June 18, 2012 5:53 AM PDT
I don't care, I'm taking the cot this year, NO MORE SLEEPING ON THE GROUND! End of that conversation!
Also the extra blanket is a light weight down job that I can fold up and stick into a side pocket and has been to all 14 Sturgis Rallies with me!
Sorry, I have the bags to hold some clothes! I'm taking my Combat Vet swag with!
I have rain gear on my bike now, and always have it because getting wet sucks!
My toiletries are usually just as you described Jet but they go in da bag!
I always take my HD stocking cap for some of them brisk mornings!
tire gauge is for preventative maintenance! And the roads between here and there are HOT as HELL and every time I stop I will check to make sure they don't need air!
Yeah the ax comes in handy for a LOT of reasons!
I have about 4 different lighting fixtures packed actually, flashlight, latern, mini pen light, entry light that attaches to the .40
My leathers are waterproof but across Nevada and Utah they're not heat proof so it will be stuffed in the bag until that early morning in Wyoming!
MRE's = Meals Ready to Eat - Army stuff, not something I would go outta my way to eat but I always pack em!
I cover the bike with the tarp if it gets ugly out!
Also: socks work good when you're outta butt tape but I would rather wear them and pack the Butt Tape! LOL
June 18, 2012 6:01 AM PDT
Black,
You know Laura and I found it easier to bring two good blankets in place of sleeping bag. Two good warm blankets actually can pack smaller than a sleeping bag with a good compression sack, and I hate sleeping bags - I tend to turn a lot during the night and get all tangled up.
CAMERA!
BEADS!
June 18, 2012 6:03 AM PDT
Just yankin ya chain dude...lol...Just yankin ya chain...
And yeah, I guess I would take all that stuff with me as well...
(In a Pick-em-up-Truck...lol...)
June 18, 2012 6:10 AM PDT
Lucky I tried the blanket thing and it works good when the wife is accompanying but without her I freeze to death and I'm more comfy all wrapped up like an over sized burrito anyway! :-)
June 18, 2012 6:11 AM PDT
Just yankin ya chain dude...lol...Just yankin ya chain...
And yeah, I guess I would take all that stuff with me as well...
(In a Pick-em-up-Truck...lol...)
heheheh
Guaran-damn-tied Jet I can pack all that stuff on my list and still have plenty of room and wouldn't have ANY problem with being loaded down.
Now with the ol' lady on board I gotta sacrifice! And believe you me, I do sacrifice a lot for her when it comes to her comfort for the trip! LOL
June 18, 2012 6:13 AM PDT
Funny one for ya: once we were camping and the wife was with me on our way to Sturgis and she's all pissed because we don't have a lantern. So as soon as she started griping about the lantern I says to her "Well it was so damn important for you to bring a hair dryer I figured we could go without a latern!" That shut her up! LOL
June 18, 2012 6:29 AM PDT
I shall try and find a Piccie or 2 of the ride to Faro, Portugal that was cut short by the Ol at the time deciding to get on the unsupported bike...she jumped on and as she slid herself back on the bike - IT WENT OVER...and it took all of us present to lift the damn thing off her...in Lannemezan in South of France...we were on our way to Faro via Andorra and all of coastal Spain...
The bike had a 2 person essentials kit ...and loads of her extra 'stuff' ...the bike looked top heavy with just the kit on, let alone with the 2 of us as well!!! It would be worth me finding those pictures to remind people what a grossly overloaded bike can do to someone when un-supported...
June 18, 2012 6:31 AM PDT
The stuff listed is growing... err... water bottle/bladder/reservoir? Duct tape and para cord? AM/FM radio? Handheld CB? Solar charger to keep gazillion batteries for all the lights and gadgetry charged?
How about replacing the tarp and tent with a "jungle" hammock? Could use the hammock as a tarp or as a tent if need be. Might not fit that cot in it though, but would lighten your overall load. Very comfortable to sleep in when you have no flat surface for the cot, or when the flat surface is on about 45 degrees or so.,And still could use the cot when there is nothing to hang the hammock to, in between wooded areas or so
June 18, 2012 7:02 AM PDT
Lot of stuff there:
* 2 or 3 shanks of parachute chord - lots'a uses
* 20' of Ø1/4" nylon chord with eye splice on one end, back splice the other or eye splices both ends if braided
* utilities are better than jeans, more pockets, fold flatter
* Gurkha knife better than an ax, weighs less, takes less space, can dig a latrine w/ it, if necessary.
* Minimize the sox, hang them up at night, wash when you have time, buy new if necessary - They are bulky
* Take the tarp (smallest size available) - it is great to get on a dry, dew-free seat in the AM - don't need it under a modern tent
* NOAA weather radio - might literally, have saved my life one time - takes less space than a pack of cigarettes
* +1 on AM radio, check what is happening locally
* I prefer tights to long johns, take less space ("Armorall" or the like)
* Why the MREs, you cant go a day w/o passing a 7-11?
* +1 on Jetman's dumping the blanket - If cold put on your long johns
Leave the chaps to the Village People - heavy, bulky, funnel rain to your nether parts, attract the wrong kind of attention at roadside rest stops
June 18, 2012 7:03 AM PDT
No reason you can't bring everything you need to be comfortale. This is how we ride and there is still room for Laura on the bike...
June 18, 2012 7:18 AM PDT
These are a from a few trips I went on!
June 18, 2012 7:29 AM PDT
Pansies, I got it down to this but the next time am skipping the duffelbag
June 18, 2012 7:41 AM PDT
HA!!! I pack tighter! Rangers can get in and out with all their gear and go unnoticed! LOL
June 18, 2012 7:44 AM PDT
I am scratching my head here, as I barely pack half that amount of stuff for coast to coast and back. I figure it must be as I travel mostly by myself, or if I am with somebody, they have their stuff on their vehicle and not mine, possibly?
June 18, 2012 7:47 AM PDT
I pack plenty because I don't do hotels :-)