Packing For Adventure with Robin Box

This entry is part 18 of 26 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #4

Your adventure travel clothing should be lightweight and pack easily.

Your bike’s fully prepped, you have your route all mapped out and you’re ready to go. But what are you going to wear, and just as important, will you fit all your gear on the bike?

With all the other preparation that goes into an adventure ride it’s easy to forget the most important aspect – you! If you’re not warm, dry and comfortable, the enjoyment factor just won’t be there.

Our experiences over a lifetime of riding have taught us plenty of tricks, so here are a few of them to help you on your way.

For a start, the clothes you pack need to be used in all situations – both on and off the bike. In every case possible the clothes should be used as extra layers when you’re riding, and be comfortable and practical when not riding.

Let’s cover your ‘off-the-bike’ attire first.

Pants

Pants need to be lightweight and made from quick-dry materials. Ideally, they’ll have a cotton content of up to a maximum of 70 per cent – but must be quick-dry – and the remainder nylon.

You can also get this combination in pants that zip apart and become shorts. These look quite smart and, importantly, pack light and dry quickly.

Lightweight material is not quite as good as denim in the cold, but it’s very close. Denim is no good when it’s wet or hot, and is only ever carried if you like the look and feel of it when you’re off the bike. It’s a luxury.

Tops

Here’s what Mick McDonald from Compass Expeditions uses and recommends to his travellers to cover both hot and cold travel, whether that be in Russia, South America or in Australia. We reckon it’s a good list:

• Any of the lightweight materials are recommended for tops or jumpers, and a 70 per cent cotton content does improve the comfort. Any sort of comfortable shirt is fine for adventure travelling, but a micro-fleece jumper, as opposed to polar fleece, is always a better way to go, because it packs a lot smaller

• Polar fleece jumpers won’t stop wind. They’re very warm, but micro-fleece will give you nearly the same warmth, plus keep the wind out

• For the extreme cold, a fully waterproof outer shell is an absolute must. They pack very light, stop the wind at the outside and totally remove the chill factor

• Make sure you wear any shirt beforehand, in both hot and cold conditions, to ensure it doesn’t get sweaty or clammy. All shirts work well in ideal conditions, but do your own research before setting off on a trip

Socks

COOLMAX – a trademarked brand name – is the material used in most good adventure socks, and it works well for many people. We’ve found they don’t have very good warmth capabilities, but provide good comfort and moisture wicking. COOLMAX tends to stop the sweating between your toes, so if you suffer from sweaty feet, they’re a good option.

My own preference is the merinopossum fur combination that would typically be a hiking sock. They only need to reach about halfway up your calf. This fibre combination will keep you warm, breathes very well and doesn’t smell, so it copes with multiple uses very well. I even wear these when riding in central Australia as I find they keep my feet more comfortable and stop them from getting clammy, sweating and then cold.

Around-the-world traveller Sherri Jo Wilkins used COOLMAX socks on her three-year trip and was very happy with them. When it got colder she just added another pair of socks.

It’s all a personal choice, but if you have no experience whatsoever, you won’t go wrong using the merinopossum fur combination, both for comfort and warmth.

The other option on the bike is waterproof socks.

When it’s cold and wet they work quite well, but they get clammy very easily, and as soon as it warms up they have no breathability whatsoever.

You end up wet on the inside just from your own feet sweating. They do have a place, but it’s in a very limited type of riding.

Thermals

Thermals are a must both on and off the bike, and it’s pretty much unanimous among the experts that merino thermals work better than artificial fibres. They don’t smell, they pack small and they perform better across the board.

Wool used to be too itchy and prickly to wear against your skin, but the Australian Wool Board put a lot of research into making wool more friendly and easy to wash and wear, and once you get under 17 micron (one fifth of the diameter of the average human hair) the itchiness and prickliness disappears, so you need to ensure your thermal is made from superfine merino wool.

The absence of a smell after multiple uses is a big advantage as well. Merino thermals are widely available from most outdoor shops dealing in hiking and outdoor adventure.

As an alternative, woollen tights also provide good warmth and are used by many riders.

Footwear

Sherri Jo Wilkins and Compass Expeditions all carry a pair of thongs (or flip-flops) on their travels for showering and getting around camp.

You’ll also need hard-soled footwear of some sort, as prickles and thorns will go through thongs. Hard-soled shoes can look good and are useful both at your destination, and as a welcome relief from your riding boots.

Sherri Jo also carried a pair of Solomon Gore-tex-lined runners that were light, waterproof and looked smart.

Bits and bobs

Don’t forget a hat and sunscreen are essential items on and off the bike, and are often overlooked. If you’re travelling in colder climates and at altitude, you tend to forget that the sun can be a factor. As it gets colder the humidity drops and in the higher altitudes sunburn can happen very fast and be very damaging. Don’t get caught out.

Okay. Let’s have a look at some suitable apparel for on the bike itself.

Riding suits

To start with, whether it’s part of the suit or an additional layer, the outer layer of your riding suit must be completely waterproof.

If it’s part of the suit it needs to have a laminated Gore-tex outer (such as the Touratech Companero suit), as the plastic layer part-way through is usually not 100 per cent waterproof.

The downside of using an external waterproof layer is they get hot and sweaty as soon as they get warm inside. This can be uncomfortable, and you’ll find you’re forever putting your waterproofs on and off. However you do it, you must have full waterproofing on the outside.

Layers

Underneath your suit, on the top part of your body, you can have a simple polo shirt or any sort of comfortable shirt, but when it gets colder you need to layer up with merino thermals.

The merino mid-layer material is very common in cold climates, including on the ski-fields, and works well.

It looks dressy off the bike too. We’ve tested this theory on the Canadian ski-fields at temperatures of 16 degrees below zero, so we can vouch for our recommendation.

From the outside, you’ll need your riding suit (and waterproof), a microfleece jumper, a merino mid-layer thermal, your normal shirt, and a merino thermal base layer. This combination will cope with extreme cold and pack really small.

On the bottom half of your body, start off with your riding suit (and waterproof), thermals, and your underwear of choice.

Boots

Ideally you need waterproof boots, otherwise you’ll get wet feet and then you’ve got problems.

On long hauls, Forma boots, or this style of boot – which are something of a motocross boot, but with very good walking comfort are fully waterproof and have nice leather on the outside.

You need to be comfortable, so test your boots in a range of situations before you set off on your big trip. Nobody likes sore feet!

Headwear

A scarf or balaclava is great for extra warmth and to get a full windbreak around your neck. You’ll never get a cold head wearing a helmet, but you can get a cold face, which can be extremely uncomfortable. A silk scarf or a very lightweight balaclava that can cover your nose and face will do the trick, especially if you’re using a motocross style helmet.

While a kidney belt is intended to support your back, they do a great job of keeping your back warm, although they can be hot in the warmer climates. Sherri Jo Wilkins used a kidney belt on her trip, simply as a means for extra warmth, so it’s not an uncommon practice.

Gloves

My preference is not for a heavy winter glove, but to use a lighter, summer glove with silk gloves inside. Silk is a fantastic fibre. It’s light, offers good thermal insulation, keeps the warmth in really well, and is still comfortable against your skin when it warms up.

On a bike fitted with handguards offering good wind protection, at between eight and 11 degrees, your hands start to feel a bit cool. At seven degrees they progressively feel more and more uncomfortable. Just by adding a silk inner glove you’ll go back to quite a warm feeling. This thought is consistent among adventure riders.

Over the top of my gloves I wear a fully waterproof outer mitten. They’re a bit bulky, but if you suffer from cold hands it’s the answer. They break the wind and keep your gloves dry. They do reduce the feel, but the negatives from that are offset by what happens if your fingers get too cold and numb – you’re actually riding dangerously at that point.

Mittens hold the heat in better as they haven’t got the surface area for the chill factor to get to. I always carry a pair of them in my kit, and get them from Andy Strapz.

Underwear

Men typically get by with a couple of sets of underwear, even on extended trips. Lady adventurers have been known to carry four sets because sometimes it’s hard to find the opportunity to wash them regularly.

Packing

Finally, rolling your clothes to pack uses a lot less space. You can apply more pressure to the clothes, they’ll still look okay when you unpack them, and the space-saving advantages are well worth it.

This may take a little practice, but you’ll soon find that by rolling your clothes you can pack them in all the nooks and crannies of your luggage, ensuring you have room for other items you may wish to take.

Where to buy

As a rule we don’t stick to any one manufacturer, and have had great results with a number of different products and brands over the years.

The specialised adventure camping stores will stock brands such as Jeep, Kathmandu, Ice Breaker, Merinos and Columbia, while some of the specialised ’bike retailers will also stock clothing for your big adventure.

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