Here's my gear list for the 2023 Black Hills Bounty, a 6 day bikepacking tour of the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota and the Bear Lodge Mountains of Wyoming, with a jaunt into the prairie for a night at Devil's Tower National Monument. As this will be an autumn ride, I included a few things for colder nights and mornings. Including the bike, this all weighs in at about 67 pounds, with 2+ days of food and 4 liters of water.
Like my bike and me, this kit's built for comfort. It's not built for speed.
Fully loaded Jones 29+ mountain bike atop M-Hill, ready to roll on the Black Hills Bounty. |
Sleep Kit: Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL1 Bikepack tent, Brooks Range Mountaineering Alpini 30 sleeping bag, SeaToSummit Reactor Extreme liner, ThermaRest ProLite pad, Outdoor Vitals UL Stretch pillow.
Clothes: Voler bib shorts, Voler jersey, 2 pair SmartWool socks, Pearl Izumi X-Alp Summit shoes, Voler arm warmers, Voler knee warmers, SmartWool top base layer, SmartWool bottom base layer, Voler wind jacket, Showers Pass Refuge rain jacket, Marmot down hoodie, SmartWool camp shirt, nylon camp shorts, 45NRTH Nokken gloves, SmartWool liner gloves, Bontrager cycling gloves, Voler skull cap, SmartWool 250 stocking cap, Oakley Aero5 helmet, Oakley M-frame prescription sunglasses, Oakley athletic prescription glasses.
First Aid/Hygiene/Personal: Ace bandage, gauze pads, large & small bandaids, butterfly bandaids, alcohol wipes, zinc oxide, Neosporin, lip balm, aspirin, ibuprofen, Tums, toilet paper, hand towel, toothbrush/paste, soap, phone, wallet, Spot X tracker/messenger, battery, cords.
Tool Kit: Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HV pump, Lezyne SV-16 multi-tool, spork wrench for brakes, Lezyne Tubeless CO2 Blaster tubeless repair kit, 2 ounces of sealant, 1 tube, 2 valve cores, 1 valve stem, patch kit, 2 tire irons, LeatherMan Skeletool CX, Jones derailleur hanger, 4 chain links, 2 quick links, chain lube, duct tape, zip ties.
Navigation: Garmin 530 GPS device, USFS Black Hills National Forest paper maps, Stem Captain compass, CatEye cyclocomputer, Lezyne MicroDrive Pro 800XL head light, Mountain Miser thermometer, Gideon's pocket Bible.
Documentation: Leather bound paper journal, No. 2 pencil.
Hydration (about 5 liters): 3 x 38 ounce Soma Further water bottles, 2 x 26 ounce water bottles, Sawyer Squeeze filter, iodine tablets.
Food (1-2 days): instant oatmeal/coffee (breakfast), peanut butter/honey/tortilla (lunch), nutrition bars/Hammer Gels/Snickers/trail mix (during the day), ramen/tuna/freeze dried entree (dinner).
Kitchen: Jet Boil MiniMo stove, fuel, matches, 2 SeaToSummit collapsible bowls, 2 sporks, GI Joe can opener, salt/pepper.
Although I make some modifications every trip, this gear list is much the same as that for the 2023 BackBone Grande, the 2022 & 2021 Black Hills Bounty, the 2021 Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, and the 2020 Cloud Peak 500. See, e.g., 2021 GDMBR Gear List.