are waterproof, they provide protection to the bike if I drop it and I do that a lot. They're easy to get on and off with two oversized nuts on each side. They have a large lid which gets right out of the way which gives you easy access and they are also lockable. Downsides, they are heavy as you also need the mounting brackets for them so the extra weight can affect off-road performance. Also if you fall in a certain way you could get your leg caught under them. If you're going away for weeks and months I think they're a good option but if you're only going away for a weekend or up to a week and doing a lot of off-road stuff, soft bags might be the go there. I have two different types of gear bags. One is the and the other is a lot cheaper Rhino Walk 30 at about a third of the price. I use the Krieger for my tent and camping gear as it is slightly longer for the tent poles and the Rhino Walk for clothes and other bits and pieces. On the trip both of them were 100% waterproof. Both were easy to strap down. The Krieger has access both ends which is good in one way and sometimes annoying when you open the wrong end but that's more user error. The Rhino Walk has just the one entry. The only issue I had was with the Rhino Walk where it had a little wear patch through the mesh but it didn't affect the bag. That was probably a bit of bad luck on the positioning of the bag on the bike. I have added an old bath mat to the top of the gear plate to try and stop any wearing through on the bags. So the Krieger is great and the Rhino Walker did the exact same job. So I guess it's going to be more over time to see if that price difference is worth it if that Rhino Walker eventually wears out quicker. I also on this trip added a tank bag. This is again the Rhino Walk as they are probably the cheapest thing you can get out there. Waterproof, did the job, great easy access. Should have got one earlier. The only issue with this is there are a lot of buckles. To open it there's three and if you're trying to get access to fuel there's two. I mean we're talking seconds here so I don't think it's a real problem but just know you're going to be opening a lot of buckles. So the only other bag I have is my camera bag which is the Shimoda Action X. Not sure if it's a 30 or 40. I've had it that long. It is the best piece of gear I've ever owned, period. It basically looks new. I've never had an issue with anything. I've done 40,000 kilometers of motorbike trips, four seasons shooting in the snow, surf trips, commercial jobs and just personal use. It is just perfect really. I have the Big Agnes Tigerwall Ultralight 2, the older version with the doors at the end. The new version it's on the side and I reckon that's a lot better option because it allows you to move around a little easier, like spinning around if you've got other gear like your helmets and things in there. So if you're going to get a new tent get one with a side door access. Well that's my preference. This is a through hiking tent which is meant for multi-day hikes which means it is super light at just under a kilo. So it does help with the overall weight of your gear on the bike. The trade-off is in very high winds you get blowdowns. Basically the tent blowing down flat. It doesn't damage the tent but that's what happens with a super light tent in the wind. I've had this tent for nine years and this year alone I've spent over 100 nights in it. I am now starting to see a little bit of wear where the seal tape is starting to come away from the seams but that's the only issue I've got with it. Next is the sleeping mat and this is where I had some issues. The one I had was super light, super cheap and it ended up getting I think I repaired it eight times. Probably built for like an under floor mat under your tent or really soft nice lush grass and I was in really rough conditions. So by the time I got to Perth I ended up just buying a new one and it was this one. The Sea to Summit Comfort Light SI for self-inflating. They don't self-inflate but it never went down for the rest of the trip. One thing is don't pump them up fully. Well that's what I found. They're a little hard but just a bit off full inflation and they're really comfortable. Next up is my sleeping bag which is a Mountain Design Travel Light 320. So comfort temperature is four degrees then minus one for limited and extreme trying to stop you from dying is minus 16. Don't need that in Australia but it is also one that unzips from the sleeping bag to a blanket. It's really good if you're going into hotter weather as well because obviously when you're in a sleeping bag it keeps all the heat in. So having the blanket just means it's yeah you can use it in warmer weather. Well this trip I knew I was going to be going into a lot more remote areas for a lot longer. So power was going to be an issue. I need power basically to film to charge up batteries. So I got a solar blanket or solar panel. These are called solar blankets. This is the iTech World 100 watt blanket. I made a little cover on it because as you'll see they're very orange and very noticeable and leaving it on the back of a bike yeah it cost me $250. With iTech World if you just keep track of them they normally have sails on and it's massive difference in price. It is a little heavy at four kilos but it is made of really tough material so I gather that's where the weight comes from and seems pretty indestructible. I mean I went around Australia it was just strapped to the back on top of the other two bags and never had an issue with it. So I connected the blanket up to the iTech World 300 watt lithium batteries but this time I took two. These were the only larger lithium batteries I could find that would fit in the panniers and were still that price of around $300. The rest of the competition is around five six hundred dollars. They just sat in the panniers and I put a towel underneath to stop any of the vibrations and yeah they work perfectly now. All the corrugations all that didn't hassle them at all. So would you need a solar panel on your trip? Well I'd only suggest it if you're going to be out there for a fair while, weeks into the months and you're in remote locations. I mean you could just go around and use motels and hotels and it's not a problem or caravan parks and powered sites but if you're going remote and you're going to spend some time there and you actually need power like I do, the system works. It's really good actually. So next up the gear I wore and on this trip I had that fun scenario of being in the south in winter where it was really cold and going up north where it was really hot. So trying to limit your gear for that sort of scenario, always fun. I guess we'll start with the riding gear and at the boots. These are from TCX, they're riding boots. They do have protection on the ankles in case you slide. They're really comfortable and I mean yes dirt bike boots are way more protection and all that but on the trip the amount of times I was in probably more extreme sort of riding conditions was very minimal and trying to walk around in dirt bike boots is a mission for the rest of the time. These waterproof unless you're going into river crossings where the water's up to your knees, nothing will help you then. But no, great comfortable and the tread is really good on the pegs when standing. Never slipped even in the wet. Yeah, really good. So moving up to riding pants. These are the John Doe Strokers, funny name for pants. Really good. They are Kevlar lining inside and they have protection on knees and hips just in case. But yeah, really comfortable actually, really comfortable. I mean in the north, you need long pants and any long pants are going to be warm but it wasn't too bad at all. A couple extra pockets in the side just from where you're setting up camp and all that and you just need to throw stuff in. So yeah, again very happy. Riding jacket was a Merlon Shedstone Air D30. This one air because air passes through it. This one's vented because again I was going north. It does have an inner lining which is waterproof but it also blocks wind so helps in the south. I had that on most of the time until I hit the north and it got too hot. This has comes with armor in the shoulders there is back armor as well and elbows, shoulders, elbows, that. Really good. I did bust the zip in South Australia. I got my puffer jacket caught and literally was like for 30 minutes trying to undo it so I ended up pulling the zip and it did take out somewhere here. One of the teeth but I could still just zip past it. Yeah, again really comfortable. That air you need in that stuff if you're going north a jacket that allows air to flow through or yeah it's misery otherwise. The waterproofing, it is waterproof but because you've got all these openings you do get wet in some places. Talking about getting wet, the joy of joy, the onesie. This is the Oxford Rain Seal. It is the best thing for keeping dry. It is the worst thing to get on and off especially when you're in a hurry when it's just starting to rain. Granted my mate got it for me, Dave the craftsman, and it's probably one size lengthwise too small and just a lot of velcro-y. It's really complicated. Keeps you dry. Nightmare gloves. Gloves. I have the Aiken summer gloves. Super comfortable. Great to ride in. No holes. They've done, actually they've done over 45,000 kilometers. I mean there's a slight wear on the fingers but epic. Also winter gloves. These are from Bering. Great, warm, waterproof but really hard to use a camera with or really anything. Maybe a little too thick but I guess that's your trade-off. Also my puffer jacket. I keep it in this in the back just so it doesn't get caught and ripped on stuff in the panniers. I keep it there because you're just riding and it's cold and it's hot and yeah it's just easy place to put it. It's from Macpac and the reason it's orange inside, if you did get into trouble and got lost or whatever or injured and you had a rescue party trying to find you from the air or walking, always good to have something bright around. Helmet. I have the Bell MX9. I guess it's their adventure helmet. Awesome. Great. Visor is great for early morning riding and late evening riding which I ended up having to do just to stop that glare from the sun so you can see. I lost screws twice. Probably user error of me not tightening them up enough and checking them regularly and I've tried to find some new ones and everybody sold out everywhere so either I'm gonna have to find a dodgy bolt or just leave the electric tape on it. Yeah very comfortable. So the other type of gear I took, I took five shirts, a couple pairs of shorts, soft underwear, boardies for swimming, thermals and use these, I guess they're gear satchel separators, would be really good if they made these in different colors because even in a bag they've got mesh through the top but I have a lot of black stuff so it would be great you could just pull out the color you needed if anybody's thinking of an idea of creating something and I did take one other pair of shoes which were actually some old trail shoes because they're really grippy and because I was going to be in the outback a lot just having a another pair of sort sneaker runner shoes is good. Being super grippy is even better. This time I did buy an electrical air pump, just screws in here, the detachment, USB charge so with all the power charging I've got all good. Does the job, it's slow but in the heat when you're trying to repair a flat tire not having a pump for an hour is really good. Okay let's do some rapid fire stuff. All the little things you take. First thing, life straw, it's a filtered straw you can drink out of a muddy puddle if you're desperate for water. Basic little first aid kit, puncture repair kit, obvious reasons. Light source, I use one of my film lights actually. It's USB powered, it also can charge out from it and it's got this protective cover which isn't a protective color it's a directional for light but it protects it in the pannier. Didn't get damaged, they're only that small so they're actually really good to use. And the last, the power, yeah, they very rarely ran out. And with lights, head torch because when you're walking around you need your hands, they're good. Leatherman, just simple tools always come in handy. Tire levers, I just get an old rag to wrap around in and it's great to wipe your hands off afterwards because you're going to get all dirty. Now if you're going north, fly net, you need them. It just don't, you will, very frustrating not to have one and doing this. Constantly for four or five hours. Shifter, also the tool set that comes with the bike, well infill ones. Also I have a set of allen keys somewhere, there they are, in case you need to go. And toilet paper. Ties, always come in handy. I also have electrical tape but I used it all on the trip. Also I carry two tubes, one for the front, one for the back, plus the patch kit just in case. These bikes don't come with tubeless tires so you're going to need those. I put them on the bottom of the pannier, just helps stop vibration from everything else. Also, sort of last resort, hand warmers. You know the ones you use when you go to the snow and just put them in your hands. They, yeah, I did actually use them. I had a few times where my hands were getting really cold so I stopped, put them on, warmed everything up, got going again. I think I actually shoved it down my jacket afterwards to keep me warm as well. Just a last resort. A bit more maintenance gear, always having spare oil with you and chain lube. I also have a bit of Tupperware, I think there's three of them, for the panniers. It just stops stuff bouncing around and yeah, just to try and stop stuff breaking. In here, spare strap, spare piece of wire. That was the last of the patches for my air mattress. More tire patches, chain break, in case you need to readjust a chain or something breaks and you have to try and get it back together. Screwdriver head, allen key head tool kit, just in case. Also a spork, you might call it, spoon and fork, and just a sharp knife. In this tub, I have a spare chain link with some, a little bit of grease, a bit of rope, you never know. And I have a helmet lock where it just locks through the loop. I do have one more tub. It just has the charging cables for the lithium batteries and one of the cameras and a of AA batteries. I think that's it, yeah. A lighter, just easier to get in the fire with the nose ones. Torch trees, spare, just glad wrap bags, sealed bags, in case you just need them. They're super light and they don't get in the way. Cans of tuna, still got some left over that I'll use on the next trip. And one last thing are the cables I made to strap to the bikes. Again, it's not going to prevent someone from stealing your stuff, but it may just deter them enough if you duck into a shop not to take stuff. That's the theory. It's worked so far. You may have noticed, no cooking gear. I did take a jet boil, which is a little cooking stove on the first trip this year, but I never used it. My trips are more about exploring and taking photos, not a food tour. Nothing wrong with a food tour, but that's not what I'm doing on mine. So I normally find I can find fruit at most places, even gas stations. Also get a meal every now and then. I have tins of tuna with me all the time, bars and things. As a bonus though, I do lose weight on these trips. So that is basically all the gear, unless I've forgotten something. I don't think I have. Would I change anything, would be the next question. Or try something different. Well, I'm going to go on a shorter trip, maybe a week or two. And after the experience in the bungle bungles of going in with all the gear and then dropping it off, the side panniers and that, and then the performance difference without it, I was thinking I'm going to try some soft side panniers. These are the Rhino Walker ones. They are the cheapest you can find. Well, I can find. I still have to work out how to get them on, so hopefully I can manage that. The trip I'm going on, I'm going to try and stick to a lot more dirt. So we'll see if that weight difference changes the experience, I guess. Well, that is everything. If you do have any questions that I haven't covered, write them down below and I'll see what I can answer, if I know the answer. But until next time.