Bike
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Helmets
Endura Luminite Helmet
Very very comfortable. The USB LED lights make riding from day into night fantastically easy.
Panniers
Ortlib
Back-Roller Classic x2
Front-Roller Classic x2
These four suckers are hard living and extremely waterproof. I have given them a hard-time including having my bike fall on them many times. They are easy to take on and off the bike and easy to get in and out of. They can be fastened for dry days and fastened for wet days, the shoulder straps also make it easy for carrying them over your shoulder.
These are great great panniers.
Ultimate5 L Plus
I have not totally tested this pannier. I like it because it is roomy and allegedly waterproof, time will tell. The snap on domes to get in and out of it seem a little tricky to use, however after its first 300km journey, it still feels and looks brand-new.
After a further few thousand kilometres this barbag is still fantastic. It has proven to be very rugged and waterproof. Yes it took me a while to get used to those domes, but they are no longer a problem. The later models have a magnetic closing system which seems to be much easier to use.
Map Case for Ultimate2-5
Tricky to use and blows like crazy in the wind. I have had to use two carabiners just to keep the thing still whilst descending. It is waterproof though and large enough to fit large maps.
QL2-Anti-Theft-Device
These are fantastic simple things. I presume that they only slow thieves down, however they are great for piece-of-mind. I mostly use mine when locking my bags up overnight outside my tent, they are also very useful for those times that we need to nip into a cafe for a quick coffee.
Rear On-carrier Pannier
This is a cheap boat bag that I picked up in my local sporting store. It usually only stores my tent and end-of-day fleece. It is a little to long and sometimes hits my legs as I cycle. It is waterproof and hard wearing.
Elastic rear On-carrier mesh
This was given to me by a friend, it has been fantastic for keeping my boat-bag on. It also comes in very handy for attaching wet flip-flops and for storing my jumper and cap. Sometimes I even hide a Thermos under it.
Tent
We have only just purchased this tent and will not actually get to see it or use it until May 2017.
This is what their website says about it.
These full-featured, ultralight backpacking shelters are truly easy to pack, setup, and inhabit. Dual doors and steep, vertical walls make long trips with a smelly partner – or three – bearable, and there’s enough internal space to ensure that windy, rainy afternoons spent playing dominoes will be comfortable. Media pockets located above the sleeping area enable clean earbud cord routing from phones or other devices.
Stove
Trangia
My trusted twenty year old Swedish Trangia Stove. Wonderful, lightweight, but maybe a little bulky. This stove has taken the knocks, but keeps on burning. I have both the spirit bulb and the gas connection. I once managed to cook my meal from Mexican tequila. These days usually I can find gas canisters and prefer this quicker cleaner way of cooking.
My unit comes complete with three billies, frypan, billy/frypan handle, base and windbreak.
I have never regretted buying my Trangia.
Old Tent
Macpac Minaret
After 17 years of good use our tent sprung a few holes and was very prone to condensation and was letting water in though the side. Mostly because of Macpac New Zealand’s very poor customer service, we decided not to replace it with another Macpac.
However it did serve us well for about 15 years.
This tent is now over fifteen years old and is still serving us just fine. It is perfect for two, easy to pitch and handles all weather. Maybe not the best if you are overly tall, sometimes my sleeping feet hit the end of the tent bringing in the night-time dew.
It also has the excellent feature of being able to pitch it complete or in cases of rain the inner can be downed whilst the fly still stands. This gives a wonderful drying packing experience with only the fly remaining wet.
Old Bike
My beautiful old bike: PANTHER CREDO 2006
I ride a beautiful old second-hand Lithuanian made Panther. It has eight internal gears, front suspension and a suspended seat.