What do you really need for the ride?
I want to start by saying that the bikepacking gear industry would very much like you to believe that preparing for an event like NorthCape4000 requires approximately €5,000 of specialized equipment purchased from a curated shortlist of premium brands. Some of that equipment is genuinely excellent. Some of it is, if I’m being honest, gear for people who enjoy buying gear. The actual list of what I’m carrying took eight months to arrive at through research, testing, returning things, and a couple of genuinely humbling discoveries that could only have been made outdoors, in the rain, 60km from home.
Here’s the real process.
Step 1: Start with requirements, not products
The single mistake I see most often in bikepacking gear discussions is starting with “what should I buy” rather than “what does my specific trip actually need.” These produce completely different lists.
My requirements for NorthCape4000, before I looked at a single product:
Weather range: German summer heat at the start, Norwegian wind and potential near-freezing temperatures in the far north. This isn’t one season’s kit — it’s a layering system capable of a 30-degree Celsius range.
Days without resupply access: the route passes through stretches — particularly in northern Norway — where towns and shops are sparse. I needed to plan for carrying 24–36 hours of food and water capacity rather than assuming constant resupply access.
Self-sufficient repair: no support vehicle means carrying what I’d need to fix any likely mechanical problem on the road. This list is longer than you’d carry on a weekend ride.
Weight vs. durability trade-off: ultra-light gear sounds appealing and weighs less, but some of it fails faster under sustained daily use. For a weeks-long event, I’m prioritizing tested durability over the lightest possible option.
Only after defining these requirements did I start looking at actual products — so that I was choosing against real criteria rather than marketing descriptions.
Step 2: Research smarter, not longer
The internet contains approximately infinite bikepacking gear content. Most of it is either gear reviews written by people who received the product for free, or “complete gear lists” for hypothetical events rather than specific ones. Here’s what I actually found useful:
Ultra-distance finisher reports. Previous NorthCape4000 participants and similar-event finishers (Trans Am, Transcontinental Race) often write detailed post-event gear breakdowns — what worked, what failed, what they’d leave behind next time. These are the most valuable research material available, because they’re written under accountability (the event already happened, they can’t oversell something) and they’re specific to the conditions my event will also have. One podcast summs up best, what it’s like riding RAAM and NorthCape4000 – Podcast Bez pauze with the amazing Ares Buršić. Click HERE if you want to listen to it (it’s in Croatian).
YouTube vlogs from riders. Not “first impressions” videos — full-trip recaps where the creator discusses what they actually used and what they wish they hadn’t brought. The qualification is “real trip, real conditions, honest retrospective.” Fritz is one of the guys I love to follow and has done the NC4000 so his videos helped a lot. You can see by yourself by clicking HERE for this YT channel.
Local cycling communities and Facebook groups. Aside from those doing such races, the community of bikepackers is the best for getting real answers. These communities have current information that no product review can provide. For me, it was a Facebook group called Bikepacking Europe and Bikepacking for Beginners. You post one question and get a crazy amount of good advice from different type of riders.
Borrowing before buying. Where possible, I borrowed items from other cyclists before purchasing, specifically for multi-day test trips. A borrowed seat bag on your first bikepacking ride tells you far more about whether you need that product than a spec sheet does.
Step 3: The testing process
Buying gear is one thing. Testing it under conditions similar enough to the event to be informative is another, and it’s where most people stop doing the work.
How I tested:
Every significant item I’m carrying has been used on at least one multi-day trip, ideally in varied conditions. My checklist for a gear item to “pass” and make the final packing list:
Did it do its stated job consistently over multiple days?
Did anything about it become irritating, painful, or inconvenient after extended use that wasn’t apparent on day one?
Did I reach for it, or did it sit in the bag unused for multiple days? (Unused items get cut.)
Could I repair, adjust, or improvise around it if it partially failed?
A few things didn’t make it through this process. A stuff sack that was annoying to open one-handed was replaced by one that isn’t, because I’ll open it thousands of times. A multitool with one awkward-to-reach bit was swapped for one where I can access everything I actually use. Small irritations multiply over 4,000km.
Testing in uncomfortable conditions specifically:
I made a point of testing gear in conditions I’d have previously avoided — cold weather, rain, post-hard-riding fatigue when fiddling with straps and buckles is genuinely more difficult than it sounds. Gear that works well when you’re fresh, rested, and standing in your kitchen can behave very differently at 10pm when you’re tired and everything is wet. Test it in the second scenario, not just the first.
Step 4: When to buy
Not all at once. This was my biggest early mistake — I bought several things early in the planning process that I ended up replacing after I’d actually used them and discovered what I actually needed. The things I should have bought early versus late:
Buy early, so you have time to test thoroughly:
- Saddle (takes time to adjust to; the fit is personal and often requires a couple of attempts) – mine was good from the start!
- Sleeping bag and sleep system (weather window for testing outdoor nights is seasonal) – not using one but if you will, test this the most.
- Shoes and insoles (your feet need multiple rides to tell you whether the fit is correct) – I’m confident in the shoes I’ve been wearing for 2 years now.
- Main bags (frame bag, handlebar bag, saddle bag — you need to test the weight distribution as well as if you touch it with your legs while riding)
Buy late, after your exact needs are clear:
- Final clothing layers (your layering system becomes clear through outdoor testing, not in advance)
- Small accessories and organization items (you don’t know what you need until you’ve done a few trips and experienced the gaps)
- Food and consumables (as close to the start as practical)
Buy things you can return. Especially for expensive items you’re not certain about, buy from somewhere with a real return window, and actually test within it.
Step 5: Where to find the right stuff
For bikepacking-specific bags and carry systems: Major bikepacking bag brands (Taillfin, Cyclite, Apidura, Ortlieb Bikepacking, Restrap) all have online fitting guides, but the most reliable way to choose is to find a retailer where you can mount the bags on your actual bike before buying. Fit varies significantly by frame geometry.
For clothing: Layering is personal, and the “right” combination is specific to your temperature sensitivity, not a universal answer. I found testing individual layers on cold training rides far more reliable than buying a curated system from any single brand.
I bought some things online (that didn’t need me actually seeing and touching it before buying) and some in the stores. For my trip, Bike24 and A2U stores were ideal.
A note on Bikepacking bags: What goes where
For anyone new to this like I was — the basic bag setup for a bike like mine:
Handlebar bag: the bag attached to the handlebars. Carries your bulkiest, lightest items — sleeping bag, insulation layers etc. The weight at the front affects steering, so you want light but bulky items here, not heavy dense ones.
Frame bag: fits inside the bike’s main triangle. Carries heavier items — tools, food, battery packs — close to the bike’s center of gravity where the weight is most manageable.
Saddle bag: hangs under the saddle. For me, the biggest item; carries clothing layers and other light, compressible stuff.
Top tube bag (optional): the little bag along the top tube. Easy-access items — snacks, phone, sunscreen, the things you want without stopping.
Feed pouches on forks or additional cage positions for extra water and food capacity. So you can eat all the time 
The packing principle: heavy things close to the center of the bike, light things at the extremes. This isn’t just theory — you’ll feel the handling difference immediately on the first corner after you’ve loaded everything incorrectly.
Tips & Takeaways
For beginner bikepackers planning any overnight trip:
Define your requirements before you look at products. What weather, what distances without resupply, what weight budget, what repair scenarios. These questions produce your list; the list tells you what to buy.
Research finisher reports, not product reviews. People who completed the event you’re planning for with real gear in real conditions are more reliable sources than marketing materials.
Borrow before you buy — especially for expensive items. One overnight trip with a borrowed sleeping bag tells you whether you need that bag more accurately than any spec sheet.
Buy early what takes time to fit (saddle, shoes, bags). Buy late what becomes clear through testing (clothing layers, accessories).
Test in the conditions the event will require, not the conditions you prefer. Cold, wet, tired, low-visibility — these are the circumstances that reveal gear’s real character.
Cut anything you reach the destination without having used. Unused items are just weight you carried for the entire trip. Be honest at the end of each test trip.
Pack heavy items close to the bike’s center, light items at the extremes. Your handling will thank you on the first technical descent.
* Next in this series: My Complete Setup — the actual bike, bags, clothing, and every small item going with me to Berlin and beyond.
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