Gear

Cottage Gear Defined

by Andy Amick

When you get into the world of lightweight or ultralight camping gear, a large majority of that gear is made by very small companies.  A lot of these companies are even single person operations with gear made in their basement or garage.  The term “cottage” gear maker is given to these sorts of companies. Obviously, […]

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Bikepacking Seatbags – The J.Paks SeatPak

by Andy Amick

The seat bag, frame bag, and handlebar bag are the three main bags used for carrying gear on the bike for bikepacking.  A few months ago, I decided to finally buy a seat bag to replace my homemade coroplast bags. Since local companies are important to me, my choice came down to J.Paks and Bedrock, […]

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A 2 Pound Bikepacking Clothing System

by Andy Amick

Maybe it’s the continual barrage of Monday night snowstorms hitting Denver lately, or maybe it’s just me being crazy, but I’m still writing about bikepacking clothing choices.  After three posts, hopefully everyone gets the idea that it’s best to have lots of layers that work in a variety of conditions.  If you can be comfortable […]

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A 3 Season Bikepacking Clothing System

by Andy Amick

My fashion sense is a little whacked.  Ok, a lot of whacked.  I have no problem wearing cuben fiber knickers or a short sleeve down jacket.  For bikepacking, my mantra is definitely function over form.  If there was a great wool baselayer that only came in purple with red polka dots, I’d have no problem […]

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Bikepacking Clothing For Extreme Conditions

by Andy Amick

Spring has sprung which means summer bikepacking trips are on the mind.  But before winter disappeared, I decided to give my bikepacking clothing an extreme shakedown on a recent snowy, windy, and cold afternoon.  Even if your bikepacking trips are in the summer, you never know what kind of weather you might encounter on the […]

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J.Paks SnakCan Review

by Andy Amick

Last summer while riding my local trails, I ran into another singlespeeder.  We rode together and started talking about bikepacking and his friend that makes bikepacking bags. Ain’t mountain biking great? The friend he mentioned was Joe Tonsager who makes J.Paks bikepacking bags.  After looking over Joe’s website, I could tell that the bags are […]

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Bikepacking Gear Spreadsheet

by Andy Amick

Part of the fun of bikepacking is trying to figure out the ideal gear kit for a trip.  Each trip gives you a chance to try out new gear or a new way of organizing gear on the bike.  Being the numbers geek that I am, I decided to build a gear list spreadsheet that […]

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Do Your Best Thoughts Occur When Riding?

by Andy Amick

There is something about a long ride that let’s your mind relax, generate some great ideas, and even solve problems that seemed complex.  Maybe it’s the solitude.  Maybe it’s the cadence of pedaling.  Maybe it’s getting away from the problems you are trying to solve.  It’s probably a combination of all three.  The only downside […]

Cycling Read the full article →

Goldilocks And The Three Down Layers

by Andy Amick

Outside of a couple of short runs and one muddy mountain bike ride, the last two months have not had much adventure.  I’m finally getting outside more and that’s when the goofy ideas start to flow.  Hey, you gotta have some fun, and this is one of those cases. So sit back and enjoy the […]

Gear Read the full article →

Simple Lightweight Gear Repair Kit

by Andy Amick

Recently, I updated the items I carry for gear repair on bikepacking trips.  All items are now packed in a single ALOKSAK bag making my gear repair kit more organized and waterproof.  The idea for this came from Stick’s Blog and his post on his updated ditty bag which comes in at a very light […]

Backpacking Read the full article →

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