Brompton Overnight Gear
Self-contained Brompton set-up
Here’s a complete listing of gear brought on a sub-24-hour overnight camping trip on a Brompton folding bike. The trip took place in mid-October, with daytime temps in the low to mid 50’s and low 40’s overnight.
Luggage
Brompton-mounted T-Bag
Lightweight nylon backpack
Comments: My original idea was to get everything in the T-Bag, and —in warmer weather— this would have been completely doable.
Essentials
Bike: Brompton H3E Superlight
Phone & charger
Wallet
Toolkit (fitted inside Brompton frame), spare tube and pump
Front and rear rechargeable bike lights
Personal items: toothbrush and toothpaste, advil (just in case)
Shelter and sleeping
2-person Nemo Galaxi backpacking tent (fits neatly at the bottom of the T-Bag!)
Nemo Tensor Ultralight Sleeping pad (this is amazing and rolls up smaller than a beer can)
REI synthetic sleeping bag, nothing special
Thin alpaca wool blanket —this would not have been necessary in warm weather, but made a crucial difference on this trip since I knew my sleeping bag would be insufficient.
Coooking/Food
Pre-cooked spaghetti with meat sauce packed in plastic container
MSR Pocket Rocket campstove and one fuel canister
MSR Camp Cookware Set (more than I needed but it was the only one I had)
Insulated steel tumbler
Tea bags
Matches
Folding eating utensils
32 oz bottle of water
MSR Trailshot Pocket water filter (I didn’t need it, but I did'n’t know what the water situation would be)
Pssst, don’t tell anyone! 1/2 small carton of Bandit Cab to enjoy with my spaghetti.
Comments: I considered bringing coffee-making apparatus, but opted for tea bags for optimum simplicity. It turned out I did not miss the coffee. Similarly, I would have enjoyed having a hot breakfast at the campsite, but decided against the complications of carrying extra stuff and having extra clean-up.
Clothing
Thin stretch cargo pants (these were sufficient for the ride in, but were packed away once I arrived in favor of warmer gear)
Gym shoes (my Brompton does not have clipless pedals)
Thin wool long johns
Insulated windfront biking pants (not tights)
Cotton t-shirt
Thin LS merino wool jersey
Insulated synthetic jersey
Neck gaiter
Synthetic fleece hat
Thin packable down jacket
Lightweight gloves
1 pair of thin merino socks
2 pairs of thick merino socks
Comments: at night I wore pretty much everything except the jacket (which I used as a pillow) and the cargo pants. I layered the cozy merino socks with air gaps between the layers, and they kept my feet warm all night.