Essential camping gear for an adventure motorcycle tour

Essential camping gear for an adventure motorcycle tour

What is the essential camping gear for an adventure motorcycle tour. If you read my books, you will see I’ve spent a lot of time camping on motorcycle adventures. I’ve also had quite a few discussions, while sitting around the camp fire. The question is always what equipment do you need for a good nights sleep in the bush.

There is general agreement on a few things but contentious views on others. So it’s a good idea not talk about tents and swags. That’s a bit like talking religion and politics, it just ends in a fight. The objective of this post is to give you some ideas on what you might like to take on your next motorcycle camping adventure.

All the items outlined in this blog make up a sleep system. Used together, you can ensure the best possible night’s sleep. Although number seven is probably less important than the others. In my experience, these are seven essentials for a good night’s sleep when motorcycle camping. Having travelled around Australia and New Zealand and slept in some pretty doggy places. I’ve also spent the last five years, motorcycle touring 30,000 kilometres around Queensland.

It doesn’t matter if it’s an overnight adventure or a three-year exploration of the world. This post provides insights into the camping gear I have found useful during my last five years on the road.

Camping

Let’s start by defining the type of camping that you might do when motorcycle touring. Seasoned bikers only take what they need based on how they travel. Some people I have met on the road stay in motels throughout their tour and don’t take any camping equipment, others only camp. I do a bit of both, but mostly camping and often wild or stealth camping. Rarely, do I stay in caravan parks.

I have not come across a situation where I am stuck inside my tent for days because of rain. When I have been rained on, I have put my tent under cover or booked into a motel. My overriding requirement when travelling is that I am comfortable and able to get a good night’s sleep. Gear that lets me down once is discarded and replaced with better options. This is why I buy good quality equipment, it doesn’t let me down.

Tent

The number one item for any adventurous motorcycle rider contemplating wild or stealth camping is a tent. Some of you might say yeah nah, what about swags and hammocks. I wrote a blog post on this very issue and I have swags, tents, and hammocks and use each for their best features. Check out my blog post on this topic: Swag vs Tent.

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The choice of essential camping gear for an adventure motorcycle tour, depends on how you intend to travel and what you are prepared to put up with. On a quick overnight trip or on a longer journey where I intend to stay in motels, I will take a swag because it is easy and relatively lightweight. I can roll all my sleeping equipment into a nice little bundle that sits easily on the back of my bike. You might say, if you’re staying in motels, why take anything. Well, I like to have redundancy and options. If I like a river or national park and I want to stay there, I have a quick and easy option. Likewise, if something goes wrong, I have a lightweight backup plan. I can also lay back on my rolled swag while riding.

However, on longer trips or if I want some extra room then I’ll go to my camping kit which includes my Black Wolf Wasp UL2 (two-man four-season tent). Check out my blog post where I review this tent: Black Wolf Wasp UL2 Motorcycle Touring Tent

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Sleeping Bag vs Quilt

One of the most important aspects of camping after staying dry during the night is choosing the right sleeping equipment. Up until recently, there was the choice of a sleeping bag or a blanket, blankets were often impractical and not warm enough for most camping situations, to get the same warmth from blankets you would need lots of them, and they are heavy. Recently, a new option has come on the market, half of a sleeping bag in the form of a quilt. If you want to learn more about the differences between a hiking quilt and a sleeping bag, check out my post: Quilt vs Sleeping Bag

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Inflatable insulated mat

There are not many times when I have been camping without a mattress of some type, in the early days I used snow foam, a compact small bit of expanded polyurethane sheeting to keep the cold from seeping through the ground. While most swags have a fifty to seventy-five millimetre expanded foam mattresses as part of the package. The rest of us sleeping in a tent need to invest in an insulated inflatable mat.

The insulation is rated to a specific level of comfort known as an “R” rating, the level of rating depends on the camping conditions, the colder the temperature the higher the R rating recommended. The inflation part of the package enables you to sleep off the hard surface. There is significant technology put into sleeping mat design. You can get mats for side sleepers or people who sleep on their back. There are mats specifically for arctic conditions and for those who travel in the tropics.  For more information on Insulated Inflatable Mats, check out my blog: Quilts vs Sleeping Bags. 

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My current mat

I use a Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Sleeping Mat. This mat is designed for side sleepers. It’s approximately one hundred millimetres thick when inflated and has a unique cross stitching that provides small square baffles throughout the length of the mat. It is rated to R3.2 which is a good rating for most of the travelling I have done. Furthermore, it’s designed for autumn to winter conditions. However, if I was travelling in the snow, I would look at upgrading this to an R6 or above and possibly a down-filled mat.

One of the problems I find with these lightweight mats is they are made of nylon and tend to squeak when you move. I find it difficult to get the exact pressure level that suits me, and I will wake up from all the movement and squeaking noise. It has taken quite a few trips and some trial and error to get the pressure right, but once you do, it’s very comfortable.

Sleeping bag liner

I hadn’t worried about a sleeping bag liner in the past, but since I transitioned to a hiking quilt and an insulated mat, I have found the liner a useful bit of my camping kit. In hot humid weather I will only sleep inside the liner and very rarely need to have the quilt over me. When I rode to Cape York I only slept in the liner, otherwise, it was too hot. The liner by itself was ideal, this is another advantage of my current setup, I can regulate the warmth of my sleeping equipment more easily. It also helps reduce any mosquito bites but also provides an even temperature throughout the night.

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The liner is made of Sea to Summit’s Thermolite material. Thermolite is similar to a product developed by Dupont in the nineteen eighties called “Hollow Fill”. It is a man-made fibre with hollow chambers, there are some differences, but the concept is the same. The chambers catch the air and heat up, similar to how down fibre works. The fibres are knitted together which provides an ability to stretch, as a bigger person I don’t feel constrained by the liner.

Inflatable Pillow

I don’t care what anyone says, sleeping without a pillow is a real pain, I have slept with my clothes rolled up into my sleeping bag cover in the past, but after finding a decent velour-covered and insulated pillow I am now a devotee. These come in all types of covers and insulation materials. The type of material is important, for years I used a simple cheap inflatable pillow, and my latest pillow is a fairly large Aeros Premium Pillow. Like the mat, it takes a bit of trial and error to find the exact air pressure to suit your needs.

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Helinox Heavy Duty Cot

The final bit of sleeping kit I take with me is a Helinox Camping Cot. This is a luxury item and I don’t always take it. I tend to take it with me if I’m planning to stay in one place for a few days or a week. The one I have is rated to 150 kg and costs about three hundred dollars. The cot lifts me off the ground, provides a solid surface to sleep on, and prevents any sharp objects from penetrating the air mattress. It also enables me to get up easier, the older I get, the harder this becomes.

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A camping cot is a luxury item, and I have experimented with sleeping without one, and I find it is nowhere near as comfortable. The downside is the extra weight, the time taken to set up and pack away, and the extra bulk in my back bag. But considering all that, I recommend a cot if you want a really great night’s sleep.

Helinox Heavy Duty Folding Chair

I know a chair isn’t exactly a bit of camping kit but for me it is essential and camping wouldn’t be the same without it.

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Helinox Folding Table

The table and chair thing really go together.

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